Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 O (A)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O (B)God of Jacob! Selah.
9 Behold our (C)shield, O God,
And look upon the face of (D)Your anointed.
10 For (E)a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell 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)No good thing does He withhold [a]from those who walk [b]uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How (J)blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Daniel Interprets Handwriting on the Wall
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke 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 conjurers were brought in before me that they might 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 [d]third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “[e]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 [f]O king, the (H)Most High God (I)granted [g]sovereignty, (J)grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. 19 Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every [h]language feared and trembled before him; (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 was (L)lifted up and his spirit became so [i](M)proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was (N)deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. 21 He was also (O)driven away from [j]mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, 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, [l]even though you knew all this, 23 but you have (S)exalted yourself 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 from them; and you have praised the (U)gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God (V)in whose hand are your life-breath and all your (W)ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the [m](X)hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.
25 “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘[n]MENĒ, [o]MENĒ, [p]TEKĒL, [q]UPHARSIN.’ 26 This is the interpretation of the [r]message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and (Y)put an end to it. 27 ‘TEKĒL’—you have been (Z)weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over 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 [t]third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That same night (AC)Belshazzar the Chaldean king was (AD)slain. 31 [u]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 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but 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 feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.