Belshazzar’s Feast

5 Belshazzar the king ^[a]held a great ^(A)feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. ^2 [b]While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring the gold and silver ^(B)vessels which his ^[c]father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink out of them. ³ Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank out of them. ⁴ They ^(C)drank the wine and praised the gods of ^(D)gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵ Suddenly the fingers of a human hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. ⁶ Then the king’s ^[d](E)face became pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his ^(F)hip joints ^[e]loosened and his ^(G)knees began knocking together. ⁷ The king called aloud to bring in the ^(H)sorcerers, the ^[f]Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king began speaking and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Anyone who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be ^(I)clothed with purple and have a ^(J)necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as ^(K)third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but ^(L)they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(M)alarmed, his ^[g](N)face grew even more pale, and his nobles were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen entered the banquet ^[h]hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen began to speak and said, “^(O)O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your ^[i]face be pale. ¹¹ There is a ^(P)man in your kingdom in whom is ^[j]a ^(Q)spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father ^[k](R)the king—appointed him chief of the soothsayer priests, sorcerers, Chaldeans, and diviners. ¹² This was because an ^(S)extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of riddles, and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named ^(T)Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the ^[l](U)exiles from Judah, whom my father the king ^(V)brought from Judah? ¹⁴ Now I have heard about you that ^[m]a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. ¹⁵ Just now the ^(W)wise men and the sorcerers were brought in before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they ^(X)could not declare the interpretation of the ^[n]message. ¹⁶ But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its ^(Y)interpretation known to me, you will be ^(Z)clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel replied and said before the king, “^[o]Keep your ^(AA)gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. ^18 [p]O king, the ^(AB)Most High God ^(AC)granted ^[q]sovereignty, ^(AD)greatness, honor, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. ¹⁹ Now because of the greatness which He granted him, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[r]languages trembled and feared in his presence; ^(AE)whomever he wished, he killed, and whomever he wished, he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart ^[s]was ^(AF)arrogant and his spirit became so ^[t](AG)overbearing that he behaved presumptuously, he was ^(AH)deposed from his royal throne, and his dignity was taken away from him. ²¹ He was also ^(AI)driven away from ^[u]mankind, and his heart was made like that of animals, and his dwelling place was with the ^(AJ)wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he recognized that the ^(AK)Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. ²² Yet you, his ^[v]son, Belshazzar, have ^(AL)not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, ²³ but you have ^(AM)risen up against the ^(AN)Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the ^(AO)gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God ^(AP)in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ^(AQ)ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the ^[w](AR)hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

²⁵ “Now this is the inscription that was written:

²⁶ This is the interpretation of the ^[ab]message: ‘Menē’—God has numbered your kingdom and ^(AS)put an end to it. ²⁷ ‘Tekēl’—you have been ^(AT)weighed on the scales and found deficient. ²⁸ ‘^[ac]Perēs’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the ^(AU)Medes and ^[ad]Persians.”

²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they ^(AV)clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ That same night ^(AW)Belshazzar the Chaldean king was ^(AX)killed. ^31 [ae]So ^(AY)Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.

The Appearance of False Prophets

2 But ^(A)false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be ^(B)false teachers ^(C)among you, who will ^(D)secretly introduce ^(E)destructive heresies, even ^(F)denying the ^(G)Master who ^(H)bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their ^(I)indecent behavior, and because of them ^(J)the way of the truth will be ^(K)maligned; ³ and in their ^(L)greed they will ^(M)exploit you with ^(N)false words; ^(O)their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For ^(P)if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into ^[a]hell and ^(Q)committed them to ^[b]pits of darkness, held for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare ^(R)the ancient world, but protected ^(S)Noah, a ^[c]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a ^(T)flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if He ^(U)condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an ^(V)example ^[d]of what is coming for the ^(W)ungodly; ⁷ and if He ^(X)rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the ^(Y)perverted conduct of ^[e](Z)unscrupulous people ⁸ (for by what he saw and heard that ^(AA)righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), ^9 (AB)then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from ^[f]a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the ^(AC)day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who ^[g](AD)indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion, and ^(AE)despise ^[h]authority.

^[i]Reckless, ^(AF)self-centered, they ^(AG)speak abusively of angelic ^[j]majesties without trembling, ^11 (AH)whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a demeaning judgment against them before the Lord. ¹² But ^(AI)these, like unreasoning animals, ^(AJ)born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, using abusive speech where they have no knowledge, will in ^[k]the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong as ^(AK)the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to ^(AL)revel in the ^(AM)daytime. They are stains and blemishes, ^(AN)reveling in their ^[l]deceptions as they ^(AO)feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery ^[m]that never cease from sin, ^(AP)enticing ^(AQ)unstable souls, having hearts trained in ^(AR)greed, ^(AS)accursed children; ¹⁵ abandoning ^(AT)the right way, they have gone astray, having followed ^(AU)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(AV)the ^[n]reward of unrighteousness; ¹⁶ but he received a rebuke for his own offense, ^(AW)for a mute donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the insanity of the prophet.

¹⁷ These are ^(AX)springs without water and mists driven by a storm, ^(AY)for whom the ^[o]black darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, while speaking out ^(AZ)arrogant words of no ^(BA)value they ^(BB)entice by fleshly desires, by ^(BC)indecent behavior, those who barely ^(BD)escape from the ones who live in error, ¹⁹ promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for ^(BE)by what anyone is overcome, by this he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have ^(BF)escaped the defilements of the world by ^(BG)the knowledge of the ^(BH)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again ^(BI)entangled in them and are overcome, ^(BJ)the last state has become worse for them than the first. ^21 (BK)For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from ^(BL)the holy commandment ^(BM)handed on to them. ^22 [p]It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “^(BN)A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

Samekh

Ayin