5 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. ² Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink therefrom. ³ 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. ⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

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⁵ In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ⁶ Then the king’s ^‍countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. ⁷ The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. ⁸ Then came in all the king’s wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.

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¹⁰ Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed. ¹¹ There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, ^‍the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; ¹² forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.

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¹³ Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee. ¹⁵ And now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. ¹⁶ But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

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¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty: ¹⁹ and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, 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 raised up, and whom he would he put down. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: ²¹ and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts’, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; 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 ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he setteth up over it whomsoever he will. ²² And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this, ²³ but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. ²⁴ Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.

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²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: ^‍mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the thing: mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end. ²⁷ tekel; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. ²⁸ peres; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

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²⁹ Then commanded Belshazzar, 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.

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³⁰ In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. ³¹ And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

2 But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. ³ And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not. ⁴ For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but ^‍cast them down to hell, and committed them to ^‍pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; ⁵ and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, ^‍a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly; ⁷ and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked ⁸ (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds): ⁹ the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; ¹⁰ but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at ^‍dignities: ¹¹ whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. ¹² But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their ^‍destroying surely be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their ^‍deceivings while they feast with you; ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; ¹⁵ forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; ¹⁶ but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man’s voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷ These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. ¹⁸ For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; ¹⁹ promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of ^‍whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of ^‍the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. ²¹ For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. ²² It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.

ס Samekh.

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¹¹³ I hate them that are of a double mind;
But thy law do I love.
¹¹⁴ Thou art my hiding-place and my shield:
I hope in thy word.
¹¹⁵ Depart from me, ye evil-doers,
That I may keep the commandments of my God.
¹¹⁶ Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live;
And let me not be ashamed of my hope.
¹¹⁷ Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe,
And shall have respect unto thy statutes continually.
¹¹⁸ Thou hast set at nought all them that err from thy statutes;
For their deceit is ^‍falsehood.
¹¹⁹ Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross:
Therefore I love thy testimonies.
¹²⁰ My flesh trembleth for fear of thee;
And I am afraid of thy judgments.

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ע Ayin.

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¹²¹ I have done justice and righteousness:
Leave me not to mine oppressors.
¹²² Be surety for thy servant for good:
Let not the proud oppress me.
¹²³ Mine eyes fail for thy salvation,
And for thy righteous word.
¹²⁴ Deal with thy servant according unto thy lovingkindness,
And teach me thy statutes.
¹²⁵ I am thy servant; give me understanding,
That I may know thy testimonies.
¹²⁶ It is time for Jehovah to work;
For they have made void thy law.
¹²⁷ Therefore I love thy commandments
Above gold, yea, above fine gold.
¹²⁸ Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right;
And I hate every false way.

¹⁹ He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread;
But he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
²⁰ A faithful man shall abound with blessings;
But he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be unpunished.