Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

David wrote this prayer.

God will help me

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace. I was comfortable and happy. Everything was very good for me. ⁵ Then I had a dream that made me very afraid. The thoughts in my mind gave me great trouble as I lay on my bed. ⁶ So I told all the wise men in Babylon to come to me. I wanted them to tell me what the dream meant.

⁷ When the magicians, enchanters, wise men and diviners came to me, I told them the dream. But none of them could tell me what the dream meant. ⁸ Last of all, Daniel came to me and I told him the dream. I call him Belteshazzar, like my god's name. The spirit of the holy gods is in this man, Daniel.

⁹ I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar you are the leader of my wise men. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. I know that no secret is too difficult for you to explain. Here is the dream that I saw. Tell me what it means.

¹⁰ This is the vision that I saw in my mind while I lay on my bed. I saw a tree there in front of me. It stood in the middle of the earth and it was very tall. ¹¹ The tree grew taller and stronger. Its top touched the sky, so that everyone in the world could see it. ¹² It had beautiful leaves and lots of fruits. There was enough food on it for everyone. Wild animals could live in its shade. Birds lived in its branches. It gave food for every living thing.

¹³ The vision in my mind continued while I lay on my bed. I saw a holy angel that came down from heaven. ¹⁴ The angel shouted aloud, “Cut down the tree. Cut off its branches. Tear off its leaves. Let its fruits go away to other places. The animals that are under the tree must run away. The birds that are in its branches must fly away. ¹⁵ But leave the base of the tree and its roots in the ground. Tie iron and bronze round it. Then leave it there in the grass.^[a]

Make him wet with dew from the sky. Cause him to live with the animals in the fields of grass. ¹⁶ Take his human mind away from him. Instead, give him the mind of an animal for seven years.

¹⁷ The holy angels who take care of the earth have decided this. It is their command. Now everyone will be sure that the powerful God above rules over human kingdoms. He gives authority to rule to anyone that he chooses. He causes humble men to rule as kings.” ’

¹⁸ Then I said to Belteshazzar, ‘This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, you must tell me what it means. None of the wise men in any region of my kingdom can tell me what it means. But you can tell me, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

Continue to serve God

¹¹ But you, Timothy, are a servant of God. So keep away from all bad things like that. Instead, always try to do what is right. Serve God in a way that pleases him. Choose to trust God and to love other people. Continue to be strong when you have trouble. Be kind to people. ¹² Continue to believe God's true message. Be like someone who fights well to keep it safe. God has chosen you to live with him for ever. You stood in front of many people and said clearly that you believed in Jesus Christ. So live in a way that shows that you belong to him.

¹³ Christ Jesus himself spoke God's true message clearly when he stood in front of Pontius Pilate.^[a] I now say this to you, in front of God who causes all things to be alive, and in front of Jesus. ¹⁴ You must obey the commands that you have received. Obey them completely without any mistake until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. ¹⁵ God will cause Christ to appear at the proper time. God is great, and he alone rules with all authority. He is the greatest King and the most powerful Lord. ¹⁶ God alone lives for ever. He lives in very bright light that nobody can come near. Nobody has ever seen God. Nobody is able to see him. So we praise him! He will rule for ever with great authority! Amen! This is true.

Rich people must be careful how they live

¹⁷ Warn those people who are rich with many things that belong to this world. Tell them not to think that they are more important than other people. They must not think that their money will keep them safe. They could easily lose all of it. Instead, they should trust God. He gives us many things, so that we can enjoy all of them. ¹⁸ Tell those rich people to do many good things to help other people. They should be very kind to other people and share their things with them. ¹⁹ In that way they will store valuable things for themselves in heaven. These things will be a strong help for them in the future. As a result, they will have true life with God.

Timothy must continue to teach the true message

²⁰ Timothy, God has given you his true message to tell people. You must keep that message safe. Do not listen to people who say a lot of silly things that are not important to God. Those people think that they have special knowledge. But their ideas are against God's true message. ²¹ Some people have believed those wrong ideas and now they no longer trust God.

I pray that God will continue to be very kind to all of you.