Daniel 5; Daniel 6; Daniel 7; 2 John 1

1 King Belshazzar gave a big dinner. He invited a thousand of his nobles to it. He drank wine with them.

2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to his servants. He commanded them to bring in some gold and silver cups. They were the cups his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Belshazzar had them brought in so everyone could drink from them. That included the king himself, his nobles, his wives and his concubines.

3 So the servants brought in the gold cups that had been taken from God's temple in Jerusalem. The king and his nobles drank from them. So did his wives and concubines.

4 As they drank the wine, they praised their gods. The statues of those gods were made out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood or stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared. They wrote something on the plaster of the palace wall. It happened near the lampstand. The king watched the hand as it wrote.

6 His face turned pale. He became so afraid that his knees knocked together. His legs couldn't hold him up any longer.

7 The king sent for those who try to figure things out by using magic. He also sent for those who study the heavens. All of them were wise men in Babylon. He ordered that they be brought to him. He said to them, "I want one of you to read this writing and tell me what it means. If you do, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

8 Then all of the king's wise men came in. But they couldn't read the writing. They couldn't tell him what it meant.

9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified. His face grew more pale. And his nobles were bewildered.

10 The queen heard the king and his nobles talking. So she came into the dining hall. "King Belshazzar, may you live forever!" she said. "Don't be afraid! Don't look so pale!

11 I know a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. He has understanding and wisdom and good sense just like the gods. That was discovered when your father Nebuchadnezzar was king. Nebuchadnezzar appointed him chief of those who tried to figure things out by using magic. He also put him in charge of those who studied the heavens.

12 "The man's name is Daniel. Your father called him Belteshazzar. He has a clever mind and knowledge and understanding. He is also able to tell what dreams mean. He can explain riddles and solve hard problems. Send for him. He'll tell you what the writing means."

13 So Daniel was brought to the king. The king said to him, "Are you Daniel? Are you one of the prisoners my father the king brought here from Judah?

14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. I've also heard that you have understanding and good sense and special wisdom.

15 "The wise men and those who practice magic were brought to me. They were asked to read this writing and tell me what it means. But they couldn't.

16 "I have heard that you are able to explain things and solve hard problems. I hope you can read this writing and tell me what it means. If you can, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

17 Then Daniel answered the king. He said, "You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can give your rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing for you. I'll tell you what it means.

18 "King Belshazzar, the Most High God was good to your father Nebuchadnezzar. He gave him authority and greatness and glory and honor.

19 God gave him a high position. Then all of the people from every nation and language became afraid of the king. He put to death anyone he wanted to. He spared anyone he wanted to spare. He gave high positions to anyone he wanted to. And he brought down anyone he wanted to bring down.

20 "But his heart became very stubborn and proud. So he was removed from his royal throne. His glory was stripped away from him.

21 He was driven away from people. He was given the mind of an animal. He lived like the wild donkeys. He ate grass just as cattle do. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until he recognized that the Most High God rules over all of the kingdoms of men. He puts anyone he wants to in charge of them.

22 "But you knew all of that, Belshazzar. After all, you are Nebuchadnezzar's son. In spite of that, you are still proud.

23 You have taken your stand against the Lord of heaven. You had your servants bring cups from his temple to you. You and your nobles drank wine from them. So did your wives and concubines. You praised your gods. The statues of those gods are made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood or stone. They can't see or hear or understand anything. But you didn't honor the God who holds in his hand your very life and everything you do.

24 So he sent the hand that wrote on the wall.

25 "Here is what was written. MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN

26 "And here is what those words mean. Mene" means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.

27 Tekel" means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven't measured up to God's standard.

28 Peres" means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians."

29 Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylonia, was killed.

31 His kingdom was given to Darius the Mede. Darius was 62 years old.

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 royal rulers over his entire kingdom.

2 He placed three leaders over them. One of the leaders was Daniel. The royal rulers were made accountable to the three leaders. Then the king wouldn't lose any of his wealth.

3 Daniel did a better job than the other two leaders or any of the royal rulers. He was an unusually good and able man. So the king planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

4 But the other two leaders and the royal rulers heard about it. So they looked for a reason to bring charges against Daniel. They tried to find something wrong with the way he ran the government. But they weren't able to. They couldn't find any fault with his work. He could always be trusted. He never did anything wrong. And he always did what he was supposed to.

5 Finally those men said, "It's almost impossible for us to come up with a reason to bring charges against this man Daniel. If we do, it will have to be in connection with the law of his God."

6 So the two leaders and the royal rulers went as a group to the king. They said, "King Darius, may you live forever!

7 All of the royal leaders, high officials, royal rulers, advisers and governors want to make a suggestion. We've agreed that you should give an order. And you should make sure it's obeyed. Here is the command you should give. King Darius, during the next 30 days don't let any of your people pray to any god or man except to you. If they do, throw them into the lions' den.

8 "Now give the order. Write it down in the laws of the Medes and Persians. Then it can't be changed."

9 So King Darius put the order in writing.

10 Daniel found out that the king had signed the order. In spite of that, he did just as he had always done before. He went home to his upstairs room. Its windows opened toward Jerusalem. He went to his room three times a day to pray. He got down on his knees and gave thanks to his God.

11 Some of the other royal officials went to where Daniel was staying. They saw him praying and asking God for help.

12 So they went to the king. They spoke to him about his royal order. They said, "King Darius, didn't you sign an official order? It said that for the next 30 days none of your people could pray to any god or man except to you. If they did, they would be thrown into the lions' den." The king answered, "The order must still be obeyed. It's one of the laws of the Medes and Persians. So it can't be changed."

13 Then they spoke to the king again. They said, "Daniel is one of the prisoners from Judah. He doesn't pay any attention to you, King Darius. He doesn't obey the order you put in writing. He still prays to his God three times a day."

14 When the king heard that, he was very upset. He didn't want Daniel to be harmed in any way. Until sunset, he did everything he could to save him.

15 Then the men went as a group to the king. They said to him, "King Darius, remember that no order or law you make can be changed. That's what the laws of the Medes and Persians require."

16 So the king gave the order. Daniel was brought out and thrown into the lions' den. The king said to him, "You always serve your God faithfully. So may he save you!"

17 A stone was brought and placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed it with his own special ring. He also sealed it with the rings of his nobles. Then nothing could be done to help Daniel.

18 The king returned to his palace. He didn't eat anything that night. He didn't ask for anything to be brought to him for his enjoyment. And he couldn't sleep.

19 As soon as the sun began to rise, the king got up. He hurried to the lions' den.

20 When he got near it, he called out to Daniel. His voice was filled with great concern. He said, "Daniel! You serve the living God. You always serve him faithfully. So has he been able to save you from the lions?"

21 Daniel answered, "My king, may you live forever!

22 My God sent his angel. And his angel shut the mouths of the lions. They haven't hurt me at all. That's because I haven't done anything wrong in God's sight. I've never done anything wrong to you either, my king."

23 The king was filled with joy. He ordered his servants to lift Daniel out of the den. So they did. They didn't see any wounds on him. That's because he had trusted in his God.

24 Then the king gave another order. The men who had said bad things about Daniel were brought in. They were thrown into the lions' den. So were their wives and children. Before they hit the bottom of the den, the lions attacked them. And the lions crushed all of their bones.

25 Then King Darius wrote to the people from every nation and language in the whole world. He said, "May you have great success!

26 "I order people in every part of my kingdom to respect and honor Daniel's God. "He is the living God. He will live forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His rule will never end.

27 He sets people free and saves them. He does miraculous signs and wonders. He does them in the heavens and on the earth. He has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

28 So Daniel had success while Darius was king. Things went well with him during the rule of Cyrus, the Persian.

1 It was the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon. Daniel had a dream. He was lying on his bed. In his dream, visions passed through his mind. He wrote down what he saw.

2 Daniel said, "I had a vision at night. I looked up and saw the four winds of heaven. They were stirring up the Mediterranean Sea.

3 Four large animals came up out of the sea. Each one was different from the others.

4 "The first animal was like a lion. It had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off. Then it was lifted up from the ground. It stood on two feet like a man. And a man's heart was given to it.

5 "I saw a second animal. It looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides. And it had three ribs between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up! Eat meat until you are full!'

6 "After that, I saw another animal. It looked like a leopard. On its back were four wings like the wings of a bird. It had four heads. And it was given authority to rule.

7 "After that, in my vision I looked up and saw a fourth animal. It was terrifying and very powerful. It had large iron teeth. It crushed those it attacked and ate them up. It stomped on anything that was left. It was different from the other animals. And it had ten horns.

8 "I thought about the horns. Then I saw another horn. It was a little one. It grew up among the other horns. Three of the first horns were pulled up by their roots to make room for it. The little horn had eyes like the eyes of a man. Its mouth was always bragging.

9 "As I watched, "thrones were set in place. The Eternal God took his seat. His clothes were as white as snow. The hair on his head was white like wool. His throne was blazing with fire. And flames were all around its wheels.

10 A river of fire was flowing. It was coming out from in front of God. Thousands and thousands of angels served him. Millions of them stood in front of him. The court was seated. And the books were opened.

11 "Then I continued to watch because of the way the horn was bragging. I kept looking until the fourth animal was killed. I watched until its body was destroyed. It was thrown into the blazing fire.

12 The authority of the other animals had been stripped away from them. But they were allowed to live for a period of time.

13 "In my vision I saw One who looked like a son of man. He was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Eternal God. He was led right up to him.

14 And he was given authority, glory and a kingdom. People from every nation and language worshiped him. His authority will last forever. It will not pass away. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

15 "My spirit was troubled. The visions that passed through my mind upset me.

16 I approached an angel who was standing there. I asked him what all of those things really meant. "So he explained everything to me. He told me what it meant. He said,

17 'The four large animals stand for four kingdoms. The kingdoms will appear on the earth.

18 But the holy people of the Most High God will receive the kingdom. They will possess it forever. It will belong to them for ever and ever.'

19 "Then I wanted to know what the fourth animal stood for. It was different from the others. It was the most terrifying of all. It had iron teeth and bronze claws. It crushed those it attacked and ate them up. It stomped on anything that was left.

20 "I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head. And I wanted to know about the other horn that grew up later. It caused three of the ten horns to fall out. It appeared to be stronger than the others. It had eyes. And its mouth was always bragging.

21 "I saw that the horn was at war with God's people. It was winning the battle over them.

22 But then the Eternal God came. He decided in favor of his holy people. So the time came when the kingdom was given to them.

23 "Here's how the angel explained it to me. He said, 'The fourth animal stands for a fourth kingdom. It will appear on earth. It will be different from the other kingdoms. It will eat up the whole earth. It will stomp on it and crush it.

24 The ten horns stand for ten kings. They will come from the fourth kingdom. " 'After them another king will appear. He will be different from the earlier ones. He'll bring three kings under his control.

25 He'll speak against the Most High God. He'll treat God's people badly. He will try to change the times and laws that were given by God. God's people will be handed over to him for three and a half years.

26 " 'But the court will open. And the power of that king will be taken away from him. It will be completely destroyed forever.

27 Then the authority, power and greatness of all of the kingdoms on earth will be handed over to the people of the Most High God. His kingdom will last forever. Every ruler will worship and obey him.'

28 "That's all I saw. My thoughts deeply troubled me. My face turned pale. But I kept those things to myself."

1 I, the elder, am writing this letter. I am sending it to the chosen lady and her children. I love all of you because of the truth. I'm not the only one who loves you. So does everyone who knows the truth.

2 I love you because of the truth that is alive in us. That truth will be with us forever.

3 God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son will give you grace, mercy and peace. Those blessings will be with us because we love the truth.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children living by the truth. That's just what the Father commanded us to do.

5 Dear lady, I'm not writing you a new command. I'm writing a command we've had from the beginning. I'm asking that we love one another.

6 The way we show our love is to obey God's commands. He commands you to lead a life of love. That's what you have heard from the beginning.

7 Many people who try to fool others have gone out into the world. They don't agree that Jesus Christ came in a human body. People like that try to trick others. They are enemies of Christ.

8 Watch out that you don't lose what you have worked for. Make sure that you get your complete reward.

9 Some people run ahead of others. They don't follow the teaching of Christ. People like that don't belong to God. But those who follow the teaching of Christ belong to the Father and the Son.

10 Suppose someone comes to you and doesn't teach these truths. Then don't take him into your house. Don't welcome him.

11 Anyone who welcomes him shares in his evil work.

12 I have a lot to write to you. But I don't want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope I can visit you. Then I can talk with you face to face. That will make our joy complete.

13 The children of your chosen sister send their greetings.