Psalm 55

English Standard Version

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David.

55 ^(B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
²Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless ^(C)in my complaint and I ^(D)moan,
³because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they ^(E)drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me;
    ^(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and ^(G)horror ^(H)overwhelms me.
⁶And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷^(I)yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸I would hurry to find a shelter
    from ^(J)the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, ^(K)divide their tongues;
    for I see ^(L)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and ^(M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹    ruin is in its midst;
^(N)oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

¹²For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who ^(O)deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
¹³^(P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in ^(Q)the throng.
¹⁵Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol ^(R)alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

¹⁶But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
¹⁷^(S)Evening and ^(T)morning and at ^(U)noon
    I ^(V)utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
¹⁸He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for ^(W)many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is ^(X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not ^(Y)change
    and do not fear God.

²⁰My companion^[b] ^(Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
²¹His ^(AA)speech was ^(AB)smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were ^(AC)drawn swords.

²²^(AD)Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
^(AE)he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

²³But you, O God, ^(AF)will cast them down
into ^(AG)the pit of destruction;
men of ^(AH)blood and treachery
shall not ^(AI)live out half their days.
But I will ^(AJ)trust in you.

Footnotes

Psalm 55:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 55:20 Hebrew He

Daniel 5

English Standard Version

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. ³Then 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. ⁴They 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.” ⁸Then all the king's wise men came in, but ^(V)they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(W)alarmed, and his ^(X)color changed, and his ^(Y)lords were perplexed.

¹⁰The 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. ¹¹There 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

¹³Then 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. ¹⁴I 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. ¹⁵Now ^(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.”

¹⁷Then 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. ¹⁸O king, the ^(AW)Most High God ^(AX)gave ^(AY)Nebuchadnezzar your father ^(AZ)kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰But ^(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. ²²And you his son,^[f] ^(BH)Belshazzar, ^(BI)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³but 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. ²⁵And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered^[g] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷Tekel, ^(BQ)you have been weighed^[h] in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^(BR)the Medes and ^(BS)Persians.”^[i]

²⁹Then ^(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.

Footnotes

Daniel 5:2 Or predecessor; also verses 11, 13, 18
Daniel 5:7 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 10
Daniel 5:10 Or queen mother; twice in this verse
Daniel 5:11 Or Spirit of the holy God
Daniel 5:14 Or Spirit of God
Daniel 5:22 Or successor
Daniel 5:26 Mene sounds like the Aramaic for numbered
Daniel 5:27 Tekel sounds like the Aramaic for weighed
Daniel 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) sounds like the Aramaic for divided and for Persia
Daniel 5:31 Ch 6:1 in Aramaic

1 Peter 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

³^(G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸^(U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹inquiring ^(Y)what person or time^[a] ^(Z)the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹²^(AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[b] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ²¹^(AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³^(BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for

^(BG)“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵^(BH)but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.