Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Salvation in Death.

A ^[a]Mikhtam of David.

Daniel Interprets the Vision

¹⁹ “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his ^(A)thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^(B)let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘^(C)My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you, and its interpretation to ^(D)your adversaries! ²⁰ The ^(E)tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, ²¹ and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky settled— ²² it is ^(F)you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your ^[a]majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and your ^(G)dominion to the end of the earth. ²³ And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^(H)Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump ^[b]with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let ^[c]him share with the animals of the field until ^(I)seven ^[d]periods of time pass over him,” ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has ^(J)come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ that you be ^(K)driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven ^[e]periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the ^(L)Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and ^(M)bestows it on whomever He wishes. ²⁶ And in that it was commanded to ^(N)leave the stump ^[f]with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will ^[g]remain as yours after you recognize that it is ^(O)Heaven that rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, may my ^(P)advice be pleasing to you: ^(Q)wipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by ^(R)showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a ^(S)prolonging of your prosperity.’

⁶ Therefore, as you have received ^(A)Christ Jesus the Lord, so ^[a](B)walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly ^(C)rooted and now being ^(D)built up in Him and ^(E)established ^[b]in ^[c]your faith, just as you ^(F)were instructed, and overflowing ^[d]with gratitude.

^8 (G)See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through ^(H)philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the ^(I)elementary principles of the world, ^[e]rather than in accordance with Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(J)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(K)made ^[f]complete, and ^(L)He is the head ^[g]over every ^(M)ruler and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(N)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of ^(O)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(P)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(Q)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(R)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And ^[h]when you were ^(S)dead ^[i]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(T)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, ¹⁴ having canceled ^(U)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(V)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[j](W)disarmed the ^(X)rulers and authorities, He ^(Y)made a public display of them, having ^(Z)triumphed over them through ^[k]Him.