Old/New Testament
5 Belshazzar the king invited a thousand of his officers to a great feast where the wine flowed freely. 2-4 While Belshazzar was drinking, he was reminded of the gold and silver cups taken long before from the Temple in Jerusalem during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and brought to Babylon. Belshazzar ordered that these sacred cups be brought in to the feast, and when they arrived, he and his princes, wives, and concubines drank toasts from them to their idols made of gold and silver, brass and iron, wood and stone.
5 Suddenly, as they were drinking from these cups, they saw the fingers of a man’s hand writing on the plaster of the wall opposite the lampstand. The king himself saw the fingers as they wrote. 6 His face blanched with fear, and such terror gripped him that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way beneath him.
7 “Bring the magicians and astrologers!” he screamed. “Bring the Chaldeans! Whoever reads that writing on the wall and tells me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor, with a gold chain around his neck, and he will become the third ruler in the kingdom!”[a]
8 But when they came, none of them could understand the writing or tell him what it meant.
9 The king grew more and more hysterical; his face reflected the terror he felt, and his officers too were shaken. 10 But when the queen mother heard what was happening, she rushed to the banquet hall and said to Belshazzar, “Calm yourself, Your Majesty, don’t be so pale and frightened over this. 11 For there is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father this man was found to be as full of wisdom and understanding as though he were himself a god. And in the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar,[b] he was made chief of all the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers of Babylon. 12 Call for this man, Daniel—or Belteshazzar, as the king called him—for his mind is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve knotty problems. He will tell you what the writing means.”
13 So Daniel was rushed in to see the king. The king asked him, “Are you the Daniel brought from Israel as a captive by King Nebuchadnezzar? 14 I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you and that you are filled with enlightenment and wisdom. 15 My wise men and astrologers have tried to read that writing on the wall and tell me what it means, but they can’t. 16 I am told you can solve all kinds of mysteries. If you can tell me the meaning of those words, I will clothe you in purple robes, with a gold chain around your neck, and make you the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Daniel answered, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means. 18 Your Majesty, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, who long ago preceded you, a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor. 19 He gave him such majesty that all the nations of the world trembled before him in fear. He killed any who offended him and spared any he liked. At his whim they rose or fell. 20 But when his heart and mind were hardened in pride, God removed him from his royal throne and took away his glory. 21 He was chased out of his palace into the fields. His thoughts and feelings became those of an animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys; he ate grass like the cows, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until at last he knew that the Most High overrules the kingdoms of men and appoints anyone he desires to reign over them.
22 “And you, his successor, O Belshazzar—you knew all this, yet you have not been humble. 23 For you have defied the Lord of Heaven and brought here these cups from his Temple; and you and your officers and wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not praised the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! 24-25 And so God sent those fingers to write this message: ‘Mene,’ ‘Mene,’ ‘Tekel,’ ‘Parsin.’
26 “This is what it means:
“Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign, and they are ended.
27 “Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed in God’s balances and have failed the test.
28 “Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was robed in purple, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed, 31 and Darius the Mede[c] entered the city and began reigning at the age of sixty-two.
6 Darius divided the kingdom into 120 provinces, each under a governor. 2 The governors were accountable to three presidents (Daniel was one of them) so the king could administer the kingdom efficiently.
3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other presidents and governors, for he had great ability, and the king began to think of placing him over the entire empire as his administrative officer.
4 This made the other presidents and governors very jealous, and they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs so that they could complain to the king about him. But they couldn’t find anything to criticize! He was faithful and honest and made no mistakes. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance is his religion!”
6 They decided to go to the king and say, “King Darius, live forever! 7 We presidents, governors, counselors, and deputies have unanimously decided that you should make a law, irrevocable under any circumstance, that for the next thirty days anyone who asks a favor of God or man—except from you, Your Majesty—shall be thrown to the lions. 8 Your Majesty, we request your signature on this law; sign it so that it cannot be canceled or changed; it will be a ‘law of the Medes and Persians’ that cannot be revoked.”
9 So King Darius signed the law.
10 But though Daniel knew about it, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs bedroom, with its windows open toward Jerusalem, and prayed three times a day, just as he always had, giving thanks to his God.
11 Then the men thronged to Daniel’s house and found him praying there, asking favors of his God. 12 They rushed back to the king and reminded him about his law. “Haven’t you signed a decree,” they demanded, “that permits no petitions to any God or man—except you—for thirty days? And anyone disobeying will be thrown to the lions?”
“Yes,” the king replied, “it is ‘a law of the Medes and Persians,’ that cannot be altered or revoked.”
13 Then they told the king, “That fellow Daniel, one of the Jewish captives, is paying no attention to you or your law. He is asking favors of his God three times a day.”
14 Hearing this, the king was very angry with himself for signing the law and determined to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day trying to think of some way to get Daniel out of this predicament.
15 In the evening the men came again to the king and said, “Your Majesty, there is nothing you can do. You signed the law, and it cannot be changed.”
16 So at last the king gave the order for Daniel’s arrest, and he was taken to the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you worship continually, deliver you.” And then they threw him in. 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with that of his government, so that no one could rescue Daniel from the lions.
18 Then the king returned to his palace and went to bed without dinner. He refused his usual entertainment and didn’t sleep all night. 19 Very early the next morning he hurried out to the lions’ den 20 and called out in anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the Living God, was your God, whom you worship continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then he heard a voice! “Your Majesty, live forever!” It was Daniel! 22 “My God has sent his angel,” he said, “to shut the lions’ mouths so that they can’t touch me, for I am innocent before God; nor, sir, have I wronged you.”
23 The king was beside himself with joy and ordered Daniel lifted from the den. And not a scratch was found on him because he believed in his God.
24 Then the king issued a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel and throw them into the den along with their children and wives, and the lions leaped upon them and tore them apart before they even hit the bottom of the den.
25-26 Afterward King Darius wrote this message addressed to everyone in his empire:
“Greetings! I decree that everyone shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel in every part of my kingdom. For his God is the living, unchanging God whose kingdom shall never be destroyed and whose power shall never end. 27 He delivers his people, preserving them from harm; he does great miracles in heaven and earth; it is he who delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
7 One night during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign over the Babylonian Empire, Daniel had a dream and he wrote it down. This is his description of what he saw:
2 In my dream I saw a great storm on a mighty ocean, with strong winds blowing from every direction. 3 Then four huge animals came up out of the water, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, but it had eagle’s wings! And as I watched, its wings were pulled off so that it could no longer fly, and it was left standing on the ground, on two feet, like a man; and a man’s mind was given to it. 5 The second animal looked like a bear with its paw raised, ready to strike. It held three ribs between its teeth, and I heard a voice saying to it, “Get up! Devour many people!” 6 The third of these strange animals looked like a leopard, but on its back it had wings like those of birds, and it had four heads! And great power was given to it over all mankind.
7 Then, as I watched in my dream, a fourth animal rose up out of the ocean, too dreadful to describe and incredibly strong. It devoured some of its victims by tearing them apart with its huge iron teeth, and others it crushed beneath its feet. It was far more brutal and vicious than any of the other animals, and it had ten horns.
8 As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them, and three of the first ones were yanked out, roots and all, to give it room; this little horn had a man’s eyes and a bragging mouth.
9 I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient of Days—the Almighty God—sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like whitest wool. He sat upon a fiery throne brought in on flaming wheels, and 10 a river of fire flowed from before him. Millions of angels ministered to him, and hundreds of millions of people stood before him, waiting to be judged. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.
11 As I watched, the brutal fourth animal was killed and its body handed over to be burned because of its arrogance against Almighty God and the boasting of its little horn. 12 As for the other three animals, their kingdoms were taken from them, but they were allowed to live a short time longer.[d]
13 Next I saw the arrival of a Man—or so he seemed to be—brought there on clouds from heaven; he approached the Ancient of Days and was presented to him. 14 He was given the ruling power and glory over all the nations of the world, so that all people of every language must obey him. His power is eternal—it will never end; his government shall never fall.
15 I was confused and disturbed by all I had seen (Daniel wrote in his report), 16 so I approached one of those standing beside the throne and asked him the meaning of all these things, and he explained them to me.
17 “These four huge animals,” he said, “represent four kings who will someday rule the earth. 18 But in the end the people of the Most High God shall rule the governments of the world forever and forever.”
19 Then I asked about the fourth animal, the one so brutal and shocking, with its iron teeth and brass claws that tore men apart and stamped others to death with its feet. 20 I asked, too, about the ten horns and the little horn that came up afterward and destroyed three of the others—the horn with the eyes and the loud, bragging mouth, the one that was stronger than the others. 21 For I had seen this horn warring against God’s people and winning, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and opened his court and vindicated his people, giving them worldwide powers of government.
23 “This fourth animal,” he told me, “is the fourth world power[e] that will rule the earth. It will be more brutal than any of the others; it will devour the whole world, destroying everything before it. 24 His ten horns are ten kings that will rise out of his empire; then another king[f] will arise, more brutal than the other ten, and will destroy three of them. 25 He will defy the Most High God and wear down the saints with persecution, and he will try to change all laws, morals, and customs.[g] God’s people will be helpless in his hands for three and a half years.
26 “But then the Ancient of Days will come[h] and open his court of justice and take all power from this vicious king, to consume and destroy it until the end. 27 Then all nations under heaven and their power shall be given to the people of God;[i] they shall rule all things forever, and all rulers shall serve and obey them.”
28 That was the end of the dream. When I awoke, I was greatly disturbed, and my face was pale with fright, but I told no one what I had seen.
1 From: John, the old Elder of the church.
To: That dear woman Cyria, one of God’s very own, and to her children whom I love so much, as does everyone else in the church. 2 Since the Truth is in our hearts forever, 3 God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son will bless us with great mercy and much peace, and with truth and love.
4 How happy I am to find some of your children here and to see that they are living as they should, following the Truth, obeying God’s command.
5 And now I want to urgently remind you, dear friends, of the old rule God gave us right from the beginning, that Christians should love one another. 6 If we love God, we will do whatever he tells us to. And he has told us from the very first to love each other.
7 Watch out for the false leaders—and there are many of them around—who don’t believe that Jesus Christ came to earth as a human being with a body like ours. Such people are against the truth and against Christ. 8 Beware of being like them and losing the prize that you and I have been working so hard to get. See to it that you win your full reward from the Lord. 9 For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will leave God behind; while if you are loyal to Christ’s teachings, you will have God too. Then you will have both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to teach you, and he doesn’t believe what Christ taught, don’t even invite him into your home. Don’t encourage him in any way. 11 If you do, you will be a partner with him in his wickedness.
12 Well, I would like to say much more, but I don’t want to say it in this letter, for I hope to come to see you soon, and then we can talk over these things together and have a joyous time.
13 Greetings from the children of your sister—another choice child of God.
Sincerely, John
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.