Chapter XXXI: Part 31

43:6. And I heard one speaking to me out of the house, and the man that stood by me,

43:7. Said to me: Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever: and the house of Israel shall no more profane my holy name, they and their kings by their fornications, and by the carcasses of their kings, and by the high places.

43:8. They who have set their threshold by my threshold, and their posts by my posts: and there was but a wall between me, and them: and they profaned my holy name by the abominations which they committed: for which reason I consumed them in my wrath.

43:9. Now therefore let them put away their fornications, and the carcasses of their kings far from me: and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.

43:10. But thou, son of man, shew to the house of Israel the temple, and let them be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the building:

43:11. And be ashamed of all that they have done. Shew them the form of the house, and of the fashion thereof, the goings out and the comings in, and the whole plan thereof, and all its ordinances, and all its order, and all its laws, and thou shalt write it in their sight: that they may keep the whole form thereof, and its ordinances, and do them.

43:12. This is the law of the house upon the top of the mountain: All its border round about; most holy: this then is the law of the house.

43:13. And these are the measures of the altar by the truest cubit, which is a cubit and a handbreadth: the bottom thereof was a cubit, and the breadth a cubit: and the border thereof unto its edge, and round about, one handbreadth: and this was the trench of the altar.

43:14. And from the bottom of the ground to the lowest brim two cubits, and the breadth of one cubit: and from the lesser brim to the greater brim four cubits, and the breadth of one cubit.

43:15. And the Ariel itself was four cubits: and from the Ariel upward were four horns.

The Ariel. . .That is, the altar itself, or rather the highest part of it, upon which the burnt offerings were laid. In the Hebrew it is Harel, that is, the mountain of God: but in the following verse Haariel, that is, the lion of God; a figure, from its consuming, and as it were devouring the sacrifices, as a lion devours its prey.

43:16. And the Ariel was twelve cubits long, and twelve cubits broad, foursquare, with equal sides.

43:17. And the brim was fourteen cubits long, and fourteen cubits broad in the four corners thereof: and the crown round about it was half a cubit, and the bottom of it one cubit round about: and its steps turned toward the east.

43:18. And he said to me: Son of man, thus saith the Lord God: These are the ceremonies of the altar, in what day soever it shall be made: that holocausts may be offered upon it, and blood poured out.

43:19. And thou shalt give to the priests, and the Levites, that are of the race of Sadoc, who approach to me, saith the Lord God, to offer to me a calf of the herd for sin.

43:20. And thou shalt take of his blood, and shalt put it upon the four horns thereof, and upon the four corners of the brim, and upon the crown round about: and thou shalt cleanse, and expiate it.

43:21. And thou shalt take the calf, that is offered for sin: and thou shalt burn him in a separate place of the house without the sanctuary.

43:22. And in the second day thou shalt offer a he goat without blemish for sin: and they shall expiate the altar, as they expiated it with the calf.

43:23. And when thou shalt have made an end of the expiation thereof, thou shalt offer a calf of the herd without blemish, and a ram of the flock without blemish.

43:24. And thou shalt offer them in the sight of the Lord, and the priests shall put salt upon them, and shall offer them a holocaust to the Lord.

43:25. Seven days shalt thou offer a he goat for sin daily: they shall offer also a calf of the herd, and a ram of the flock without blemish.

43:26. Seven days shall they expiate the altar, and shall cleanse it: and they shall consecrate it.

Consecrate it. . .Literally, fill its hand, that is, dedicate and apply it to holy service.

43:27. And the days being expired, on the eighth day and thenceforward, the priests shall offer your holocausts upon the altar, and the peace offerings: and I will be pacified towards you, saith the Lord God.

Ezechiel Chapter 44

The east gate of the sanctuary shall be always shut. The uncircumcised shall not enter into the sanctuary: nor the Levites that have served idols: but the sons of Sadoc shall do the priestly functions, who stood firm in the worst of times.

44:1. And he brought me back to the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary, which looked towards the east: and it was shut.

44:2. And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it, and it shall be shut

44:3. For the prince. The prince himself shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord: he shall enter in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.

44:4. And he brought me by the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house: and I saw, and behold the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell on my face.

44:5. And the Lord said to me: Son of man, attend with thy heart and behold with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears, all that I say to thee concerning all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord, and concerning all the laws thereof: and mark well the ways of the temple, with all the goings out of the sanctuary.

44:6. And thou shalt say to the house of Israel that provoketh me: Thus saith the Lord God: Let all your wicked doings suffice you, O house of Israel:

44:7. In that you have brought in strangers uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, and to defile my house: and you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood: and you have broken my covenant by all your wicked doings.

44:8. And you have not kept the ordinances of my sanctuary: but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

44:9. Thus saith the Lord God: No stranger uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, no stranger that is in the midst of the children of Israel.

44:10. Moreover the Levites that went away far from me, when the children of Israel went astray, and have wandered from me after their idols, and have borne their iniquity:

44:11. They shall be officers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers of the gates of the house, and ministers to the house: they shall slay the holocausts, and the victims of the people: and they shall stand in their sight, to minister to them.

44:12. Because they ministered to them before their idols, and were a stumblingblock of iniquity to the house of Israel: therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity:

44:13. And they shall not come near to me, to do the office of priest to me, neither shall they come near to any of my holy things that are by the holy of holies: but they shall bear their shame, and their wickednesses which they have committed.

44:14. And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

44:15. But the priests, and Levites, the sons of Sadoc, who kept the ceremonies of my sanctuary, when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me, to minister to me: and they shall stand before me, to offer me the fat, and the blood, saith the Lord God.

44:16. They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and to keep my ceremonies.

44:17. And when they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments: neither shall any woollen come upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court and within.

44:18. They shall have linen mitres on their heads, and linen breeches on their loins, and they shall not be girded with any thing that causeth sweat.

44:19. And when they shall go forth to the outward court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them up in the store chamber of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments: and they shall not sanctify the people with their vestments.

Shall not sanctify the people with their vestments. . .By exposing them to the danger of touching the sacred vestments, which none were to touch but they that were sanctified.

44:20. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor wear long hair: but they shall only poll their heads.

44:21. And no priest shall drink wine when he is to go into the inner court.

44:22. Neither shall they take to wife a widow, nor one that is divorced, but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel: but they may take a widow also, that is, the widow of a priest.

44:23. And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and profane, and shew them how to discern between clean and unclean.

44:24. And when there shall be a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and shall judge: they shall keep my laws, and my ordinances in all my solemnities, and sanctify my sabbaths.

44:25. And they shall come near no dead person, lest they be defiled, only their father and mother, and son and daughter, and brother and sister, that hath not had another husband: for whom they may become unclean.

44:26. And after one is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

44:27. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, to the inner court, to minister unto me in the sanctuary, he shall offer for his sin, saith the Lord God.

44:28. And they shall have no inheritance, I am their inheritance: neither shall you give them any possession in Israel, for I am their possession.

44:29. They shall eat the victim both for sin and for trespass: and every vowed thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30. And the firstfruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations of all things that are offered, shall be the priest's: and you shall give the firstfruits of your meats to the priest, that he may return a blessing upon thy house.

44:31. The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or caught by a beast, whether it be fowl or cattle.

Ezechiel Chapter 45

Portions of land for the sanctuary, for the city, and for the prince. Ordinances for the prince.

45:1. And when you shall begin to divide the land by lot, separate ye firstfruits to the Lord, a portion of the land to be holy, in length twenty-five thousand and in breadth ten thousand: it shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about.

Twenty-five thousand. . .Viz., reeds or cubits.

45:2. And there shall be for the sanctuary on every side five hundred by five hundred, foursquare round about: and fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof round about.

45:3. And with this measure thou shalt measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand, and in it shall be the temple and the holy of holies.

45:4. The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to the ministry of the Lord: and it shall be a place for their houses, and for the holy place of the sanctuary.

45:5. And five and twenty thousand of length, and ten thousand of breadth shall be for the Levites, that minister in the house: they shall possess twenty store chambers.

45:6. And you shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, according to the separation of the sanctuary, for the whole house of Israel.

45:7. For the prince also on the one side and on the other side, according to the separation of the sanctuary, and according to the possession of the city, over against the separation of the sanctuary, and over against the possession of the city: from the side of the sea even to the sea, and from the side of the east even to the east. And the length according to every part from the west border to the east border.

45:8. He shall have a portion of the land in Israel: and the princes shall no more rob my people: but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes:

45:9. Thus saith the Lord God: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: cease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice, separate your confines from my people, saith the Lord God.

45:10. You shall have just balances, and a just ephi, and a just bate.

45:11. The ephi and the bate shall be equal, and of one measure: that the bate may contain the tenth part of a core, and the ephi the tenth part of a core: their weight shall be equal according to the measure of a core.

The ephi and the bate. . .These measures were of equal capacity, but the bate served for liquids, and the ephi for dry things.

45:12. And the sicle hath twenty obols. Now twenty sicles, and five and twenty sicles, and fifteen sicles, make a mna,

45:13. And these are the firstfruits, which you shall take: the sixth part of an ephi of a core of wheat, and the sixth part of an ephi of a core of barley.

45:14. The measure of oil also, a bate of oil is the tenth part of a core: and ten bates make a core: for ten bates fill a core.

45:15. And one ram out of a flock of two hundred, of those that Israel feedeth for sacrifice, and for holocausts, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, saith the Lord God.

45:16. All the people of the land shall be bound to these firstfruits for the prince in Israel.

45:17. And the prince shall give the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the libations on the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the sabbaths, and on all the solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall offer the sacrifice for sin, and the holocaust, and the peace offerings to make expiation for the house of Israel.

45:18. Thus saith the Lord God: In the first month, the first of the month, thou shalt take a calf of the herd without blemish, and thou shalt expiate the sanctuary.

45:19. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering: and he shall put it on the posts of the house, and on the four corners of the brim of the altar, and oil the posts of the gate of the inner court.

45:20. And so shalt thou do in the seventh day of the month, for every one that hath been ignorant, and hath been deceived by error, and thou shalt make expiation for the house.

45:21. In the first month, the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the solemnity of the pasch: seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten.

45:22. And the prince on that day shall offer for himself, and for all the people of the land, a calf for sin.

45:23. And in the solemnity of the seven days he shall offer for a holocaust to the Lord, seven calves, and seven rams without blemish daily for seven days: and for sin a he goat daily.

45:24. And he shall offer the sacrifice of an ephi for every calf, and an ephi for every ram: and a hin of oil for every ephi.

45:25. In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the solemn feast, he shall do the like for the seven days: as well in regard to the sin offering, as to the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the oil.

Ezechiel Chapter 46

Other ordinances for the prince and for the sacrifices.

46:1. Thus saith the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east, shall be shut the six days, on which work is done; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened, yea and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

46:2. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate from without, and he shall stand at the threshold of the gate: and the priests shall offer his holocaust, and his peace offerings: and he shall adore upon the threshold of the gate, and shall go out: but the gate shall not be shut till the evening.

46:3. And the people of the land shall adore at the door of that gate before the Lord on the sabbaths, and on the new moons.

46:4. And the holocaust that the prince shall offer to the Lord on the sabbath day, shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.

46:5. And the sacrifice of all ephi for a ram: but for the lambs what sacrifice his hand shall allow: and a hin of oil for every ephi.

46:6. And on the day of the new moon a calf of the herd without blemish: and the six lambs, and the rams shall be without blemish.

46:7. And he shall offer in sacrifice an ephi for calf, an ephi also for a ram: but for the lambs, as his hand shall find: and a hin of oil for every ephi.

46:8. And when the prince is to go in, let him go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and let him go out the same way.

46:9. But when the people of the land shall go in before the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that goeth in by the north gate to adore, shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that goeth in by the way of the south gate, shall go out by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go out at that over against it.

46:10. And the prince in the midst of them, shall go in when they go in, and go out when they go out.

46:11. And in the fairs, and in the solemnities there shall be the sacrifice of an ephi to a calf, and an ephi to a ram: and to the lambs, the sacrifice shall be as his hand shall find: and a hin of oil to every ephi.

46:12. But when the prince shall offer a voluntary holocaust, or voluntary peace offering to the Lord: the gate that looketh towards the east shall be opened to him, and he shall offer his holocaust, and his peace offerings, as it is wont to be done on the sabbath day: and he shall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he is gone forth.

46:13. And he shall offer every day for a holocaust to the Lord, a lamb of the same year without blemish: he shall offer it always in the morning.

46:14. And he shall offer the sacrifice for it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephi: and the third part of a hin of oil to be mingled with the fine flour: a sacrifice to the Lord by ordinance continual and everlasting.

46:15. He shall offer the lamb, and the sacrifice, and the oil morning by morning: an everlasting holocaust.

46:16. Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince give a gift to any of his sons: the inheritance of it shall go to his children, they shall possess it by inheritance.

46:17. But if he give a legacy out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the year of release, and it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall go to his sons.

46:18. And the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by violence, nor of their possession: but out of his own possession he shall give an inheritance to his sons: that my people be not dispersed every man from his possession.

46:19. And he brought me in by the entry that was at the side of the gate, into the chambers of the sanctuary that were for the priests, which looked toward the north. And there was a place bending to the west.

46:20. And he said to me: This is the place where the priests shall boil the sin offering, and the trespass offering: where they shall dress the sacrifice, that they may not bring it out into the outward court, and the people be sanctified.

46:21. And he brought me into the outward court, and he led me about by the four corners of the court: and behold there was a little court in the corner of the court, to every corner of the court there was a little court.

46:22. In the four corners of the court were little courts disposed, forty cubits long, and thirty broad, all the four were of one measure.

46:23. And there was a wall round about compassing the four little courts, and there were kitchens built under the rows round about.

46:24. And he said to me: This is the house of the kitchens wherein the ministers of the house of the Lord shall boil the victims of the people.

Ezechiel Chapter 47

The vision of the holy waters issuing out from under the temple: the borders of the land to be divided among the twelve tribes.

47:1. And he brought me again to the gate of the house, and behold waters issued out from under the threshold of the house toward the east: for the forefront of the house looked toward the east: but the waters came down to the right side of the temple to the south part of the altar.

Waters. . .These waters are not to be understood literally (for there were none such that flowed from the temple); but mystically, of the baptism of Christ, and of his doctrine and his grace: the trees that grow on the banks are Christian virtues: the fishes are Christians, that spiritually live in and by these holy waters, the fishermen are the apostles, and apostolic preachers: the fenny places, where there is no health, are such as by being out of the church are separated from these waters of life.

47:2. And he led me out by the way of the north gate, and he caused me to turn to the way without the outward gate to the way that looked toward the east: and behold there ran out waters on the right side.

47:3. And when the man that had the line in his hand went out towards the east, he measured a thousand cubits: and he brought me through the water up to the ankles.

47:4. And again he measured a thousand, and he brought me through the water up to the knees.

47:5. And he measured a thousand, and he brought me through the water up to the loins. And he measured a thousand, and it was a torrent, which I could not pass over: for the waters were risen so as to make a deep torrent, which could not be passed over.

47:6. And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen, O son of man. And he brought me out, and he caused me to turn to the bank of the torrent.

47:7. And when I had turned myself, behold on the bank of the torrent were very many trees on both sides.

47:8. And he said to me: These waters that issue forth toward the hillocks of sand to the east, and go down to the plains of the desert, shall go into the sea, and shall go out, and the waters shall be healed.

47:9. And every living creature that creepeth whithersoever the torrent shall come, shall live: and there shall be fishes in abundance after these waters shall come thither, and they shall be healed, and all things shall live to which the torrent shall come.

47:10. And the fishers shall stand over these waters, from Engaddi even to Engallim there shall be drying of nets: there shall be many sorts of the fishes thereof, as the fishes of the great sea, a very great multitude:

47:11. But on the shore thereof, and in the fenny places they shall not be healed, because they shall be turned into saltpits.

47:12. And by the torrent on the banks thereof on both sides shall grow all trees that bear fruit: their leaf shall not fall off, and their fruit shall not fail: every month shall they bring forth firstfruits, because the waters thereof shall issue out of the sanctuary: and the fruits thereof shall be for food, and the leaves thereof for medicine.

47:13. Thus saith the Lord God: This is the border, by which you shall possess the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: for Joseph hath a double portion.

47:14. And you shall possess it, every man in like manner as his brother: concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for a possession.

47:15. And this is the border of the land: toward the north side, from the great sea by the way of Hethalon, as men go to Sedada,

47:16. Emath, Berotha, Sabarim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Emath the house of Tichon, which is by the border of Auran.

47:17. And the border from the sea even to the court of Enan, shall be the border of Damascus, and from the north to the north: the border of Emath, this is the north side.

47:18. And the east side is from the midst of Auran, and from the midst of Damascus, and from the midst of Galaad, and from the midst of the land of Israel, Jordan making the bound to the east sea, and thus you shall measure the east side.

47:19. And the south side southward is, from Thamar even to the waters of contradiction of Cades: and, the torrent even to the great sea: and this is the south side southward.

47:20. And the side toward the sea, is the great sea from the borders straight on, till thou come to Emath: this is the side of the sea.

47:21. And you shall divide this land unto you by the tribes of Israel:

47:22. And you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you, and to the strangers that shall come over to you, that shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as men of the same country born among the children of Israel: they shall divide the possession with you in the midst of the tribes of Israel.

47:23. And in what tribe soever the stranger shall be, there shall you give him possession, saith the Lord God.

Ezechiel Chapter 48

The portions of the twelve tribes, of the sanctuary, of the city, and of the prince. The dimensions and gates of the city.

48:1. And these are the names of the tribes from the borders of the north, by the way of Hethalon, as they go to Emath, the court of Enan the border of Damascus northward, by the way off Emath. And from the east side thereof to the sea shall be one portion for Dan.

48:2. And by the border of Dan, from the east side even to the side of the sea, one portion for Aser:

48:3. And by the border of Aser, from the east side even to the side of the sea one portion for Nephthali.

48:4. And by the border of Nephthali, from the east side even to the side of the one portion for Manasses.

48:5. And by the border of Manasses, from the east side even to the side of the sea, one portion for Ephraim.

48:6. And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the side of the sea, one portion for Ruben.

48:7. And by the border of Ruben, from the east side even to the side of the sea, one portion for Juda.

48:8. And by the border of Juda, from the east side even to the side of the sea, shall be the firstfruits which you shall set apart, five and twenty thousand in breadth, and length, as every one of the portions from the east side to the side of the sea: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst thereof.

48:9. The firstfruits which you shall set apart for the Lord will be the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand.

48:10. And these shall be the firstfruits of the sanctuary for the priests: toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the sea ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east also ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.

48:11. The sanctuary shall be for the priests of the sons of Sadoc, who kept my ceremonies, and went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites also went astray.

48:12. And for them shall be the firstfruits of the firstfruits of the land holy of holies, by the border of the Levites,

48:13. And the Levites in like manner shall have by the borders of the priests five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth. All the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.

48:14. And they shall not sell thereof, nor exchange, neither shall the firstfruits of the land be alienated, because they are sanctified to the Lord.

48:15. But the five thousand that remain in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city for dwelling, and for suburbs and the city shall be in the midst thereof.

48:16. And these are the measures thereof: on the north side four thousand and five hundred: and on the south side four thousand and five hundred: and on the east side four thousand and five hundred: and on the west side four thousand and five hundred.

48:17. And the suburbs of the city shall be to the north two hundred and fifty, and the south two hundred and fifty, and to the east two hundred and fifty, and to the sea two hundred and fifty.

48:18. And the residue in length by the firstfruits of the sanctuary, ten thousand toward the east, and ten thousand toward the west, shall be as the firstfruits of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for bread to them that serve the city.

48:19. And they that serve the city, shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.

48:20. All the firstfruits, of five and twenty thousand, by five and twenty thousand foursquare, shall be set apart for the firstfruits of the sanctuary, and for the possession of the city.

48:21. And the residue shall be for the prince on every side of the firstfruits of the sanctuary, and of the possession of the city over against the five and twenty thousand of the firstfruits unto the east border: toward the sea also over against the five and twenty thousand, unto the border of the sea, shall likewise be the portion of the prince: and the firstfruits of the sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the midst thereof.

48:22. And from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city which are in the midst of the prince's portions: what shall be to the border of Juda, and to the border of Benjamin, shall also belong to the prince.

48:23. And for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, one portion for Benjamin.

48:24. And over against the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, one portion for Simeon.

48:25. And by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, one portion for Issachar.

48:26. And by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, one portion for Zabulon.

48:27. And by the border of Zabulon, from the east side to the side of the sea, one portion for Gad.

48:28. And by the border of Gad, the south side southward: and the border shall be from Thamar, even to the waters of contradiction of Cades, the inheritance over against the great sea.

48:29. This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel: and these are the portions of them, saith the Lord God.

48:30. And these are the goings out of the city: on the north side thou shalt measure four thousand and five hundred.

48:31. And the gates of the city according to the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates on the north side, the gate of Ruben one, the gate of Juda one, the gate of Levi one.

48:32. And at the east side, four thousand and five hundred: and three gates, the gate of Joseph one, the gate of Benjamin one, the gate of Dan one.

48:33. And at the south side, thou shalt measure four thousand and five hundred: and three gates, the gate of Simeon one, the gate of Issachar one, the gate of Zabulon one.

48:34. And at the west side, four thousand and five hundred, and their three gates, the gate of Gad one, the gate of Aser one, the gate of Nephthali one.

48:35. Its circumference was eighteen thousand: and the name of the city from that day, The Lord is there.

The Lord is there. . . This name is here given to the city, that is, to the church of Christ: because the Lord is always with her till the end of the world. Matt. 28.20.

THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL

DANIEL, whose name signifies THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, was of the royal blood of the kings of Juda: and one of those that were first of all carried away into captivity. He was so renowned for wisdom and knowledge, that it became a proverb among the Babylonians, AS WISE AS DANIEL (Ezech. 28.3). And his holiness was so great from his very childhood, that at the time when he was as yet but a young man, he is joined by the SPIRIT of GOD with NOE and JOB, as three persons most eminent for virtue and sanctity, Ezech. 14. He is not commonly numbered by the Hebrews among THE PROPHETS: because he lived at court, and in high station in the world: but if we consider his many clear predictions of things to come, we shall find that no one better deserves the name and title of A PROPHET: which also has been given him by the SON of GOD himself, Matt. 24, Mark 13., Luke 21.

Daniel Chapter 1

Daniel and his companions are taken into the palace of the king of Babylon: they abstain from his meat and wine, and succeed better with pulse and water. Their excellence and wisdom.

1:1. In the third year of the reign of Joakim, king of Juda, Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and beseiged it.

1:2. And the Lord delivered into his hands Joakim, the king of Juda, and part of the vessels of the house of God: and he carried them away into the land of Sennaar, to the house of his god, and the vessels he brought into the treasure house of his god.

His god. . .Bel or Belus, the principal idol of the Chaldeans.

1:3. And the king spoke to Asphenez, the master of the eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes,

1:4. Children in whom there was no blemish, well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, acute in knowledge, and instructed in science, and such as might stand in the king's palace, that he might teach them the learning, and tongue of the Chaldeans.

1:5. And the king appointed them a daily provision, of his own meat, and of the wine of which he drank himself, that being nourished three years, afterwards they might stand before the king.

1:6. Now there was among them of the children of Juda, Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias.

1:7. And the master of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel, Baltassar: to Ananias, Sidrach: to Misael, Misach: and to Azarias, Abdenago.

1:8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with the king's table, nor with the wine which he drank: and he requested the master of the eunuchs that he might not be defiled.

Be defiled, etc. . .Viz., either by eating meat forbidden by the law, or which had before been offered to idols.

1:9. And God gave to Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.

1:10. And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel: I fear my lord, the king, who hath appointed you meat and drink: who if he should see your faces leaner than those of the other youths, your equals, you shall endanger my head to the king.

1:11. And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias:

1:12. Try, I beseech thee, thy servants for ten days, and let pulse be given us to eat, and water to drink:

Pulse. . .That is, pease, beans, and such like.

1:13. And look upon our faces, and the faces of the children that eat of the king's meat: and as thou shalt see, deal with thy servants.

1:14. And when he had heard these words, he tried them for ten days.

1:15. And after ten days, their faces appeared fairer and fatter than all the children that ate of the king's meat.

1:16. So Malasar took their portions, and the wine that they should drink: and he gave them pulse.

1:17. And to these children God gave knowledge, and understanding in every book, and wisdom: but to Daniel the understanding also of all visions and dreams.

1:18. And when the days were ended, after which the king had ordered they should be brought in: the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nabuchodonosor.

1:19. And when the king had spoken to them, there were not found among them all such as Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias: and they stood in the king's presence.

1:20. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the diviners, and wise men, that were in all his kingdom.

1:21. And Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.

Daniel Chapter 2

Daniel, by divine revelation, declares the dream of Nabuchodonosor, and the interpretation of it. He is highly honoured by the king.

2:1. In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor had a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream went out of his mind.

The second year. . .Viz., from the death of his father Nabopolassar; for he had reigned before as partner with his father in the empire.

2:2. Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise men, and the magicians, and the Chaldeans: to declare to the king his dreams: so they came and stood before the king.

The Chaldeeans. . .That is, the astrologers, that pretended to divine by stars.

2:3. And the king said to them: I saw a dream: and being troubled in mind I know not what I saw.

2:4. And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac: O king, live for ever: tell to thy servants thy dream, and we will declare the interpretation thereof.

2:5. And the king, answering, said to the Chaldeans: The thing is gone out of my mind: unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof, you shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.

2:6. but if you tell the dream, and the meaning of it, you shall receive of me rewards, and gifts, and great honour: therefore, tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

2:7. They answered again and said: Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation of it.

2:8. The king answered and said: I know for certain, that you seek to gain time, since you know that the thing is gone from me.

2:9. If, therefore, you tell me not the dream, there is one sentence concerning you, that you have also framed a lying interpretation, and full of deceit, to speak before me till the time pass away. Tell me, therefore, the dream, that I may know that you also give a true interpretation thereof.

2:10. Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: There is no man upon earth, that can accomplish thy word, O king; neither doth any king, though great and mighty, ask such a thing of any diviner, or wise man, or Chaldean.

2:11. For the thing that thou asketh, O king, is difficult: nor can any one be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.

2:12. Upon hearing this, the king in fury, and in great wrath, commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.

2:13. And the decree being gone forth, the wise men were slain: and Daniel and his companions were sought for, to be put to death.

2:14. Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence, of Arioch, the general of the king's army, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon.

2:15. And he asked him that had received the orders of the king, why so cruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king. And when Arioch had told the matter to Daniel,

2:16. Daniel went in, and desired of the king, that he would give him time to resolve the question, and declare it to the king.

2:17. And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias, his companions:

2:18. To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of heaven, concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

2:19. Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night: and Daniel blessed the God of heaven,

2:20. And speaking, he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from eternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fortitude are his.

2:21. And he changeth times and ages: taketh away kingdoms, and establisheth them: giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding:

2:22. He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in darkness: and light is with him.

2:23. To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee: because thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn me what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king's discourse.

2:24. After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will tell the solution to the king.

2:25. Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king, and said to him: I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda, that will resolve the question to the king.

2:26. The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltassar: Thinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw, and the interpretation thereof?

2:27. And Daniel made answer before the king, and said: The secret that the king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or the diviners, or the soothsayers, can declare to the king.

2:28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth mysteries, who hath shewn to thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, what is to come to pass in the latter times. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

2:29. Thou, O king, didst begin to think in thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what shall come to pass.

2:30. To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have more than all men alive: but that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thought of thy mind.

2:31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great statue: this statue, which was great and high, tall of stature, stood before thee, and the look thereof was terrible.

2:32. The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass.

2:33. And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.

2:34. Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

2:35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's threshing floor, and they were carried away by the wind: and there was no place found for them: but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

2:36. This is the dream: we will also tell the interpretation thereof before thee, O king.

2:37. Thou art a king of kings: and the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power, and glory:

2:38. And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the field do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand, and hath put all things under thy power: thou, therefore, art the head of gold.

2:39. And after thee shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to thee, of silver: and another third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over all the world.

Another kingdom. . .Viz., that of the Medes and Persians. Ibid. Third kingdom. . .Viz., that of Alexander the Great.

2:40. And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into pieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break, and destroy all these.

The fourth kingdom, etc. . .Some understand this of the successors of Alexander, the kings of Syria and Egypt, others of the Roman empire, and its civil wars.

2:41. And whereas thou sawest the feet, and the toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron: the kingdom shall be divided, but yet it shall take its origin from the iron, according as thou sawest the iron mixed with the miry clay.

2:42. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay: the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

2:43. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall be mingled indeed together with the seed of man, but they shall not stick fast one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.

2:44. But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never by destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people: and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms: and itself shall stand for ever.

A kingdom. . .Viz., the kingdom of Christ in the Catholic Church which cannot be destroyed.

2:45. According as thou sawest, that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and broke in pieces the clay and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God hath shewn the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof is faithful.

2:46. Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and incense.

2:47. And the king spoke to Daniel, and said: Verily, your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of hidden things: seeing thou couldst discover this secret.

2:48. Then the king advanced Daniel to a high station, and gave him many and great gifts: and he made him governor over all the provinces of Babylon: and chief of the magistrates over all the wise men of Babylon.

2:49. And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, over the works of the province of Babylon: but Daniel himself was in the king's palace.

Daniel Chapter 3

Nabuchodonosor set up a golden statue; which he commands all to adore: the three children for refusing to do it are cast into the fiery furnace; but are not hurt by the flames. Their prayer and canticle of praise.

3:1. King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high, and six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, of the province of Babylon.

3:2. Then Nabuchodonosor, the king, sent to call together the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains, the rulers, and governors, and all the chief men of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.

3:3. Then the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains, and rulers, and the great men that were placed in authority, and all the princes of the provinces, were gathered together to come to the dedication of the statue, which king Nabuchodonosor had set up. And they stood before the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.

3:4. Then a herald cried with a strong voice: To you it is commanded, O nations, tribes and languages:

3:5. That in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and of the flute, and of the harp, of the sackbut, and of the psaltery, and of the symphony, and of all kind of music, ye fall down and adore the golden statue which king Nabuchodonosor hath set up.

3:6. But if any man shall not fall down and adore, he shall the same hour be cast into a furnace of burning fire.

3:7. Upon this, therefore, at the time when all the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, all the nations, tribes, and languages fell down and adored the golden statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.

3:8. And presently at that very time some Chaldeans came and accused the Jews,

3:9. And said to king Nabuchodonosor: O king, live for ever:

3:10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, shall prostrate himself, and adore the golden statue:

3:11. And that if any man shall not fall down and adore, he should be cast into a furnace of burning fire.

3:12. Now there are certain Jews, whom thou hast set over the works of the province of Babylon, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago: these men, O king, have slighted thy decree: they worship not thy gods, nor do they adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.

3:13. Then Nabuchodonosor in fury, and in wrath, commanded that Sidrach, Misach, ad Abdenago should be brought: who immediately were brought before the king.