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 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver ^(B)vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his ^[b]father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from 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 from 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 man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the ^[c]back of the hand that did the writing. ⁶ Then the king’s ^[d](E)face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his ^(F)hip joints went slack and his ^(G)knees began knocking together. ⁷ The king called aloud to bring in the ^(H)conjurers, the ^[e]Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man 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 ^[f](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 paler, 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 spoke 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 ^[l]magicians, conjurers, ^[m]Chaldeans and diviners. ¹² This was because an ^(S)extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas 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 Handwriting on the Wall

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the ^[n](U)exiles from Judah, whom my father the king ^(V)brought from Judah? ¹⁴ Now I have heard about you that ^[o]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 conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they ^(X)could not declare the interpretation of the ^[p]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 ^[q]third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “^[r]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 [s]O king, the ^(AB)Most High God ^(AC)granted ^[t]sovereignty, ^(AD)grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. ¹⁹ Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every ^[u]language feared and trembled before him; ^(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 was ^(AF)lifted up and his spirit became so ^[v](AG)proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was ^(AH)deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. ²¹ He was also ^(AI)driven away from ^[w]mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, 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 ^[x]son, Belshazzar, have ^(AL)not humbled your heart, ^[y]even though you knew all this, ²³ but you have ^(AM)exalted yourself 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 from them; and you have praised the ^(AO)gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God ^(AP)in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ^(AQ)ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the ^[z](AR)hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

²⁵ “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘^[aa]MENĒ, ^[ab]MENĒ, ^[ac]TEKĒL, ^[ad]UPHARSIN.’ ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the ^[ae]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 ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the ^(AU)Medes and ^[af]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 ^[ag]third ruler in the kingdom.

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

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

A Song of Ascents.

Honor Widows

5 ^(A)Do not sharply rebuke an ^(B)older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to ^(C)the younger men as brothers, ² the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows who are ^(D)widows indeed; ⁴ but if any widow has children or grandchildren, ^(E)they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to ^[a]make some return to their parents; for this is ^(F)acceptable in the sight of God. ⁵ Now she who is a ^(G)widow indeed and who has been left alone, ^(H)has fixed her hope on God and continues in ^(I)entreaties and prayers night and day. ⁶ But she who ^(J)gives herself to wanton pleasure is ^(K)dead even while she lives. ^7 [b](L)Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has ^(M)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ A widow is to be ^(N)put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been ^(O)the wife of one man, ¹⁰ having a reputation for ^(P)good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has ^(Q)shown hospitality to strangers, if she ^(R)has washed the ^[c]saints’ feet, if she has ^(S)assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel ^(T)sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, ¹² thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous ^[d]pledge. ¹³ At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also ^(U)gossips and ^(V)busybodies, talking about ^(W)things not proper to mention. ¹⁴ Therefore, I want younger widows to get ^(X)married, bear children, ^(Y)keep house, and ^(Z)give the enemy no occasion for reproach; ¹⁵ for some ^(AA)have already turned aside to follow ^(AB)Satan. ¹⁶ If any woman who is a believer ^(AC)has dependent widows, she must ^(AD)assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are ^(AE)widows indeed.

Concerning Elders

^17 (AF)The elders who ^(AG)rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who ^(AH)work hard ^[e]at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “^(AI)You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “^(AJ)The laborer is worthy of his wages.” ¹⁹ Do not receive an accusation against an ^(AK)elder except on the basis of ^(AL)two or three witnesses. ²⁰ Those who continue in sin, ^(AM)rebuke in the presence of all, ^(AN)so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. ^21 (AO)I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. ^22 (AP)Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and ^[f]thereby share ^(AQ)responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself ^[g]free from sin.

²³ No longer drink water exclusively, but ^(AR)use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴ The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins ^(AS)follow after. ²⁵ Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and ^(AT)those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.