Meditate

5. Writing on the Wall

Belshazzar’s Feast

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King Belshazzar made a great festival for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

² Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.³So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.⁴They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

The Writing on the Wall

⁵ Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote.⁶Then the king’s face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.⁷The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and the king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in the kingdom.”⁸Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king the interpretation.⁹Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen, when she heard the discussion of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall. The queen said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale.¹¹There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners,¹²because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

The Writing on the Wall Interpreted

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?¹⁴I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you.¹⁵Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they were not able to give the interpretation of the matter.¹⁶But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation.¹⁸O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty.¹⁹And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed those he wanted to kill, kept alive those he wanted to keep alive, honored those he wanted to honor, and degraded those he wanted to degrade.²⁰But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him.²¹He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and sets over it whomever he will.²²And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this!²³You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored.

²⁴ “So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed.²⁵And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.²⁶This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end;²⁷tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;²⁸peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom.

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed.³¹And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

13. Barnabas and Saul Sent Out

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath.⁴³When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.⁴⁶Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,

so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers.⁴⁹Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region.⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium.⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

107. Psalm 107

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Some sat in darkness and in gloom,

prisoners in misery and in irons,

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for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

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Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;

they fell down, with no one to help.

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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress;

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he brought them out of darkness and gloom,

and broke their bonds asunder.

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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

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For he shatters the doors of bronze,

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

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Some were sick through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities endured affliction;

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they loathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.

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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress;

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he sent out his word and healed them,

and delivered them from destruction.

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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

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And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

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Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the mighty waters;

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they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

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For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

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They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their calamity;

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they reeled and staggered like drunkards,

and were at their wits’ end.

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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out from their distress;

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he made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

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Then they were glad because they had quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

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Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.