Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



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


King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine with them. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This way the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of God that was at Jerusalem. The king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. read more.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone. In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other. The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. / The king spoke to the wise men of Babylon: Whoever reads this writing, and shows me the interpretation of it will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck. He will be the third ruler in the kingdom. All the king's wise men came. But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his appearance changed. His lords were perplexed. The queen came into the banquet hall. She said: O king, may you live for a very long time: do not let your thoughts trouble you or change your countenance. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In your fathers day, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding for interpreting dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving doubts. Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Daniel was brought before the king. The king spoke to Daniel: Are you that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. The wise men and the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing, and make known the interpretation of it. But they could not show the interpretation. I have heard that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. If you can read the writing and make the interpretation known to me you will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel answered the king: Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.


You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. read more.
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain. Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That which is known about God is clear to them, for God revealed it to them. His invisible attributes are clearly seen since the creation of the world. The things made prove His eternal power and divine nature. Mankind has no excuse, read more.
for when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. They did not thank him and were vain in their reasoning, for their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.


Jehovah spoke his word to me. Jehovah asked: Nation of Israel, can I do with you as this potter does with clay? Nation of Israel, You are in my hands like the clay in the potter's hands. At one time I may threaten to tear up, break down, and destroy a nation or a kingdom. read more.
However if the nation that I threatened turns away from doing wrong. Then I will change my plans about the disaster I planned to do to it. At another time I may promise to build and plant a nation or a kingdom. If that nation does what I consider evil and does not obey me I will change my mind about the good that I promised to do to it.

The decision is by the decree of the watchers. The sentence by the word of the holy ones! It is 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 over it the lowest of men.

Which of all these does not know that the hand of Jehovah has done this? In his hand are the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? read more.
Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? To God belong wisdom and power. Counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt. The man he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought. If he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and victory. Both deceived and deceivers are his. He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges. He takes off the bonds put on by kings and ties a belt around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours out contempt upon nobles and disarms the mighty. He uncovers the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them. He enlarges nations, and disperses them.

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to nothing and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

Give them an order for their masters: This is what Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Say this to your masters, I used my great strength and my powerful arm to make the earth along with the people and the animals on it. I give it to anyone I please. Now I have handed all these countries over to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made wild animals serve him. read more.
All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until Babylon is defeated. Then many nations and great kings will make him their slave. Suppose nations or kingdoms will not serve or surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will punish those nations by wars, famines, and plagues, until I have put an end to them by Nebuchadnezzar's power, says Jehovah.

Daniel said: Praise be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to the discerning.

O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: read more.
He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain. Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.


In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; 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 Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made 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 (Xerxes), of the lineage of the Medes. He was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.

Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.

I stood up to confirm and strengthen Darius the Mede in his first year.


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

Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. read more.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.

I stood up to confirm and strengthen Darius the Mede in his first year. Now I will tell you the truth. Look, there will be three more kings in Persia. Then the fourth will be richer than the others. When he is strong because of his riches he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. A mighty king will stand up and rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. read more.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.

You, O king, saw a large statue. This statue was in fact very large. It was very bright as it stood before you. Its appearance was awesome. The statue had a head of pure gold, chest and arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass. It had legs of iron and its feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay. read more.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.

I will also bring out Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;

I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, Jehovah spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: 'I am going to break the bows of Elam's archers, the most important weapon of their strength. I will bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven against Elam and scatter its people in every direction. There will not be a nation where Elam's refugees will not go. read more.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.

Jehovah has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylon. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command: Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready! Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Place troops in ambush! Jehovah has done what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. That country has many rivers and rich treasures. Yet its time is up, and its thread of life is cut. read more.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.

Elam is there with all its soldiers. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They went down below the earth as godless people. They once terrified people in the land of the living. Now they suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. A bed has been made for Elam among the dead. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. The soldiers were godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. They suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. They lie among the dead.


The vision of Obadiah. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah (YHWH) spoke concerning Edom: We have heard news from Jehovah. An ambassador is sent to the nations, saying, we must stand up against her (Edom) in battle. Behold, I have made you small among the nations! You are greatly despised. Your proud heart has deceived you. You reside in the refuge of the rock. Your habitation is high above others and you say in your heart: 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' read more.
Even though you place yourself as high as the eagle, and though you nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there, said Jehovah!

The nation of Moab will be destroyed. This is because they thought they were greater than Jehovah.

O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: read more.
He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain. Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.

Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre: 'This is what the Lord Jehovah says: 'In your arrogance you say, 'I am a god (strong deity). I sit on God's throne in the sea.' But you are only human and not a god, although you think you are a god. (2 Thes 2:4) You think that you are wiser than Daniel and that no secret can be hidden from you. Because you are wise and understanding, you have made yourself rich. You saved gold and silver in your treasuries. read more.
Because of your great skill in trading, you have made yourself very wealthy. You have become arrogant because of your wealth.' Therefore the Lord Jehovah says: Because you have made your heart like (consider yourself to be like) the heart of God, I will bring strangers, ruthless nations, upon you. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. They will throw you into a pit. You will die a violent death in the sea.

Just as I live, said Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, Moab will be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah. They will be possessions of nettles and salt pits. They will be deserted forever! My people will plunder them and the remnant of my nation will take possession of their land. They will have this instead of their pride. This is because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of Hosts.


In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other.

I have heard that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. If you can read the writing and make the interpretation known to me you will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel answered the king: Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. read more.
Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; 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.

This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.


In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; 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.


To the angel of the congregation in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things: 'I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, and you are [really] dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain that are at the point of death: for I have not found your works perfect (completed) before God. Remember what you received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If you do not stay awake, I will come to you like a thief. You will not know the hour when I will come to you.

Jehovah of Hosts says: I am going to send them wars, famines, and plagues. These people are like rotten figs to me, figs that are so bad that they cannot be eaten. I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them. They did not listen to me,' says Jehovah. 'I sent them my servants the prophets again and again, but they refused to listen,' says Jehovah.

Suppose I say to a wicked person, 'You wicked person, you will certainly die.' And you say nothing to warn him to change his ways. That wicked person will die because of his sin. I will hold you responsible for his death.

He told the crowds that came to be baptized by him: You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Produce fruit that is worthy of repentance. Do not say we have Abraham for our father. I tell you, that God is able to make these stones into children for Abraham. The axe is now at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in to the fire.

Come together, make everyone come together, you nation without shame! Before the decree takes effect. Before the day passes like the chaff. Before the fierce anger of Jehovah comes upon you. Yes, before the Day of Jehovah's anger comes upon you.


Jehovah has sent all his servants the prophets to you. Yet, you have not listened or paid attention to them. The prophets said: Turn from your evil ways and the evil you have done, and live in the land that Jehovah permanently gave to you and your ancestors. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them. Do not make me furious about the idols your hands have shaped. Then I will not harm you.

For the reason that you did all these things, says Jehovah, I spoke to you. I rose up early and spoke. But you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer. Consider what I will do to the house that is called by my name. It is the house in which you trust. It is the place I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.

I gave them this command: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. You will walk in all the way that I command you that it may be well with you.' Yet they did not obey or incline their ear. They walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart. They went backward and not forward. Since the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all my servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them.

Jehovah said to me: Stand in the court of the Temple and proclaim all I have commanded you to say to the people who come from the towns of Judah to worship there. Do not omit anything. Perhaps the people will listen and give up their evil ways. If they do I will change my mind about the destruction I plan to bring on them for all their wicked deeds. Jehovah told me to say to the people: 'I Jehovah said that you must obey me by following the teaching that I gave you. read more.
You are to pay attention to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I kept sending to you. You have never obeyed what they said. If you continue to disobey I will do to this Temple what I did to Shiloh, and all the nations of the world will use the name of this city as a curse.'' The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard me saying these things in the Temple.

Then I Jeremiah said: Jehovah sent me to proclaim everything that you heard me say against this Temple and against this city. You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing. You must obey Jehovah your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and active in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. When I saw this vision my thoughts troubled me. I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon that they might explain the dream to me. read more.
The magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came to me. I told the dream to them. They did not explain the dream to me. Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, finally came to me. He has the spirit of the holy gods. So I told the dream to him saying: O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret troubles you! Tell me the visions I have seen in my dream. Give me the interpretation. Here are the visions of my head: I saw a tree in the midst of the earth. It was very tall. The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to heaven. It could be seen from distant parts of the earth. The leaves were beautiful and the fruit abundant. In it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shadow under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches. All flesh was fed by it. I saw in the visions of my head: Behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud: 'Chop 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. Leave the stump and roots in the earth. Apply to it a band of iron and copper in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let its heart be changed from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given to it. Seven times should pass over it. The decision is by the decree of the watchers. The sentence by the word of the holy ones! It is 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 over it the lowest of men. I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen this dream and you O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation! For all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the interpretation known to me. You are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you!' Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation trouble you. Belteshazzar answered: My lord, the dream may be to them that hate you and the interpretation to your adversaries. The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to heaven, and was seen in the distant parts of the earth; whose leaves were beautiful and fruit abundant, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens lived: It is you O king! You have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven. Your dominion is to the end of the earth. Since the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven saying: Chop down the tree, and destroy it. Leave the stump and the roots in the earth. With a band of iron and brass leave it in the tender grass of the field and let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over it. This is the interpretation, O king. It is the decree from the Most High that has come to my lord the king. You will be driven from men. Your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass like oxen and will be wet with the dew of heaven. Seven times shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will. Because they commanded to leave the stump and the roots of the tree your kingdom will be sure to you. After that you will know that the heavens do rule. Let my counsel be acceptable to you O King. Stop your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. May there be a lengthening of your prosperity.

They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone. In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other. read more.
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. / The king spoke to the wise men of Babylon: Whoever reads this writing, and shows me the interpretation of it will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck. He will be the third ruler in the kingdom. All the king's wise men came. But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his appearance changed. His lords were perplexed. The queen came into the banquet hall. She said: O king, may you live for a very long time: do not let your thoughts trouble you or change your countenance. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In your fathers day, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding for interpreting dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving doubts. Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Daniel was brought before the king. The king spoke to Daniel: Are you that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. The wise men and the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing, and make known the interpretation of it. But they could not show the interpretation. I have heard that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. If you can read the writing and make the interpretation known to me you will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel answered the king: Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Certain men crept in unnoticed. They were appointed long ago for this condemnation. These ungodly men turned the grace of our God into loose conduct. They deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. I want to remind you though you once knew this, that Jehovah (God), having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Angels who did not keep their position left their proper habitation. He has kept them in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. read more.
Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them are an example for they, in like manner with these surrendered to fornication and went after flesh for unnatural use. They received justice by ever burning fire.

Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing." You do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel you to buy gold from me, gold purified by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be clothed. In this way the shame of your nakedness will not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. read more.
I reprove and discipline those whom I love: be zealous therefore, and repent.