At their feasts there are lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine. Yet, they don’t pay attention to what the Lord is doing or see what his hands have done.
No one is wise enough to understand this. To whom has the Lord revealed this so that they can explain it? The land dies; it has been ruined like the desert so that no one can travel through it.
If they want to brag, they should brag that they understand and know me. They should brag that I, the Lord, act out of love, righteousness, and justice on the earth. This kind of bragging pleases me, declares the Lord.
He told me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. God has heard everything that you said ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in front of your God so that you could learn to understand things. I have come in response to your prayer.
Many will be purified, made white, and refined. But wicked people will do wicked things, and none of them will understand. Only wise people will understand.
Wise people will understand these things. A person with insight will recognize them. The Lord’s ways are right. Righteous people live by them. Rebellious people stumble over them.