Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A miktam of David.

Daniel Explains Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁹ Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar, was very bewildered for a while. His thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its meaning make you afraid.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies! I wish its meaning had to do with them! ²⁰ You saw a tree. It grew to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen from anywhere on earth. ²¹ Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found safety. The birds lived in its branches. ²² Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong. Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky. Your rule has spread to all parts of the earth.

²³ “Your Majesty, you saw a holy one. He was a messenger. He came down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut down the tree. Destroy it. But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put an iron and bronze band around it. Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the wild animals. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.’

²⁴ “Your Majesty, here is what your dream means. The Most High God has given an order against you. ²⁵ You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. You will become wet with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognize that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants. ²⁶ But he gave a command to leave the stump of the tree along with its roots. That means your kingdom will be given back to you. It will happen when you recognize that the God of heaven rules. ²⁷ So, Your Majesty, I hope you will accept my advice. Stop being sinful. Do what is right. Give up your evil practices. Show kindness to those who are being treated badly. Then perhaps things will continue to go well with you.”

Having All Things in Christ

⁶ You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living your lives in him. ⁷ Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.

⁸ Make sure no one controls you. They will try to control you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic spiritual powers of this world. They don’t depend on Christ.

⁹ God’s whole nature is living in Christ in human form. ¹⁰ Because you belong to Christ, you have been made complete. He is the ruler over every power and authority. ¹¹ When you received Christ, your circumcision was not done by human hands. Instead, your circumcision was done by Christ. He put away the person you used to be. At that time, sin’s power ruled over you. ¹² When you were baptized, you were buried together with Christ. And you were raised to life together with him when you were baptized. You were raised to life by believing in God’s work. God himself raised Jesus from the dead.

¹³ At one time you were dead in your sins. Your desires controlled by sin were not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. ¹⁴ He wiped out what the law said that we owed. The law stood against us. It judged us. But he has taken it away and nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He made a public show of them. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross.