²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet^(A) for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.^(B)

¹⁸ And the king gave a great banquet,^(A) Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials.^(B) He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.^(C)

²⁰ Now the third day^(A) was Pharaoh’s birthday,^(B) and he gave a feast for all his officials.^(C) He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker^(D) in the presence of his officials:

¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth^(A) will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts,^(B) because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

³ For you have spent enough time in the past^(A) doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.^(B)

² He had James, the brother of John,^(A) put to death with the sword.^{(B) 3} When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews,^(C) he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.^{(D) 4} After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.^(E)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)(B)

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate^(C) was governor of Judea, Herod^(D) tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—

The Writing on the Wall

5 King Belshazzar^(A) gave a great banquet^(B) for a thousand of his nobles^(C) and drank wine with them. ² While Belshazzar was drinking^(D) his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets^(E) that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines^(F) might drink from them.^{(G) 3} So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ As they drank the wine, they praised the gods^(H) of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.^(I)