Study Desk

Distribute the land as an allotment for yourselves and for the foreigners who have joined you and are raising their families among you. They will be like native-born Israelites to you and will receive an allotment among the tribes.

"South of Judah is the land set aside for a special purpose. It will be 8 1⁄3 miles wide and will extend as far east and west as the tribal territories, with the Temple at the center.

"The area set aside for the Lord 's Temple will be 8 1⁄3 miles long and 6 2⁄3 miles wide.

For the priests there will be a strip of land measuring 8 1⁄3 miles long by 3 1⁄3 miles wide, with the Lord 's Temple at the center.

This area is set aside for the ordained priests, the descendants of Zadok who served me faithfully and did not go astray with the people of Israel and the rest of the Levites.

None of this special land may ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the Lord ; it is set apart as holy.

"An additional strip of land 8 1⁄3 miles long by 1 2⁄3 miles wide, south of the sacred Temple area, will be allotted for public use—homes, pasturelands, and common lands, with a city at the center.

Open lands will surround the city for 150 yards in every direction.

Outside the city there will be a farming area that stretches 3 1⁄3 miles to the east and 3 1⁄3 miles to the west along the border of the sacred area. This farmland will produce food for the people working in the city.

So the prince's land will include everything between the territories allotted to Judah and Benjamin, except for the areas set aside for the sacred lands and the city.

"These are the allotments that will be set aside for each tribe's exclusive possession. I, the Sovereign Lord , have spoken!

there will be three gates, each one named after a tribe of Israel. The first will be named for Reuben, the second for Judah, and the third for Levi.

On the east wall, also 1 1⁄2 miles long, the gates will be named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.

The south wall, also 1 1⁄2 miles long, will have gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.

And on the west wall, also 1 1⁄2 miles long, the gates will be named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.

The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.

But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.

Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.

"Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water," Daniel said.

The attendant agreed to Daniel's suggestion and tested them for ten days.