Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 (A)Lord God of armies, hear my prayer;
Listen, (B)God of Jacob! Selah
9 See our (C)shield, God,
And look at the face of (D)Your anointed.
10 For (E)a day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than live in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (F)a sun and (G)shield;
The Lord gives grace and (H)glory;
(I)He withholds no good thing [a]from those who walk with integrity.
12 Lord of armies,
(J)Blessed is the person who trusts in You!
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the [a](A)exiles from Judah, whom my father the king (B)brought from Judah? 14 Now I have heard about you that [b]a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. 15 Just now the (C)wise men and the sorcerers were brought in before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they (D)could not declare the interpretation of the [c]message. 16 But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its (E)interpretation known to me, you will be (F)clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel replied and said before the king, “[d]Keep your (G)gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. 18 [e]O king, the (H)Most High God (I)granted [f]sovereignty, (J)greatness, honor, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. 19 Now because of the greatness which He granted him, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all [g]languages trembled and feared in his presence; (K)whomever he wished, he killed, and whomever he wished, he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled. 20 But when his heart [h]was (L)arrogant and his spirit became so [i](M)overbearing that he behaved presumptuously, he was (N)deposed from his royal throne, and his dignity was taken away from him. 21 He was also (O)driven away from [j]mankind, and his heart was made like that of animals, and his dwelling place was with the (P)wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he recognized that the (Q)Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. 22 Yet you, his [k]son, Belshazzar, have (R)not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, 23 but you have (S)risen up against the (T)Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the (U)gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God (V)in whose hand are your life-breath and all your (W)ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the [l](X)hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.
25 “Now this is the inscription that was written:
26 This is the interpretation of the [q]message: ‘Mene’—God has numbered your kingdom and (Y)put an end to it. 27 ‘Tekel’—you have been (Z)weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 ‘[r]Peres’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the (AA)Medes and [s]Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they (AB)clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That same night (AC)Belshazzar the Chaldean king was (AD)killed. 31 [t]So (AE)Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
Parable of Two Sons
28 “But what do you think? A man had two [a]sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘[b]Son, go work today in the (A)vineyard.’ 29 But he replied, ‘I do not want to.’ Yet afterward he regretted it and went. 30 And the man came to his second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; and yet he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that (B)the tax collectors and prostitutes [c]will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but (C)the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even [d]have second thoughts afterward so as to believe him.
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