Lexicon :: Strong's H1934 - hăvâ

Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations.

Powerful kings have also ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates River, and tribute, duty, and land tax were paid to them.

See that you not neglect this matter. Otherwise, the damage will increase and the royal interests[fn] will suffer.

Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

But God was watching[fn] over the Jewish elders. These men wouldn’t stop them until a report was sent to Darius, so that they could receive written instructions about this matter.

Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut[fn] stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people’s efforts.

This is the reply they gave us:

We are the servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

Therefore, you must stay away from that place, Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and your[fn] colleagues, the officials in the region.

I hereby issue a decree concerning what you are to do, so that the elders of the Jews can rebuild the house of God:

The cost is to be paid in full to these men out of the royal revenues from the taxes of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that the work will not stop.

Whatever is commanded by the God of the heavens must be done diligently for the house of the God of the heavens, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons.

And you, Ezra, according to[fn] God’s wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know them.

and declared:

May the name of God

be praised forever and ever,

for wisdom and power belong to him.

“But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:

“Your Majesty, as you were watching, suddenly a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying.

“As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it,[fn] struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.

“A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others.[fn]

“You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it,[fn] and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”

“But even if he does not rescue us,[fn] we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.

“In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:

There was a tree in the middle of the earth,

and it was very tall.

“As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one,[fn] coming down from heaven.

“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.

“Therefore, may my advice seem good to you my king. Separate yourself from your sins by doing what is right, and from your injustices by showing mercy to the needy. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

At the end of twelve months, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon,

Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts and give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him.

“Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted.

Then Belshazzar gave an order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Darius decided[fn] to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, stationed throughout the realm,

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

As soon as the king heard this, he was very displeased; he set his mind on rescuing Daniel and made every effort until sundown to deliver him.

“I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:

For he is the living God,

and he endures forever;

his kingdom will never be destroyed,

and his dominion has no end.

Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea.

“The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.

“After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.

“I watched, then, because of the sound of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued watching, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire.