¹ I Perserkongen Kyros tredje regeringsår modtog Daniel, som havde fået Navnet Beltsazzar, en Åbenbaring; og Ordet er Sandhed og varsler om stor Trængsel. Og han mærkede sig Ordet og agtede på Synet.

² På den Tid holdt jeg, Daniel. Sorg i hele tre Uger.

³ Lækre Spiser nød jeg ikke, Kød og Vin kom ikke i min Mund, og jeg salvede mig ikke, før hele tre Uger var gået.

⁴ Men på den fire og tyvende Dag i den første Måned var jeg ved Bredden af den store Flod, det er Hiddekel.

⁵ Og jeg løftede Øjnene og skuede, og se, der var en Mand, som var iført linnede Klæder og havde et Bælte af fint Ofirguld om Hofterne.

⁶ Hans Legeme var som Krysolit, hans Ansigt strålede som Lynet, hans Øjne var som Ildsluer, hans Arme og Ben som blankt Kobber og hans øst som en larmende Hob.

⁷ Jeg, Daniel, var den eneste, der så Synet; de Mænd, som var hos mig, så det ikke; men stor ædsel faldt over dem, og de flygtede og gemte sig,

⁸ så jeg blev ene tilbage. Da jeg så dette vældige Syn, blev der ikke Kraft tilbage i mig, og mit Ansigt skiftede Farve og blev ligblegt, og jeg havde ingen Kræfter mere.

⁹ Da hørte jeg ham tale, og som jeg hørte det, faldt jeg, bedøvet om med Ansigtet imod Jorden.

¹⁰ Og se, en Hånd rørte ved mig og fik mig skælvende op på mine Knæ og Hænder.

¹¹ Og han sagde til mig: "Daniel, du højt elskede Mand, mærk dig de Ord, jeg taler til dig, og rejs dig op, thi nu er jeg sendt til dig,!" Og da han talede således til mig, rejste jeg mig skælvende.

¹² Så sagde han til mig: "Frygt ikke, Daniel, thi straks den første Dag du gav dit Hjerte hen til at søge indsigt og ydmyge dig for din Guds Åsyn, blev dine Ord hørt, og jeg er kommet for dine Ords Skyld.

¹³ Perserrigets Fyrste stod mig imod i een og tyve Dage, men se, da kom Mikael, en af de ypperste Fyrster, mig til Hjælp; ham lod jeg blive der hos Perserkongernes Fyrste;

¹⁴ og nu er jeg kommet for at lade dig vide, hvad der skal times dit Folk i de sidste Dage; thi atter er der en Åbenbaring om de Dage."

¹⁵ Medens han talede således til mig, bøjede jeg målløs Ansigtet mod Jorden.

¹⁶ Og se, noget, der så ud som en Menneskehånd, rørte ved mine Læber, og jeg åbnede min Mund og talte således til ham, som stod for mig: "Herre, ved Synet overvældedes jeg af Smerter og har ikke flere kræfter.

¹⁷ Og hvor kan jeg, min Herres ringe Træl, tale til dig, høje Herre? Af ædsel har jeg mistet min Kraft, og der er ikke Vejr tilbage i mig!"

¹⁸ Så rørte atter en som et Menneske at se til ved mig og styrkede mig;

¹⁹ og han sagde: "Frygt ikke, du højt elskede Mand! Fred være med dig, vær trøstig og ved godt Mod!" Og som han talede med mig, følte jeg mig styrket og sagde: "Tal, Herre, thi du har styrket mig!"

²⁰ Da sagde han: "Ved du, hvorfor jeg kom til dig? Jeg må nu straks vende tilbage for at kæmpe med Persiens Fyrste, og så snart jeg er færdig dermed, se, da kommer Grækenlands Fyrste.

²¹ Og ikke een hjælper mig imod dem undtagen Mikael, eders Fyrste,

⁹ Hamret Sølv, indført fra Tarsis, og Guld fra Ofir, et Værk af en Håndværker og Guldsmedens Hænder! De er klædt i violet og rødt Purpur; et Værk af kunstsnilde Folk er de alle.

¹ Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.

² Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.

³ It was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

⁴ The glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.

⁵ The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house.

⁶ I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me.

⁷ He said to me, Son of man, [this is] the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their prostitution, and by the dead bodies of their kings [in] their high places;

⁸ in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their doorpost beside my doorpost, and there was [but] the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.

⁹ Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.

¹⁰ You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.

¹¹ If they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its exits, and its entrances, and all its forms, and all its ordinances, and all its forms, and all its laws; and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.

¹² This is the law of the house: on the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

¹³ These are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border around its edge a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.

¹⁴ From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.

¹⁵ The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.

¹⁶ The altar hearth shall be twelve [cubits] long by twelve broad, square in the four sides of it.

¹⁷ The ledge shall be fourteen [cubits] long by fourteen broad in the four sides of it; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east.

¹⁸ He said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.

¹⁹ You shall give to the priests the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me, says the Lord Yahweh, a young bull for a sin offering.

²⁰ You shall take of its blood, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around: thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.

²¹ You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.

²² On the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bull.

²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

²⁴ You shall bring them near to Yahweh, and the priests shall cast salt on them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to Yahweh.

²⁵ Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bull, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.

²⁶ Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.

²⁷ When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord Yahweh.