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.

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^(B)the month Chislev, ^(C)in the twentieth year, while I was in ^(D)Susa the ^[a]capitol, ² that ^(E)Hanani, one of my brothers, ^[b]and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ^[c]and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the ^(F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^(G)disgrace, and ^(H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^(I)its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴ Now when I heard these words, ^(J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^(K)the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, ^(L)the great and awesome God, ^(M)who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: ^6 (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^(O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; ^(P)I and my father’s house have sinned. ^7 (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^(R)which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^(S)If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ^9 (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^(U)will gather them from there and bring them ^(V)to the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’ ^10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ Please, Lord, ^(X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ^[d]revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.”

Now I was the ^(Y)cupbearer to the king.

Judging Others

7 “^(A)Do not ^[a]judge, so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you ^(C)look at the ^[c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (D)Or how ^[d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the ^[e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the ^[f]speck out of your brother’s eye!

⁶ “^(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[g](F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; ^[h]seek, and you will find; ^[i]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what person is there among you ^[j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, ^[k]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ So if you, despite being ^[m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(I)therefore, ^[n]treat people the same way you want ^[o]them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(K)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Foundations for Living

3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as ^(A)spiritual people, but only as ^(B)fleshly, as to ^(C)infants in Christ. ² I gave you ^(D)milk to drink, not solid food; for you ^(E)were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, ³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(G)like ordinary people? ⁴ For when ^(H)one person says, “I am ^[a]with Paul,” and another, “I am ^[b]with Apollos,” are you not ordinary ^(I)people?

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(J)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(K)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. ^6 (L)I planted, ^(M)Apollos watered, but ^(N)God was causing the growth. ⁷ So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. ⁸ Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will ^(O)receive his own ^[c]reward according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s ^(P)fellow workers; you are God’s ^[d](Q)field, God’s ^(R)building.

¹⁰ According to ^(S)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder ^(T)I laid a foundation, and ^(U)another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a ^(V)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ^13 (W)each one’s work will become evident; for ^(X)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test ^[e]the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will ^(Y)receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only ^(Z)so as through fire.

^16 (AA)Do you not know that ^(AB)you are a ^[f]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys the ^[g]temple of God, God will destroy ^[h]that person; for the ^[i]temple of God is holy, ^[j]and that is what you are.

^18 (AC)Take care that no one deceives himself. ^(AD)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in ^(AE)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For ^(AF)the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is ^(AG)the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “^(AH)The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.” ²¹ So then, ^(AI)no one is to be boasting in people. For ^(AJ)all things belong to you, ^22 (AK)whether Paul or Apollos or ^[k]Cephas, or the world or ^(AL)life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, ²³ and ^(AM)you belong to Christ, and ^(AN)Christ belongs to God.