⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to ^(A)exalt^[a] you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ^(B)as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ⁸ You shall command ^(C)the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, ^(D)you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”

⁹ So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that ^(E)the living God is among you, and that He will without fail ^(F)drive out from before you the ^(G)Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of ^(H)the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore, ^(I)take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. ¹³ And it shall come to pass, ^(J)as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, ^(K)the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they ^(L)shall stand as a heap.”

¹⁴ So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ^(M)ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and ^(N)the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the ^(O)Jordan overflows all its banks ^(P)during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away ^[b]at Adam, the city that is beside ^(Q)Zaretan. So the waters that went down ^(R)into the Sea of the Arabah, ^(S)the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; ^(T)and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

Belshazzar’s Feast

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

^5 (E)In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ⁶ Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his ^(F)knees knocked against each other. ^7 (G)The king cried ^[b]aloud to bring in ^(H)the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; ^(I)and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Now all the king’s wise men came, ^(J)but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(K)troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were ^[c]astonished.

¹⁰ The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. ^11 (L)There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your ^[d]father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your ^[e]father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹² Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and ^[f]explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, ^(M)whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said ^[a]to those of old, ^(A)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that whoever ^(B)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (C)If your right eye causes you to ^[b]sin, ^(D)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to ^[c]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding^(E)

³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ^(F)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that ^(G)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except ^[d]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(H)it was said to those of ^[e]old, ^(I)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(J)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(K)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(L)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(M)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (N)But let ^[f]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

^17 (A)Obey those who ^[a]rule over you, and be submissive, for ^(B)they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Prayer Requested

^18 (C)Pray for us; for we are confident that we have ^(D)a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. ¹⁹ But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction, Final Exhortation, Farewell

²⁰ Now may ^(E)the God of peace ^(F)who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, ^(G)that great Shepherd of the sheep, ^(H)through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you ^[b]complete in every good work to do His will, ^(I)working in ^[c]you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. ²³ Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

²⁴ Greet all those who ^[d]rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵ Grace be with you all. Amen.