Thou {art} my battle axe {and} weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; {with thee: or, in thee, or, by thee}

That saith of Cyrus, {He is} my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Nevertheless I {am} continually with thee: thou hast holden {me} by my right hand.

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and {put it} also in writing, saying, {made...: Heb. caused a voice to pass}

I {am} the LORD, and {there is} none else, {there is} no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device {is} against Babylon, to destroy it; because it {is} the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. {bright: Heb. pure}

A sword {is} upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise {men}.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and {it had} three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. {it raised...: or, it raised up one dominion}

Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. {countenance: Chaldee, brightnesses} {was changed: Chaldee, changed it} {joints: or, girdles: Chaldee, bindings, or, knots}

He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. {weakeneth...: or, looseth the girdle of the strong}

The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. {dissolved: or, molten}

I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, {even} them that rejoice in my highness.

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

And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael {to be} king over Syria:

Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

Who raised up the righteous {man} from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made {him} rule over kings? he gave {them} as the dust to his sword, {and} as driven stubble to his bow. {the righteous...: Heb. righteousness}

For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had {two} horns: and the {two} horns {were} high; but one {was} higher than the other, and the higher came up last. {the other: Heb. the second}

I have raised up {one} from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as {upon} morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Behold, God will not cast away a perfect {man}, neither will he help the evil doers: {help...: Heb. take the ungodly by the hand} {come: Heb. shall not be}

For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

That saith of Cyrus, {He is} my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

Who raised up the righteous {man} from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made {him} rule over kings? he gave {them} as the dust to his sword, {and} as driven stubble to his bow. {the righteous...: Heb. righteousness}

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

I, {even} I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, {then} shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for {such} a time as this? {enlargement: Heb. respiration}

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary. {The broad...: or, The walls of broad Babylon} {broken: or, made naked}

PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael {to be} king over Syria:

The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in {their} holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

{There is} none to guide her among all the sons {whom} she hath brought forth; neither {is there any} that taketh her by the hand of all the sons {that} she hath brought up.

The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. {dissolved: or, molten}

And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, {that} then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.

Behold, thy people in the midst of thee {are} women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

I have given him the land of Egypt {for} his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD. {for his...: or, for his hire}

And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded {man}.

Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, {yet} from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither {was there any} that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, {that} thou do as occasion serve thee; for God {is} with thee. {And...: Heb. And it shall come to pass, that when these signs, etc} {that...: Heb. do for thee as thine hand shall find}

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows {shall be} as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. {expert...: or, destroyer}

{It is he} that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. {salvation: or, victory}

None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. {tread...: Heb. lay them a treading}

The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. {like...: Heb. the likeness of}

Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, {and} anoint the shield.

And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, {even} over Israel.

And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it. {How...: Heb. How canst thou}

Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom {there were} seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women.

Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device {is} against Babylon, to destroy it; because it {is} the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. {bright: Heb. pure}