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.

Daniel and the Lions' Den

6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom ^(CA)120 ^(CB)satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; ² and over them ^(CC)three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these ^(CD)satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel became ^(CE)distinguished above all ^(CF)the other high officials and ^(CG)satraps, because ^(CH)an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned ^(CI)to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ Then ^(CJ)the high officials and ^(CK)the satraps ^(CL)sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, ^(CM)but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, ^(CN)and no error or fault was found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

⁶ Then these ^(CO)high officials and ^(CP)satraps came by agreement^[k] to the king and said to him, “O ^(CQ)King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the ^(CR)high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the ^(CS)counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an ^(CT)injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish ^(CU)the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to ^(CV)the law of ^(CW)the Medes and the Persians, ^(CX)which cannot be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document and ^(CY)injunction.

¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where ^(CZ)he had windows in his upper chamber open ^(DA)toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees ^(DB)three times a day and prayed and ^(DC)gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. ¹¹ Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. ¹² Then they ^(DD)came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign ^(DE)an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of ^(DF)the Medes and Persians, ^(DG)which cannot be revoked.” ¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, ^(DH)“Daniel, who is one ^(DI)of the exiles ^(DJ)from Judah, ^(DK)pays no attention to you, O king, or ^(DL)the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition ^(DM)three times a day.”

¹⁴ Then ^(DN)the king, when he heard these words, ^(DO)was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. ¹⁵ Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no ^(DP)injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

¹⁶ Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared^[l] to Daniel, “May ^(DQ)your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” ^17 (DR)And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, ^(DS)and the king sealed it ^(DT)with his own signet and with the signet of his ^(DU)lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; ^(DV)no diversions were brought to him, and ^(DW)sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of ^(DX)the living God, ^(DY)has your God, whom you serve continually, ^(DZ)been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, ^(EA)“O king, live forever! ²² My God ^(EB)sent his angel ^(EC)and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless ^(ED)before him; ^(EE)and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” ²³ Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and ^(EF)no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. ²⁴ And the king commanded, and ^(EG)those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all ^(EH)the peoples, nations, and languages ^(EI)that dwell in all the earth: ^(EJ)“Peace be multiplied to you. ^26 (EK)I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion ^(EL)people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and ^(ES)the reign of ^(ET)Cyrus the Persian.

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of ^(A)Tiberius Caesar, ^(B)Pontius Pilate ^(C)being governor of Judea, and ^(D)Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during ^(E)the high priesthood of Annas and ^(F)Caiaphas, ^(G)the word of God came to ^(H)John the son of Zechariah in ^(I)the wilderness. ³ And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming ^(J)a baptism of repentance ^(K)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in ^(L)the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ^(T)“You brood of ^(U)vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(V)the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruits ^(W)in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ^(X)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from ^(Y)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^(Z)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, ^(AA)“What then shall we do?” ¹¹ And he answered them, ^(AB)“Whoever has two tunics^[b] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” ^12 (AC)Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, ^(AD)what shall we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, ^(AE)“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And we, ^(AF)what shall we do?” And he said to them, ^(AG)“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your ^(AH)wages.”

¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, ^(AI)whether he might be ^(AJ)the Christ, ^16 (AK)John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but ^(AL)he who is mightier than I is coming, ^(AM)the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you ^(AN)with the Holy Spirit and ^(AO)fire. ¹⁷ His ^(AP)winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to ^(AQ)gather the wheat into his barn, ^(AR)but the chaff he will burn with ^(AS)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So ^(AT)with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. ¹⁹ But ^(AU)Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, ²⁰ added this to them all, that ^(AV)he locked up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when ^(AW)Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, ^(AX)the heavens were opened, ²² and ^(AY)the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and ^(AZ)a voice came from heaven, ^(BA)“You are my beloved Son;^[c] with you I am well pleased.”^[d]

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

²³ Jesus, ^(BB)when he began his ministry, was about ^(BC)thirty years of age, being ^(BD)the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^(BE)the son of Zerubbabel, the son ^(BF)of Shealtiel,^[e] the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of ^(BG)Nathan, the son of David, ^32 (BH)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ^34 (BI)the son of Jacob, ^(BJ)the son of Isaac, ^(BK)the son of Abraham, ^(BL)the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.