Lexicon :: Strong's H4481 - min

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.

that a search should be made in your predecessors’ record books. In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

I issued a decree and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has had uprisings against kings since ancient times, and there have been rebellions and revolts in it.

Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me.

As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’s letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.

But since our ancestors angered the God of the heavens, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon. He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.

Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God’s house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction from that time until now, but it has not been completed.

with three layers of cut[fn] stones and one of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.[fn]

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.

I also issue a decree concerning any man who interferes with this directive:

Let a beam be torn from his house and raised up; he will be impaled on it, and his house will be made into a garbage dump because of this offense.

So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

I issue a decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites, who want to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.

You may use the royal treasury[fn] to pay for anything else needed for the house of your God.

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.

Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let the appropriate judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

You are to say this to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”[fn]

The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb,[fn] and your houses will be made a garbage dump.

The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final.

He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh? ”[fn] Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.

and declared:

May the name of God

be praised forever and ever,

for wisdom and power belong to him.

I offer thanks and praise to you,

God of my ancestors,

because you have given me

wisdom and power.

And now you have let me know

what we asked of you,

for you have let us know

the king’s mystery.[fn]

Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles who can let the king know the interpretation.”

“As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

“its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.

“Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth.

“You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron ​— ​it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,

The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

“Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire ​— ​and who is the god who can rescue you from my power? ”

“If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can[fn] rescue us from the power of you, the king.

Since the king’s command was so urgent[fn] and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames[fn] killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God ​— ​come out! ” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.

“Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”

So I issued a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon to me in order that they might make the dream’s interpretation known to me.

“Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,

and on it was food for all.

Wild animals found shelter under it,

the birds of the sky lived in its branches,

and every creature was fed from it.

“Let his mind be changed from that of a human,

and let him be given the mind of an animal

for seven periods of time.[fn][fn]

“The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.’