⁴¹ The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal,^(A) and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.^(B)

Balaam’s First Message

23 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams^(C) for me.” ² Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.^(D)

³ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me.^(E) Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

⁴ God met with him,^(F) and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

⁵ The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth^(G) and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”^(H)

⁶ So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.^{(I) 7} Then Balaam^(J) spoke his message:^(K)

¹¹ Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies,^(V) but you have done nothing but bless them!”^(W)

¹² He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”^(X)

The King’s Overseers

²⁵ Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers.

²⁶ Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the workers who farmed the land.

²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.

Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²⁸ Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig^(A) trees in the western foothills.

Joash was in charge of the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon.^(B)

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite^(C) was in charge of the flocks.

All these were the officials in charge of King David’s property.

³² Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king’s sons.

³³ Ahithophel^(D) was the king’s counselor.

Hushai^(E) the Arkite was the king’s confidant. ³⁴ Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.^(F)

Joab^(G) was the commander of the royal army.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch,^(A) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles^(B) from Judah^(C) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),^(D) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,^{(E) 28} but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.^(F) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.^(G) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind^(H) as you were lying in bed^(I) are these:^(J)

²⁹ “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.^{(K) 30} As for me, this mystery has been revealed^(L) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,^(M) awesome^(N) in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.^(O) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed^(P) them.^{(Q) 35} Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away^(R) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain^(S) and filled the whole earth.^(T)

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.^{(U) 37} Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.^(V) The God of heaven has given you dominion^(W) and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.^(X) You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.^{(Y) 40} Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.^{(Z) 41} Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush^(AA) all those kingdoms^(AB) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.^{(AC) 45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock^(AD) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands^(AE)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.^(AF) The dream is true^(AG) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

Jesus Has Risen^(A)

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared^(B) and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.^{(C) 4} While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning^(D) stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:^{(E) 7} ‘The Son of Man^(F) must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”^{(G) 8} Then they remembered his words.^(H)

⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them^(I) who told this to the apostles.^{(J) 11} But they did not believe^(K) the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves,^(L) and he went away,^(M) wondering to himself what had happened.

Final Instructions

¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard^(A) among you, who care for you in the Lord^(B) and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.^{(C) 14} And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle^(D) and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak,^(E) be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong,^(F) but always strive to do what is good for each other^(G) and for everyone else.

¹⁶ Rejoice always,^{(H) 17} pray continually,^{(I) 18} give thanks in all circumstances;^(J) for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.^{(K) 20} Do not treat prophecies^(L) with contempt ²¹ but test them all;^(M) hold on to what is good,^{(N) 22} reject every kind of evil.

²³ May God himself, the God of peace,^(O) sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul^(P) and body be kept blameless^(Q) at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.^{(R) 24} The one who calls^(S) you is faithful,^(T) and he will do it.^(U)

²⁵ Brothers and sisters, pray for us.^{(V) 26} Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.^{(W) 27} I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.^(X)

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.^(Y)