Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Belshazzar's big party^[a]

5 King Belshazzar gave a big party for 1,000 important people in his country. He drank wine with all of them. ² When he had drunk a lot of wine, he spoke to his servants. He commanded them to bring the valuable gold and silver cups, so that the people could drink from them. His father, King Nebuchadnezzar, had taken those cups from God's temple in Jerusalem. King Belshazzar wanted to drink from them, as well as his important friends, his wives and his other women. ³ So his servants brought the gold and silver cups that had come from God's temple in Jerusalem. Then the king, his wives, his other women and all the important people drank wine from those cups. ⁴ While they drank the wine, they praised their gods. Their gods were idols that were made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.

A hand writes on the wall

⁵ While they were doing that, the fingers of a human hand appeared. They wrote on the wall of the king's palace, near the light that stood in the room. The king watched the hand while it wrote. ⁶ When he saw it, his face became white. He was very afraid. His knees shook and his legs became weak.

⁷ The king called for his enchanters, his wise men and his diviners to come.^[b] When they arrived, the king said to them, ‘Who can read these words? Who can tell me what they mean? Whoever can do that, I will make him great. I will put valuable purple clothes on him and he will have a gold chain around his neck. I will make him the third ruler in the kingdom.’^[c]

⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the words. They could not tell the king what the words meant. ⁹ So King Belshazzar became even more afraid. His face became even whiter. His officers did not know what to do.

The queen tells Belshazzar about Daniel^[d]

¹⁰ The king's mother heard the voices of the king and his officers. So she came into the room where they were having the party. She said to the king, ‘King, live for ever! Do not be afraid. Do not shake with fear! ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. When your father was alive, this man showed that he was very wise, like the gods. He could understand secret things. Your father, Nebuchadnezzar, made him the leader of all the magicians, wise men, enchanters and diviners. ¹² His name was Daniel, but the king called him Belteshazzar. He was very clever and he knew many things. He could explain what dreams mean. He could find the answer to difficult problems. Send somebody to bring Daniel here. He will tell you what these words mean.’

Peter writes to leaders and young men

5 Now I want to say something to you who are leaders of the groups of believers. Like you, I am also a leader. I myself saw how people caused Christ to have great pain so that he died. One day people will see how great he really is. Then I will be among those people who join with him in heaven. So I say this to you who are leaders: ² Watch over the group of believers that God has given to you. Be like a shepherd that takes care of his sheep. Lead them well because you want to do it. Do not do it just because you have to do it. Do it in the way that God wants for you. Do not be a leader because you want to receive money for yourself. Instead, do it because you want to help people.

³ God has given you a group of believers to take care of them. Do not try to rule over them with power. Instead, show them how to live in a good way, so that they can copy you. ⁴ Then our master, Christ, will give you a beautiful crown when he appears. That is a great gift that will never become old or less beautiful. He is the great Shepherd who takes care of us.^[a]

⁵ I want to say the same thing to you who are young men. You must respect the authority of the leaders. All of you who are believers must respect one another. Do not think that you are more important than other people. The Bible says:

⁶ Remember that God is strong and powerful. So be humble in front of him. Then he will lift you up to a good place at the right time. ⁷ If you have any kind of trouble in your mind, give it to God. God has promised to take care of you.^[c]

⁸ Think seriously about how you live. Watch carefully for danger. Remember that the Devil is your enemy. He wants to hurt you. He walks about like a hungry lion. He is looking for someone to kill and then eat them! ⁹ But you must be strong to fight against him. Trust God completely. Remember this: Believers all over the world are having the same kind of trouble. ¹⁰ Yes, you will have trouble like this for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He is completely kind and he will always help you. Because you belong to Christ, God has chosen you to live with him in heaven for ever. You will join him in that beautiful place. Then God will make you well again. He will make you strong in your spirits. You will be able to stand strongly. ¹¹ Yes, God rules with power for ever! Amen! This is true!