Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Love of God’s People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
133 ·It is [L How] good and pleasant
when ·God’s people [L brothers] live together [C in unity]!
2 It is like ·perfumed [fine] oil on the head
and running down his beard [Ex. 30:22–33].
It ran down Aaron’s beard
and on to the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Mount Hermon [C in the extreme north of Israel]
falling on the hills of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
There the Lord ·gives [L commanded] his blessing
of life forever.
The Meaning of the Dream
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, the man King Nebuchadnezzar had ·chosen [assigned; delegated] to ·kill [put to death; destroy] the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t ·put the wise men of Babylon to death [kill/destroy the wise men of Babylon]. Take me to the king, and I will ·tell him what his dream means [L give him its interpretation].”
25 Very quickly Arioch took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found a man among the ·captives [L sons of the exiles] from Judah who can tell the king ·what his dream means [its interpretation].”
26 The king asked Daniel, ·who was also called [L whose name was] Belteshazzar [1:7], “Are you able to tell me what I dreamed and ·what it means [its interpretation]?”
27 Daniel answered, “No wise man, magician [enchanter], ·fortune-teller [diviner], or exorcist can explain to the king the ·secret [mystery; v. 11] he has asked about. 28 But there is a God in heaven who ·explains [reveals] ·secret things [mysteries], and he has ·shown [made known to] King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen ·at a later time [in the future; L in the latter days]. This is your dream, the vision ·you saw [L of your head] while lying on your bed: 29 O king, as you were lying ·there [L on your bed], you thought about things to come. God, who can ·tell people about [L reveal] ·secret things [mysteries], ·showed [made known to] you what is going to happen. 30 God also ·told [revealed] this ·secret [mystery] to me, not because I have greater wisdom than any other living person, but so that you may know ·what it means [its interpretation]. In that way you will understand ·what went through your mind [L the thoughts of your heart/mind].
31 “O king, in your ·dream [L vision] you saw a ·huge [great], ·shiny [extraordinarily bright], and frightening statue in front of you. 32 The head of the statue was made of ·pure [fine] gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its ·stomach [middle; torso] and ·the upper part of its legs [its thighs] were made of bronze. 33 ·The lower part of the [L Its] legs were made of iron, while its feet were made partly of iron and partly of ·baked clay [pottery; terra cotta]. 34 While you were looking at the statue, you saw a rock cut free [C from a mountain, perhaps “the mountain of the God’s temple”; Is. 2:2; Mic. 4:1], but ·no human being touched the rock [L not by hands; C implying God did it]. It hit the statue on its feet of iron and ·clay [pottery; terra cotta; C its weak point] and ·smashed them [broke them in pieces]. 35 Then the iron, ·clay [pottery; terra cotta], bronze, silver, and gold broke to pieces ·at the same time [or totally]. They became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summertime; the wind blew them away, and there was nothing left. Then the rock that hit the statue became a very large mountain that filled the whole earth.
36 “That was your dream. Now we will tell the king ·what it means [its interpretation]. 37 O king, you are the ·greatest king [L king of kings]. God of heaven has given you a kingdom, ·power [sovereignty], strength, and ·glory [honor]. 38 Wherever people, wild animals, and birds live, God made you ruler over them. King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold.
39 “Another kingdom will ·come [rise up] after you, but ·it will not be as great as [inferior to] yours [C perhaps the Medes or the Medo-Persians]. Next a third kingdom, the bronze part, will rule over the earth [C perhaps the Persians or the Greeks]. 40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron [C perhaps the Greeks or the Romans]. In the same way that iron crushes and smashes things to pieces, the fourth kingdom will smash and crush all the other kingdoms [C these kingdoms might not be specific kingdoms but symbolic of a series of unnamed oppressive nations].
41 “You saw that the statue’s feet and toes were partly ·baked [pottery] clay and partly iron. That means the fourth kingdom will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron in it, just as you saw iron was mixed with ·clay [or pottery; or terra cotta]. 42 The toes of the statue were partly iron and partly ·clay [or pottery; or terra cotta]. So the fourth kingdom will be partly strong [C like iron] and partly ·breakable [brittle; C like baked clay]. 43 You saw the iron mixed with ·clay [pottery; terra cotta], but iron and ·clay [pottery; terra cotta] do not hold together. In the same way the people of the fourth kingdom will be a mixture, but they will not be united as one people.
44 “During the ·time [L days] of those kings, the God of heaven will set up another kingdom that will never be destroyed [C the kingdom of God] or given to another group of people. This kingdom will crush all the other kingdoms and bring them to an end [v. 40], but it will ·continue [stand] forever.
45 “King Nebuchadnezzar, you saw a rock cut from a mountain, but ·no human being touched it [L not by hand]. The rock broke the iron, bronze, ·clay [or pottery; or terra cotta], silver, and gold to pieces. In this way the great God ·showed [made known to] you what will happen. The dream is ·true [certain], and you can trust this ·explanation [interpretation].”
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell ·facedown on the ground [L on his face] in front of Daniel. The king ·honored [or worshiped] him and commanded that an ·offering [or grain/gift/tribute offering] and incense be ·presented [offered] to him. 47 Then the king said to Daniel, “Truly I know your God is the ·greatest of all [L God of] gods, the Lord of all the kings. He ·tells people about things they cannot know [reveals mysteries]. I know this is true, because you were able to ·tell [reveal] these ·secret things [mysteries] to me.”
48 Then the king gave Daniel many gifts plus an important position in his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar made him ruler over the ·whole area [L province] of Babylon and put him in charge of all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel asked the king to ·make [appoint] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego leaders over the ·area [L province] of Babylon, so the king did as Daniel asked. Daniel ·himself became one of the people who stayed [stayed] at the royal court.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me is really believing in the One who sent me. 45 Whoever sees me sees the One who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world so that whoever believes in me would not ·stay [remain] in darkness.
47 “Anyone who hears my words and does not ·obey [keep] them, I do not judge, because I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for those who ·refuse to believe in [reject] me and do not accept my words. The word I have ·taught [spoken] will ·be their judge [judge them] on the last day. 49 The things I ·taught [spoke] were not from myself. The Father who sent me ·told [commanded] me what to say and what to ·teach [speak]. 50 And I know that eternal life comes from what the Father commands. So whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”
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