Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.

⁹ I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart.

¹⁰ Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land.

¹¹ Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed.

¹² Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven.

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke, and said to him: Art thou Daniel of the children of the captivity of Juda, whom my father the king brought out of Judea?

¹⁴ I have heard of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the gods, and excellent knowledge, and understanding, and wisdom are found in thee.

¹⁵ And now the wise men the magicians have come in before me, to read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof: and they could not declare to me the meaning of this writing.

¹⁶ But I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure things, and resolve difficult things: now if thou art able to read the writing, and to shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third prince in my kingdom.

¹⁷ To which Daniel made answer, and said before the king: Thy rewards be to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give to another: but the writing I will read to thee, O king, and shew thee the interpretation thereof.

¹⁸ O king, the most high God gave to Nabuchodonosor thy father a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour.

¹⁹ And for the greatness that he gave to him, all people, tribes, and languages trembled, and were afraid of him: whom he would, he slew: and whom he would, he destroyed: and whom he would, he set up: and whom he would, he brought down.

²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto pride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was taken away.

²¹ And he was driven out from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses, and he did eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven: till he knew that the most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he will set over it whomsoever it shall please him.

²² Thou also his son, O Baltasar, hast not humbled thy heart, whereas thou knewest all these things:

²³ But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven: and the vessels of his house have been brought before thee: and thou, and thy nobles, and thy wives, and thy concubines have drunk wine in them: and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor feel: but the God who hath thy breath in his hand, and all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.

²⁴ Wherefore he hath sent the part of the hand which hath written this that is set down.

²⁵ And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.

²⁶ And this is the interpretation of the word. MANE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.

²⁷ THECEL: thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting.

²⁸ PHARES: thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians.

²⁹ Then by the king's command Daniel was clothed with purple, and a chain of gold was put about his neck: and it was proclaimed of him that he had power as the third man in the kingdom.

³⁰ The same night Baltasar the Chaldean king was slain.

³¹ And Darius the Mede succeeded to the kingdom, being threescore and two years old.

²⁸ But what think you? A certain man had two sons; and coming to the first, he said: Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

²⁹ And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went.

³⁰ And coming to the other, he said in like manner. And he answering, said: I go, Sir; and he went not.

³¹ Which of the two did the father's will? They say to him: The first. Jesus saith to them: Amen I say to you, that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you.

³² For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him.