Lexicon :: Strong's H5922 - ʿal

Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:

This is the text of the letter they sent to him:

To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men from the region west of the Euphrates River:

Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king,[fn] and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king

The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River:

Greetings.

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

But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them,

At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? ”[fn]

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.

Cyrus told him, “Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.”

So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives[fn] in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king’s decision regarding this matter be sent to us.

Leave the construction of the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site.

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.

For the dedication of God’s house they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, as well as twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel ​— ​one for each Israelite tribe.

You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your possession.

Then you are to be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.

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.

The Chaldeans answered the king, “No one on earth can make known what the king requests. Consequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, medium, or Chaldean.

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.

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

“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:

“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.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell facedown, worshiped Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him.

Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

“There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men have ignored you, the king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary,

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel[fn] and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

“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.

“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.’