Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.


Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, drinking wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he was overcome with wine, gave orders for them to put before him the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem; so that the king and his lords, his wives and his other women, might take their drink from them. Then they took in the gold and silver vessels which had been in the Temple of the house of God at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his other women, took wine from them. read more.
They took their wine and gave praise to the gods of gold and silver, of brass and iron and wood and stone. In that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing. Then the colour went from the king's face, and he was troubled by his thoughts; strength went from his body, and his knees were shaking. The king, crying out with a loud voice, said that the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs, were to be sent for. The king made answer and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever is able to make out this writing, and make clear to me the sense of it, will be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold round his neck, and will be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. Then all the king's wise men came in: but they were not able to make out the writing or give the sense of it to the king. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled and the colour went from his face, and his lords were at a loss. The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the house of the feast: the queen made answer and said, O King, have life for ever; do not be troubled by your thoughts or let the colour go from your face: There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, light and reason like the wisdom of the gods were seen in him: and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the wonder-workers, and the users of secret arts, and the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs; Because a most special spirit, and knowledge and reason and the power of reading dreams and unfolding dark sayings and answering hard questions, were seen to be in him, even in Daniel (named Belteshazzar by the king): now let Daniel be sent for, and he will make clear the sense of the writing. Then they took Daniel in before the king; the king made answer and said to Daniel, So you are that Daniel, of the prisoners of Judah, whom my father took out of Judah. And I have had news of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and reason and special wisdom have been seen in you. And now the wise men, the users of secret arts, have been sent in before me for the purpose of reading this writing and making clear to me the sense of it: but they are not able to make clear the sense of the thing: And I have had news of you, that you have the power of making things clear, and of answering hard questions: now if you are able to make out the writing and give me the sense of it, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain round your neck and be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. Then Daniel made answer and said to the king, Keep your offerings for yourself, and give your rewards to another; but I, after reading the writing to the king, will give him the sense of it. As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour: And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became hard with pride, he was put down from his place as king, and they took his glory from him: And he was sent out from among the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts', and he was living with the asses of the fields; he had grass for his food like the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he was certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives power over it to anyone at his pleasure. And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this; But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory; Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldaeans, was put to death.


But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory; Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. read more.
This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldaeans, was put to death. And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old.

For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing; Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them. For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: read more.
Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,


Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O Israel, am I not able to do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. See, like earth in the potter's hand are you in my hands, O Israel. Whenever I say anything about uprooting a nation or a kingdom, and smashing it and sending destruction on it; read more.
If, in that very minute, that nation of which I was talking is turned away from its evil, my purpose of doing evil to them will be changed. And whenever I say anything about building up a nation or a kingdom, and planting it; If, in that very minute, it does evil in my eyes, going against my orders, then my good purpose, which I said I would do for them, will be changed.

This order is fixed by the watchers, and the decision is by the word of the holy ones: so that the living may be certain that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure, lifting up over it the lowest of men.

Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man. Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth? read more.
Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge. With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his. Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose. Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned. With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands; He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish; He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them; He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions; He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old; He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong; Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright; Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up.

It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place. He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value.

And give them orders to say to their masters, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Say to your masters, I have made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I will give it to anyone at my pleasure. And now I have given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given the beasts of the field to him for his use. read more.
And all the nations will be servants to him and to his son and to his son's son, till the time comes for his land to be overcome: and then a number of nations and great kings will take it for their use. And it will come about, that if any nation does not become a servant to this same Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will send punishment on that nation, says the Lord, by the sword and need of food and by disease, till I have given them into his hands.

And Daniel said in answer, May the name of God be praised for ever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his: By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake:

As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour: And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became hard with pride, he was put down from his place as king, and they took his glory from him: read more.
And he was sent out from among the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts', and he was living with the asses of the fields; he had grass for his food like the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he was certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives power over it to anyone at his pleasure. And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this; But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory; Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldaeans, was put to death. And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old.


In that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing.

Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. read more.
Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom.


Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.

In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldaeans;

And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old.

And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede I was on his side to make his position safe and make him strong.


Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.

The word about the waste land. As storm-winds in the South go rushing through, it comes from the waste land, from the land greatly to be feared. A vision of fear comes before my eyes; the worker of deceit goes on in his false way, and the waster goes on making waste. Up! Elam; to the attack! Media; I have put an end to her sorrow. For this cause I am full of bitter grief; pains like the pains of a woman in childbirth have come on me: I am bent down with sorrow at what comes to my ears; I am shocked by what I see. read more.
My mind is wandering, fear has overcome me: the evening of my desire has been turned into shaking for me. They make ready the table, they put down the covers, they take food and drink. Up! you captains; put oil on your breastplates. For so has the Lord said to me, Go, let a watchman be placed; let him give word of what he sees: And when he sees war-carriages, horsemen by twos, war-carriages with asses, war-carriages with camels, let him give special attention. And the watchman gave a loud cry, O my lord, I am on the watchtower all day, and am placed in my watch every night: See, here come war-carriages with men, horsemen by twos: and in answer he said, Babylon is made low, is made low, and all her images are broken on the earth. O my crushed ones, the grain of my floor! I have given you the word which came to me from the Lord of armies, the God of Israel.

And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede I was on his side to make his position safe and make him strong. And now I will make clear to you what is true. There are still three kings to come in Persia, and the fourth will have much greater wealth than all of them: and when he has become strong through his wealth, he will put his forces in motion against all the kingdoms of Greece. And a strong king will come to power, ruling with great authority and doing whatever is his pleasure. read more.
And when he has become strong, his kingdom will be broken and parted to the four winds of heaven; but not to his offspring, for it will be uprooted; and his kingdom will be for the others and not for these: but not with the same authority as his.

You, O King, were looking, and a great image was there. This image, which was very great, and whose glory was very bright, was placed before you: its form sent fear into the heart. As for this image, its head was made of the best gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its middle and its sides were of brass, Its legs of iron, its feet were in part of iron and in part of potter's earth. read more.
While you were looking at it, a stone was cut out, but not by hands, and it gave the image a blow on its feet, which were of iron and earth, and they were broken in bits. Then the iron and the earth, the brass and the silver and the gold, were smashed together, and became like the dust on the floors where grain is crushed in summer; and the wind took them away so that no sign of them was to be seen: and the stone which gave the image a blow became a great mountain, covering all the earth. This is the dream; and we will make clear to the king the sense of it. You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory, Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom, lower than you, will come to power; and a third kingdom, of brass, ruling over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing and smashing down all the earth. And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's work and part of iron, there will be a division in the kingdom; but there will be some of the strength of iron in it, because you saw the iron mixed with the potter's earth. And as the toes of the feet were in part of iron and in part of earth, so part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will readily be broken. And as you saw the iron mixed with earth, they will give their daughters to one another as wives: but they will not be united one with another, even as iron is not mixed with earth. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will put up a kingdom which will never come to destruction, and its power will never be given into the hands of another people, and all these kingdoms will be broken and overcome by it, but it will keep its place for ever. Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that by it the iron and the brass and the earth and the silver and the gold were broken to bits, a great God has given the king knowledge of what is to take place in the future: the dream is fixed, and its sense is certain.

Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with body-cover and metal head-dress:

See, I am driving the Medes against them, who put no value on silver and have no pleasure in gold.

The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam, when Zedekiah first became king of Judah, saying, This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will have the bow of Elam, their chief strength, broken. And I will send on Elam four winds from the four quarters of heaven, driving them out to all those winds; there will be no nation into which the wanderers from Elam do not come. read more.
And I will let Elam be broken before their haters, and before those who are making designs against their lives: I will send evil on them, even my burning wrath, says the Lord; and I will send the sword after them till I have put an end to them: I will put the seat of my power in Elam, and in Elam I will put an end to kings and rulers, says the Lord. But it will come about that, in the last days, I will let the fate of Elam be changed, says the Lord.

Make bright the arrows; take up the body-covers: the Lord has been moving the spirit of the king of the Medes; because his design against Babylon is its destruction: for it is the punishment from the Lord, the payment for his Temple. Let the flag be lifted up against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, put the watchmen in their places, make ready a surprise attack: for it is the Lord's purpose, and he has done what he said about the people of Babylon. O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended. read more.
The Lord of armies has taken an oath by himself, saying, Truly, I will make you full with men as with locusts, and their voices will be loud against you. He has made the earth by his power, he has made the world strong in its place by his wisdom, and by his wise design the heavens have been stretched out: At the sound of his voice there is a massing of the waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain and sends out the wind from his store-houses. Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them. They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them. The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name. You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken; With you the horse and the horseman will be broken; with you the war-carriage and he who goes in it will be broken; With you man and woman will be broken; with you the old man and the boy will be broken; with you the young man and the virgin will be broken; With you the keeper of sheep with his flock will be broken, and with you the farmer and his oxen will be broken, and with you captains and rulers will be broken. And I will give to Babylon, and to all the people of Chaldaea, their reward for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, says the Lord. See, I am against you, says the Lord, O mountain of destruction, causing the destruction of all the earth: and my hand will be stretched out on you, rolling you down from the rocks, and making you a burned mountain. And they will not take from you a stone for the angle of a wall or the base of a building; but you will be a waste place for ever, says the Lord. Let a flag be lifted up in the land, let the horn be sounded among the nations, make the nations ready against her; get the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her, make ready a scribe against her; let the horses come up against her like massed locusts. Make the nations ready for war against her, the king of the Medes and his rulers and all his captains, and all the land under his rule. And the land is shaking and in pain: for the purposes of the Lord are fixed, to make the land of Babylon an unpeopled waste. Babylon's men of war have kept back from the fight, waiting in their strong places; their strength has given way, they have become like women: her houses have been put on fire, her locks are broken. One man, running, will give word to another, and one who goes with news will be handing it on to another, to give word to the king of Babylon that his town has been taken from every quarter: And the ways across the river have been taken, and the water-holes ... burned with fire, and the men of war are in the grip of fear. For these are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a grain-floor when it is stamped down; before long, the time of her grain-cutting will come. Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a meal of me, violently crushing me, he has made me a vessel with nothing in it, he has taken me in his mouth like a dragon, he has made his stomach full with my delicate flesh, crushing me with his teeth. May the violent things done to me, and my downfall, come on Babylon, the daughter of Zion will say; and, May my blood be on the people of Chaldaea, Jerusalem will say. For this reason the Lord has said: See, I will give support to your cause, and take payment for what you have undergone; I will make her sea dry, and her fountain without water. And Babylon will become a mass of broken walls, a hole for jackals, a cause of wonder and surprise, without a living man in it. They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions. When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord. I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together. How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves. Her towns have become a waste, a dry and unwatered land, where no man has his living-place and no son of man goes by. And I will send punishment on Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what went into it; no longer will the nations be flowing together to him: truly, the wall of Babylon will come down. My people, go out from her, and let every man get away safe from the burning wrath of the Lord. So that your hearts may not become feeble and full of fear because of the news which will go about in the land; for a story will go about one year, and after that in another year another story, and violent acts in the land, ruler against ruler. For this cause, truly, the days are coming when I will send punishment on the images of Babylon, and all her land will be shamed, and her dead will be falling down in her. And the heaven and the earth and everything in them, will make a song of joy over Babylon: for those who make her waste will come from the north, says the Lord. As Babylon had the dead of Israel put to the sword, so in Babylon the dead of all the land will be stretched out. You who have got away safe from the sword, go, waiting for nothing; have the Lord in memory when you are far away, and keep Jerusalem in mind. We are shamed because bitter words have come to our ears; our faces are covered with shame: for men from strange lands have come into the holy places of the Lord's house. For this reason, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send punishment on her images; and through all her land the wounded will be crying out in pain. Even if Babylon was lifted up to heaven, even if she had the high places of her strength shut in with walls, still I would send against her those who will make her waste, says the Lord. There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans: For the Lord is making Babylon waste, and putting an end to the great voice coming out of her; and her waves are thundering like great waters, their voice is sounding loud: For the waster has come on her, even on Babylon, and her men of war are taken, their bows are broken: for the Lord is a rewarding God, and he will certainly give payment. And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name. The Lord of armies has said: The wide walls of Babylon will be completely uncovered and her high doorways will be burned with fire; so peoples keep on working for nothing, and the weariness of nations comes to an end in the smoke. The order which Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year of his rule. Now Seraiah was the chief controller of the house. And Jeremiah put in a book all the evil which was to come on Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see that you give them all these words; And after reading them, say, O Lord, you have said about this place that it is to be cut off, so that no one will be living in it, not a man or a beast, but it will be unpeopled for ever. And it will be that, when you have come to an end of reading this book, you are to have a stone fixed to it, and have it dropped into the Euphrates: And you are to say, So Babylon will go down, never to be lifted up again, because of the evil which I will send on her: and weariness will overcome them. So far, these are the words of Jeremiah.

There is Elam and all her people, round about her last resting-place: all of them put to death by the sword, who have gone down without circumcision into the lowest parts of the earth, who were a cause of fear in the land of the living, and are put to shame with those who go down to the underworld: They have made a bed for her among the dead, and all her people are round about her resting-place: all of them without circumcision, put to death with the sword; for they were a cause of fear in the land of the living, and are put to shame with those who go down to the underworld: they have been given a place among those who have been put to the sword.


The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord has said about Edom: We have had word from the Lord, and a representative has been sent among the nations, saying, Up! and let us make war against her. See, I have made you small among the nations: you are much looked down on. You have been tricked by the pride of your heart, O you whose living-place is in the cracks of the rock, whose house is high up; who has said in his heart, Who will make me come down to earth? read more.
Though you go up on high like an eagle, though your house is placed among the stars, I will make you come down from there, says the Lord.

And Moab will come to an end as a people, because he has been lifting himself up against the Lord.

As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour: And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became hard with pride, he was put down from his place as king, and they took his glory from him: read more.
And he was sent out from among the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts', and he was living with the asses of the fields; he had grass for his food like the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he was certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives power over it to anyone at his pleasure. And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this; But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory; Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldaeans, was put to death. And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old.

Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, This is what the Lord has said: Because your heart has been lifted up, and you have said, I am a god, I am seated on the seat of God in the heart of the seas; but you are man and not God, though you have made your heart as the heart of God: See, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret which is deeper than your knowledge: By your wisdom and deep knowledge you have got power for yourself, and put silver and gold in your store-houses: read more.
By your great wisdom and by your trade your power is increased, and your heart is lifted up because of your power: For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have made your heart as the heart of God, See, I am sending against you strange men, feared among the nations: they will let loose their swords against your bright wisdom, they will make your glory a common thing. They will send you down to the underworld, and your death will be the death of those who are put to the sword in the heart of the seas.

For this cause, by my life, says the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, truly Moab will become like Sodom and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah, given up to waste plants and salt pools and unpeopled for ever: the rest of my people will take their property, the overflow of my nation will take their heritage. This will be their fate because of their pride, because they have said evil, lifting themselves up against the people of the Lord of armies.


In that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing. Then the colour went from the king's face, and he was troubled by his thoughts; strength went from his body, and his knees were shaking.

And I have had news of you, that you have the power of making things clear, and of answering hard questions: now if you are able to make out the writing and give me the sense of it, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain round your neck and be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. Then Daniel made answer and said to the king, Keep your offerings for yourself, and give your rewards to another; but I, after reading the writing to the king, will give him the sense of it. As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour: read more.
And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became hard with pride, he was put down from his place as king, and they took his glory from him: And he was sent out from among the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts', and he was living with the asses of the fields; he had grass for his food like the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he was certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives power over it to anyone at his pleasure. And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this; But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory; Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.


Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.

And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres.


In that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing.

And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. read more.
Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.


And to the angel of the church in Sardis say: These things says he who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I have knowledge of your works, that you seem to be living but are dead. Be on the watch, and make strong the rest of the things which are near to death; because as judged by me your works have not come up to God's measure. Keep in mind, then, the teaching which was given to you, and be ruled by it and have a change of heart. If then you do not keep watch, I will come like a thief, and you will have no knowledge of the hour when I will come on you.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will send on them the sword and need of food and disease, and will make them like bad figs, which are of no use for food, they are so bad. I will go after them, attacking them with the sword and with need of food and with disease, and will make them a cause of fear to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a wonder and a surprise and a name of shame among all the nations where I have sent them: Because they have not given ear to my words, says the Lord, when I sent to them my servants the prophets, getting up early and sending them; but you did not give ear, says the Lord.

When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly overtake you; and you say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his way; death will overtake that evil man in his evil-doing, but I will make you responsible for his blood.

So he said to the people who went out to him for baptism: You offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come? Make clear by your acts that your hearts have been changed; and do not say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father: for I say to you that God is able from these stones to make children of Abraham. And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; and every tree which does not have good fruit will be cut down and put into the fire.

Come together, make everyone come together, O nation without shame; Before the Lord sends you violently away in flight like the waste from the grain; before the burning wrath of the Lord comes on you, before the day of the Lord's wrath comes on you.


And the Lord has sent to you all his servants the prophets, getting up early and sending them; but you have not given attention and your ear has not been open to give hearing; Saying, Come back now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your doings, and keep your place in the land which the Lord has given to you and to your fathers, from times long past even for ever: Do not go after other gods to be their servants and to give them worship, and do not make me angry with the work of your hands, causing evil to yourselves.

And now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I sent my word to you, getting up early and sending, but you did not give ear; and my voice came to you, but you gave no answer: For this reason I will do to the house which is named by my name, and in which you have put your faith, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will send you away from before my face, as I have sent away all your brothers, even all the seed of Ephraim.

But this was the order I gave them, saying, Give ear to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people: go in all the way ordered by me, so that all may be well for you. But they took no note and did not give ear, but were guided by the thoughts and the pride of their evil hearts, going back and not forward. From the day when your fathers came out of Egypt till this day, I have sent my servants the prophets to you, getting up early every day and sending them:

This is what the Lord has said: Take your place in the open square of the Lord's house and say to all the towns of Judah, who come into the Lord's house for worship, everything I give you orders to say to them: keep back not a word; It may be that they will give ear, and that every man will be turned from his evil way, so that my purpose of sending evil on them because of the evil of their doings may be changed. And you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: If you do not give ear to me and go in the way of my law which I have put before you, read more.
And give ear to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you, getting up early and sending them, though you gave no attention; Then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this town a curse to all the nations of the earth. And in the hearing of the priests and the prophets and all the people, Jeremiah said these words in the house of the Lord.

Then Jeremiah said to all the rulers and to all the people, The Lord has sent me as his prophet to say against this house and against this town all the words which have come to your ears. So now, make a change for the better in your ways and your doings, and give ear to the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will let himself be turned from the decision he has made against you for evil.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my place, and all things were going well for me in my great house: I saw a dream which was a cause of great fear to me; I was troubled by the images of my mind on my bed, and by the visions of my head. And I gave orders for all the wise men of Babylon to come in before me so that they might make clear to me the sense of my dream. read more.
Then the wonder-workers, the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs came in to me: and I put the dream before them but they did not make clear the sense of it to me. But at last Daniel came in before me, he whose name was Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I put the dream before him, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the wonder-workers, because I am certain that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and you are troubled by no secret; this is the dream which I saw: make clear to me its sense. On my bed I saw a vision: there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very high. And the tree became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven, and to be seen from the ends of the earth: Its leaves were fair and it had much fruit, and in it was food enough for all: the beasts of the field had shade under it, and the birds of heaven were resting in its branches, and it gave food to all living things. In the visions of my head on my bed I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, Crying out with a loud voice; and this is what he said: Let the tree be cut down and its branches broken off; let its leaves be taken off and its fruit sent in every direction: let the beasts get away from under it and the birds from its branches: But keep its broken end and its roots still in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass; let him have the young grass of the field for food, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his part be with the beasts. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, and the heart of a beast be given to him; and let seven times go by him. This order is fixed by the watchers, and the decision is by the word of the holy ones: so that the living may be certain that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure, lifting up over it the lowest of men. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw; and do you, O Belteshazzar, make clear the sense of it, for all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to make the sense of it clear to me; but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was at a loss for a time, his thoughts troubling him. The king made answer and said, Belteshazzar, do not be troubled by the dream or by the sense of it. Belteshazzar, answering, said, My lord, may the dream be about your haters, and its sense about those who are against you. The tree which you saw, which became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven and seen from the ends of the earth; Which had fair leaves and much fruit, and had in it food for all; under which the beasts of the field were living, and in the branches of which the birds of heaven had their resting-places: It is you, O King, who have become great and strong: for your power is increased and stretching up to heaven, and your rule to the end of the earth. And as for the vision which the king saw of a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, saying, Let the tree be cut down and given to destruction; This is the sense of it, O King, and it is the decision of the Most High which has come on my lord the king: That they will send you out from among men, to be with the beasts of the field; they will give you grass for your food like the oxen, and you will be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times will go by you, till you are certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure. And as they gave orders to let the broken end and the roots of the tree be, so your kingdom will be safe for you after it is clear to you that the heavens are ruling. For this cause, O King, let my suggestion be pleasing to you, and let your sins be covered by righteousness and your evil-doing by mercy to the poor, so that the time of your well-being may be longer.

They took their wine and gave praise to the gods of gold and silver, of brass and iron and wood and stone. In that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing. Then the colour went from the king's face, and he was troubled by his thoughts; strength went from his body, and his knees were shaking. read more.
The king, crying out with a loud voice, said that the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs, were to be sent for. The king made answer and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever is able to make out this writing, and make clear to me the sense of it, will be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold round his neck, and will be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. Then all the king's wise men came in: but they were not able to make out the writing or give the sense of it to the king. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled and the colour went from his face, and his lords were at a loss. The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the house of the feast: the queen made answer and said, O King, have life for ever; do not be troubled by your thoughts or let the colour go from your face: There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, light and reason like the wisdom of the gods were seen in him: and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the wonder-workers, and the users of secret arts, and the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs; Because a most special spirit, and knowledge and reason and the power of reading dreams and unfolding dark sayings and answering hard questions, were seen to be in him, even in Daniel (named Belteshazzar by the king): now let Daniel be sent for, and he will make clear the sense of the writing. Then they took Daniel in before the king; the king made answer and said to Daniel, So you are that Daniel, of the prisoners of Judah, whom my father took out of Judah. And I have had news of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and reason and special wisdom have been seen in you. And now the wise men, the users of secret arts, have been sent in before me for the purpose of reading this writing and making clear to me the sense of it: but they are not able to make clear the sense of the thing: And I have had news of you, that you have the power of making things clear, and of answering hard questions: now if you are able to make out the writing and give me the sense of it, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain round your neck and be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. Then Daniel made answer and said to the king, Keep your offerings for yourself, and give your rewards to another; but I, after reading the writing to the king, will give him the sense of it. As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour: And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became hard with pride, he was put down from his place as king, and they took his glory from him: And he was sent out from among the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts', and he was living with the asses of the fields; he had grass for his food like the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he was certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives power over it to anyone at his pleasure. And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this; But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory; Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded. And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended. Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight. Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom.

For certain men have come among you secretly, marked out before in the holy Writings for this evil fate, men without the fear of God, turning his grace into an unclean thing, and false to our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now it is my purpose to put you in mind, though you once had knowledge of all these things, of how the Lord, having taken a people safely out of Egypt, later sent destruction on those who had no faith; And the angels who did not keep to their kingdom but went out from the place which was theirs, he has put in eternal chains and in dark night till the great day of the judging. read more.
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the towns near them, having like these, given themselves up to unclean desires and gone after strange flesh, have been made an example, undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

So because you are not one thing or the other, I will have no more to do with you. For you say, I have wealth, and have got together goods and land, and have need of nothing; and you are not conscious of your sad and unhappy condition, that you are poor and blind and without clothing. If you are wise you will get from me gold tested by fire, so that you may have true wealth; and white robes to put on, so that your shame may not be seen; and oil for your eyes, so that you may see. read more.
To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.


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