Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

1 ^(A)After the death of Ahab, Moab ^(B)rebelled against Israel.

² Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of ^(C)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^(D)whether I shall recover from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah ^(E)the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of ^(F)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? ⁴ Now therefore thus says the Lord, ^(G)You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

⁵ The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” ⁶ And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of ^(H)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” ⁷ He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” ⁸ They answered him, ^(I)“He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, ^(J)“O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ^(K)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹¹ Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king's order, ‘Come down quickly!’” ¹² But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, ^(L)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³ Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, ^(M)be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” ¹⁵ Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king ¹⁶ and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of ^(N)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

¹⁷ So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place ^(O)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. ¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Greeting

1 ^(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

^3 (B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore ^(C)we ourselves boast about you ^(D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ^(E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵ This is ^(F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be ^(G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it ^(H)just ^(I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant ^(J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(L)with his mighty angels ^8 (M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(N)who do not know God and on those who ^(O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of ^(P)eternal destruction, ^(Q)away from^[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ^10 (R)when he comes on ^(S)that day ^(T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(U)testimony to you ^(V)was believed. ¹¹ To this end we ^(W)always pray for you, that our God may ^(X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ^(Y)work of faith by his power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus ^(Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Handwriting on the Wall

5 ^(A)King Belshazzar ^(B)made a great feast for a thousand of his ^(C)lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

^2 (D)Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^(E)the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought in ^(F)the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine and ^(G)praised the ^(H)gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

^5 (I)Immediately ^(J)the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw ^(K)the hand as it wrote. ^6 (L)Then the king's color changed, ^(M)and his thoughts alarmed him; ^(N)his limbs gave way, and ^(O)his knees knocked together. ^7 (P)The king called loudly to bring in ^(Q)the enchanters, the ^(R)Chaldeans, and ^(S)the astrologers. The king declared^[b] to the wise men of Babylon, ^(T)“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and ^(U)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but ^(V)they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(W)alarmed, and his ^(X)color changed, and his ^(Y)lords were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen,^[c] because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, ^(Z)“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you ^(AA)or your color change. ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom ^(AB)in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.^[d] In the days of your father, ^(AC)light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—^(AD)made him chief of the magicians, ^(AE)enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, ^12 (AF)because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and ^(AG)understanding ^(AH)to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and ^(AI)solve problems were found in this Daniel, ^(AJ)whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ^(AK)the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴ I have heard of you that ^(AL)the spirit of the gods^[e] is in you, and that ^(AM)light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now ^(AN)the wise men, the ^(AO)enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^(AP)they could not show the interpretation of the matter. ^16 (AQ)But I have heard that you can give interpretations and ^(AR)solve problems. ^(AS)Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^(AT)you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and ^(AU)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^(AV)“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the ^(AW)Most High God ^(AX)gave ^(AY)Nebuchadnezzar your father ^(AZ)kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^(BA)all peoples, nations, and languages ^(BB)trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. ²⁰ But ^(BC)when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^(BD)he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. ^21 (BE)He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^(BF)until he knew that the ^(BG)Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. ²² And you his son,^{[f] (BH)}Belshazzar, ^(BI)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³ but you have lifted up yourself against ^(BJ)the Lord of heaven. And ^(BK)the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^(BL)And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^(BM)but the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^(BN)whose are all your ways, ^(BO)you have not honored.

²⁴ “Then from his presence ^(BP)the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered^[g] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ Tekel, ^(BQ)you have been weighed^[h] in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^(BR)the Medes and ^(BS)Persians.”^[i]

²⁹ Then ^(BT)Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^(BU)was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

^30 (BV)That very night ^(BW)Belshazzar the ^(BX)Chaldean king was killed. ^31 [j] And ^(BY)Darius ^(BZ)the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Sit at My Right Hand

A Psalm of David.

Great Are the Lord's Works