3 dOur God is in the heavens;
ehe does all that he pleases.
26 And xhe made from one man every nation of mankind to live yon all the face of the earth, zhaving determined allotted periods and athe boundaries of their dwelling place,
19 The Lord has cestablished his throne in the heavens,
and his dkingdom rules over all.
21 mHe changes times and seasons;
nhe removes kings and sets up kings;
ohe gives wisdom to the wise
oand knowledge to those who have understanding;
17 The sentence is by the decree of fthe watchers, the decision by the word of gthe holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High mrules the kingdom of men nand gives it to whom he will and osets over it the lowliest of men.’
Nebuchadnezzar Restored
34 nAt the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and omy reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored phim who lives forever,
qfor his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and qhis kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35 rall the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and she does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
tand none can stay his hand
or usay to him, “What have you done?”
12 qWho has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 rWho has measured1 the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
sWho taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted tas the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up uthe coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are vits beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 wAll the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
13 l“With God1 are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he mshuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he nwithholds the waters, they dry up;
if he osends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and psound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads qcounselors away stripped,
and rjudges he makes fools.
18 He slooses the bonds of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted
tand takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He upours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He vuncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings wdeep darkness to light.
23 He xmakes nations great, and he destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and yleads them away.
Submission to the Authorities
1 Let every person pbe subject to the governing authorities. For qthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you rwill receive his approval, 4 for she is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, tan avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also ufor the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 vPay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
6 uFor to us a child is born,
to us va son is given;
wand the government shall be xupon1 his shoulder,
and his name shall be called2
Wonderful yCounselor, zMighty God,
aEverlasting bFather, Prince of cPeace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
dthere will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
ewith justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
fThe zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The Son of Man Is Given Dominion
13 “I saw in the night visions,
and obehold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the cAncient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 pAnd to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all qpeoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
rhis dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.