Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of degrees. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

² Like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, upon Aaron's beard, that ran down to the hem of his garments;

³ As the dew of Hermon that descendeth on the mountains of Zion; for there hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore.

2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

² And the king commanded to call the scribes, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to shew the king his dreams; and they came and stood before the king.

³ And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

⁴ And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command is gone forth from me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream, and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

⁶ But if ye shew the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; therefore shew me the dream and its interpretation.

⁷ They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

⁸ The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the word is gone forth from me;

⁹ but if ye do not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me its interpretation.

¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter; therefore there is no king, however great and powerful, that hath asked such a thing of any scribe, or magician, or Chaldean.

¹¹ For the thing that the king demandeth is extraordinary, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

¹² For this cause the king was irritated and very wroth, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

¹³ And the decree went forth that the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to slay them.

¹⁴ Then Daniel answered with counsel and prudence to Arioch the chief of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

¹⁵ he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so rigorous from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

¹⁶ And Daniel went in, and requested of the king that he would give him time, that he might shew the king the interpretation.

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions;

¹⁸ that they would desire mercies of the God of the heavens concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹ Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of the heavens.

²⁰ Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; For wisdom and might are his.

²¹ And it is he that changeth times and seasons; He deposeth kings, and setteth up kings; He giveth wisdom to the wise, And knowledge to them that know understanding.

²² It is he that revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

²³ I thank thee, and I praise thee, O God of my fathers, Who hast given me wisdom and might, And hast made known unto me already what we desired of thee; For thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

²³ And having been let go, they came to their own [company], and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴ And they, having heard [it], lifted up [their] voice with one accord to God, and said, Lord, *thou* art the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them;

²⁵ who hast said by the mouth of thy servant David, Why have [the] nations raged haughtily and [the] peoples meditated vain things?

²⁶ The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.

²⁷ For in truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hadst anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with [the] nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city

²⁸ to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass.

²⁹ And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and give to thy bondmen with all boldness to speak thy word,

³⁰ in that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.