Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.


Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his lords, his wives, and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his lords, his wives, and his concubines, drank from them. read more.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened, and his knees struck one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king its interpretation. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished. Now the queen because of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever: let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance be changed: 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 understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; Because an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and solving of riddles, and explaining of problems, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Are you that Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I have even heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me its interpretation: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: And I have heard of you, that you can make interpretations, and explain doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.


But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. read more.
This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and deity; so that they are without excuse: read more.
Because, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,


Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? says the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; read more.
If that nation, against whom I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will change from the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it does evil in my sight, that it obeys not my voice, then I will change from the good, with which I said I would benefit them.

This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowliest of men.

Who knows not among 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 mankind. Does not the ear test words? and the mouth taste its food? read more.
With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. With him is wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaks down, and it cannot be built again: he shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up: also he sends them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away plundered, and makes the judges fools. He looses the bonds of kings, and girds their loins with a waistband. He leads princes away plundered, and overthrows the mighty. He takes away the speech of the trustworthy, and takes away the understanding of the aged. He pours contempt upon princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty. He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death. He increases the nations, and destroys them: he enlarges the nations, and leads them away.

It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in: That brings the princes to nothing; he makes the judges of the earth as nothing.

And command them to say unto their masters, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall you say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed right unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. read more.
And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his own land comes: and then many nations and great kings shall enslave him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: read more.
And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.


In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. read more.
TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.


PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the descendants of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.


PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

The burden concerning the desert by the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. A distressing vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer deals treacherously, and the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all its sighing have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travails: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. read more.
My heart panted, fearfulness appalled me: the night of my pleasure has he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, you princes, and anoint the shield. For thus has the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels; and he listened diligently with great care: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am stationed in my post whole nights: And, behold, here comes a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he has broken to the ground. O my threshing, and the grain of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than them all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. read more.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these.

You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its form was frightening. This image's head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, Its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay. read more.
You saw till a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven has he given into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And as you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the descendants of men: but they shall not hold one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come. read more.
For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those that seek their life: and I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger, says the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there the king and the princes, says the LORD. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, says the LORD.

Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple. Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD has both purposed and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. O you that dwell by many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, and the measure of your covetousness. read more.
The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts; and they shall lift up a shout against you. He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heaven by his understanding. When he utters his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth: he makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of his storehouses. Every man is senseless by his knowledge; every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their judgment they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the maker of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name. You are my battle-axe and weapons of war: for with you will I break in pieces the nations, and with you will I destroy kingdoms; And with you will I break in pieces the horse and its rider; and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and its rider; With you also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with you will I break in pieces old and young; and with you will I break in pieces the young man and the maiden; I will also break in pieces with you the shepherd and his flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you will I break in pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says the LORD. Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, says the LORD, who destroy all the earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon you, and roll you down from the rocks, and will make you a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate forever, says the LORD. Set you up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, their captains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they have remained in their strongholds: their might has failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwelling places; her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side, And that the fords are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are terrified. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a monster, he has filled his belly with my delicacies, he has cast me out. The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become a heap, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions: they shall growl as lions' whelps. In their excitement I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunk, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, says the LORD. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats. How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how has Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! The sea has come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land in which no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass by there. And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. My people, go you out of the midst of her, and deliver yourselves every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. And lest your heart faint, and you fear for the rumor that shall be heard in the land; a rumor shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumor, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for Babylon: for the plunderers shall come unto her from the north, says the LORD. As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. You that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach: shame has covered our faces: for strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house. Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall plunderers come unto her, says the LORD. A sound of a cry comes from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: Because the LORD has plundered Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is raised: Because the plunderer has come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, everyone of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompenses shall surely repay. And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. Thus says the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the nations, because of the fire, and they shall be weary. The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was the quartermaster. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, and shall see, and shall read all these words; Then shall you say, O LORD, you have spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever. And it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates: And you shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about her: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: they are put in the midst of them that are slain.


The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a message from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, Arise you, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made you small among the nations: you are greatly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you that dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that says in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? read more.
Though you exalt yourself as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there will I bring you down, says the LORD.

And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against the LORD.

O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: read more.
And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD; Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet you are a man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God: Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from you: With your wisdom and with your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasuries: read more.
By your great wisdom and by your trade have you increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches: Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Because you have set your heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon you, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness. They shall bring you down to the pit, and you shall die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

Therefore as I live, says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of weeds, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. This shall they have because of their pride, because they have reproached and boasted themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.


In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.

And I have heard of you, that you can make interpretations, and explain doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: read more.
And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.


PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.


In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. read more.
PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.


And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things says he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know your works, that you have a name that you live, and are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore you will not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

Thus says the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them: Because they have not hearkened to my words, says the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear, says the LORD.

When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die; if you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which brings not forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree comes forth, before the day passes like the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you.

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.

And the LORD has sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but you have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn you again now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given unto you and to your fathers forever and ever: And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no harm.

And now, because you have done all these works, says the LORD, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, but you heard not; and I called you, but you answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, in which you trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole descendants of Ephraim.

But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people: and walk you in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil hearts, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:

Thus says the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command you to speak unto them; diminish not a word: It may be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. And you shall say unto them, Thus says the LORD; If you will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, read more.
To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but you have not hearkened; Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.

Then spoke Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will relent concerning the evil that he has pronounced against you.

I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace: I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. read more.
Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me its interpretation. But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. Thus were the visions of my head in my bed; I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached unto heaven, and its sight to the end of all the earth: Its leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in its boughs, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher, a holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him: and let seven times pass over him. This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowliest of men. This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now you, O Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but you are able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or its interpretation, trouble you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, may the dream be for them that hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies. The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and its sight to all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: It is you, O king, that have grown and become strong: for your greatness has grown, and reached unto heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth. And since the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which has come upon my lord the king: That they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen, and they shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will. And since they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; your kingdom shall be sure unto you, after you shall have known that the heavens do rule. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto you, and break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of your tranquility.

They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened, and his knees struck one against another. read more.
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king its interpretation. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished. Now the queen because of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever: let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance be changed: 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 understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; Because an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and solving of riddles, and explaining of problems, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Are you that Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I have even heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me its interpretation: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: And I have heard of you, that you can make interpretations, and explain doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into licentiousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. read more.
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after unnatural lust, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white clothing, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. read more.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.