I have commanded My consecrated ones; I have also called My mighty ones for My anger, those who rejoice in My majesty.

who says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd, and shall do all My pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, Your foundation shall be laid.

And Jehovah said to him: Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have come there, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.

And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant. And I have also given him the beasts of the field to serve him.

For I, Jehovah your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not; I will help you.

I, Jehovah, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You, and give You as a covenant to the people, as a Light to the nations;

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have held me by my right hand.

Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has not been bound up for healing, nor a bandage set to bind it, to make it strong to hold a sword.

I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and disperse them throughout the earth.

Who raised up the righteous one from the east, called him to His foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow?

I have raised up one from the north and he shall come; from the sunrise he shall call upon My name. And he shall come against rulers as in a mortar, and as the potter tramples clay.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the Word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

For out of the north a nation comes up against her, which shall make her land a waste, and no one shall dwell in it. They shall flee, they shall depart, both man and beast.

A sword is upon the Chaldeans, says Jehovah, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her rulers, and upon her wise men.

Polish the arrows; gather the shields. Jehovah has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of His temple.

You are My battle-ax and weapons of war; for with you I will shatter nations; and with you I will destroy kingdoms.

Also with you I will shatter man and woman; and with you I will shatter old and young; and with you I will shatter the young man and the maiden.

And I will recompense unto Babylon, and unto all the inhabitants of Chaldea, all the evil that they have done in Zion in your eyes, says Jehovah.

Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins shook, and his knees knocked one against the other.

PERES: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was killed.

And, behold, another beast, a second, like a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth. And they said this to it, Rise up, devour much flesh.

Then I lifted up my eyes and looked. And behold, a ram was standing before the river, having horns. And the horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be melted.