Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 Lord God who rules over all, hear my prayer.
God of the people of Jacob, listen to me.
9 God, may you be pleased with your anointed king.
You appointed him to be like a shield that keeps us safe.
10 A single day in your courtyards is better
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather guard the door of the house of my God
than live in the tents of sinful people.
11 The Lord God is like the sun that gives us light.
He is like a shield that keeps us safe.
The Lord blesses us with favor and honor.
He doesn’t hold back anything good
from those whose lives are without blame.
12 Lord who rules over all,
blessed is the person who trusts in you.
13 So Daniel was brought to the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel? Are you one of the prisoners my father the king brought here from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. I’ve also heard that you have understanding and good sense and special wisdom. 15 The wise men and those who practice magic were brought to me. They were asked to read this writing and tell me what it means. But they couldn’t. 16 I have heard that you are able to explain things and solve hard problems. I hope you can read this writing and tell me what it means. If you can, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered the king. He said, “You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can give your rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing for you. I’ll tell you what it means.
18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God was good to your father Nebuchadnezzar. He gave him authority and greatness and glory and honor. 19 God gave him a high position. Then people from every nation became afraid of the king. That was true no matter what language they spoke. The king put to death anyone he wanted to. He spared anyone he wanted to spare. He gave high positions to anyone he wanted to. And he brought down anyone he wanted to bring down. 20 But his heart became very stubborn and proud. So he was removed from his royal throne. His glory was stripped away from him. 21 He was driven away from people. He was given the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass just as an ox does. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until he recognized that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He puts anyone he wants to in charge of them.
22 “But you knew all that, Belshazzar. After all, you are Nebuchadnezzar’s son. In spite of that, you are still proud. 23 You have taken your stand against the Lord of heaven. You had your servants bring cups from his temple to you. You and your nobles drank wine from them. So did your wives and concubines. You praised your gods. The statues of those gods are made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood or stone. They can’t see or hear or understand anything. But you didn’t honor God. He holds in his hand your very life and everything you do. 24 So he sent the hand that wrote on the wall.
25 “Here is what was written.
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
26 “And here is what these words mean.
“The word Mene means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.
27 “The word Tekel means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven’t measured up to God’s standard.
28 “The word Peres means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was killed. 31 His kingdom was given to Darius the Mede. Darius was 62 years old.
The Story of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “ ‘I will not,’ the son answered. But later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son. He said the same thing. The son answered, ‘I will, sir.’ But he did not go.
31 “Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. You saw this. But even then you did not turn away from your sins and believe him.
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