American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Come, ye children, hearken unto me:I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
What man is he that desireth life,And loveth many days, that he may see good?
Keep thy tongue from evil,And thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good;Seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous,And his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil,To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard,And delivered them out of all their troubles.
Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous;But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones:Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked;And they that hate the righteous shall be {Or, held guilty}condemned.
Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants;And none of them that take refuge in him shall be {Or, held guilty}condemned.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me:I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
What man is he that desireth life,And loveth many days, that he may see good?
Keep thy tongue from evil,And thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good;Seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous,And his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil,To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard,And delivered them out of all their troubles.
Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous;But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones:Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked;And they that hate the righteous shall be {Or, held guilty}condemned.
Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants;And none of them that take refuge in him shall be {Or, held guilty}condemned.
Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was {Hebrew: bitter of soul.}discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
And they said, Hath Jehovah indeed spoken only {Or, by}with Moses? hath he not spoken also {Or, by}with us? And Jehovah heard it.
And Jehovah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.
And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the land.
And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, that are entered into thy house; for they are come to search out all the land.
And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said, Yea, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were:
and it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I know not: pursue after them quickly; for ye will overtake them.
But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they that pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
and she said unto the men, I know that Jehovah hath given you the land, and that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
For we have heard how Jehovah dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye {Hebrew: devoted.}utterly destroyed.
And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a true token;
and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.
And the men said unto her, Our life {Hebrew: instead of you to die.}for yours, if ye utter not this our business; and it shall be, when Jehovah giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the side of the wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers light upon you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.
And the men said unto her, We will be guiltless of this thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt gather unto thee into the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household.
And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we shall be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
But if thou utter this our business, then we shall be guiltless of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
Then the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had befallen them.
And they said unto Joshua, Truly Jehovah hath delivered into our hands all the land; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land do melt away before us.
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man {Hebrew: before.}with his master, and honorable, because by him Jehovah had given {Hebrew: salvation.}victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she {Hebrew: was before.}waited on Naaman's wife.
And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were {Hebrew: before.}with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy.
And {Or, he}one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden that is of the land of Israel.
And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand {Or, shekels}pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh {Or, an occasion}a quarrel against me.
And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and {Hebrew: be thou clean.}thou shalt be clean.
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
Are not {Another reading is, Amanah. See Song of Solomon 4:8.}Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a {Hebrew: blessing.}present of thy servant.
But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah.
In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant in this thing.
And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him {Or, some distance}a little way.
But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw one running after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?
And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment.
And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.
And when he came to the {Hebrew: Ophel.}hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed.
But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
And he said unto him, {Or, My heart went not from me, when &c.}Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and maid-servants?
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
and ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons, {Proverbs 3:11 f.}My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord,Nor faint when thou art reproved of him;
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions;And my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,And done that which is evil in thy sight;That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest,And be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity;And in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts;And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,And blot out all mine iniquities.
Create {Or, for me}in me a clean heart, O God;And renew a {Or, stedfast}right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence;And take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;And uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;And sinners shall {Or, return}be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation;And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips;And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
For thou delightest not in sacrifice; {Or, that I should give it}else would I give it:Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then wilt thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,In burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering:Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
{Or, Endure unto chastening}It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father chasteneth not?
But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of {Or, our spirits}spirits, and live?
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.
All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness.
Behold, I will rebuke {Or, as otherwise read, your arm}your seed, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and ye shall be taken away {Or, unto}with it.
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;And hearken unto Israel your father.
Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the {Or, first-fruits}beginning of my strength;The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.
Boiling over as water, {Or, have not thou}thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed;Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Simeon and Levi are brethren;Weapons of violence are their {Or, compacts}swords.
O my soul, come not thou into their {Or, secret}council;Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united;For in their anger they slew {Or, men}a man,And in their self-will they hocked {Or, oxen}an ox.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;And their wrath, for it was cruel:I will divide them in Jacob,And scatter them in Israel.
Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise:Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies;Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.
Judah is a lion's whelp;From the prey, my son, thou art gone up:He stooped down, he couched as a lion,And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,Nor {Or, a lawgiver}the ruler's staff from between his feet, {Or, Til he come to Shiloh, having the obedience of the peoples Or, according to Syriac, Til he come whose it is &c.}Until Shiloh come:And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
Binding his foal unto the vine,And his ass's colt unto the choice vine;He hath washed his garments in wine,And his vesture in the blood of grapes:
His eyes shall be red with wine,And his teeth white with milk.
Zebulun shall dwell at the {Hebrew: beach.}haven of the sea;And he shall be for a {Hebrew: beach.}haven of ships;And his border shall be {Or, by}upon Sidon.
Issachar is a strong ass,Couching down between the sheepfolds:
And he saw {Or, rest}a resting-place that it was good,And the land that it was pleasant;And he bowed his shoulder to bear,And became a servant under taskwork.
Dan shall judge his people,As one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way,An {Or, horned snake}adder in the path,That biteth the horse's heels,So that his rider falleth backward.
I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
Gad, {Hebrew: gedud, a marauding band.}a troop {Hebrew: gad, to press.}shall press upon him;But he shall press upon their heel.
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,And he shall yield royal dainties.
Naphtali is a hind let loose:He giveth goodly words.
Joseph is {Hebrew: the son of a fruitful tree.}a fruitful bough,A fruitful bough by a fountain;His {Hebrew: daughters.}branches run over the wall.
The archers have sorely grieved him,And shot at him, and persecuted him:
But his bow abode in strength,And the arms of his hands were made {Or, active}strong,By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob( {Or, From hence from the shepherd Or, as otherwise read, By the name of the shepherd}From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee,And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee,With blessings of heaven above,Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath,Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
The blessings of thy fatherHave prevailed above the blessings of my progenitorsUnto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:They shall be on the head of Joseph,And on the crown of the head of him {Or, that is prince among}that was separate from his brethren.
Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth:In the morning she shall devour the prey,And at even he shall divide the spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah—
the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.
And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming: and the Egyptians wept for him three-score and ten days.
And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I {Or, bought}have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous {Hebrew: ebel.}mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, for a possession of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are thy servants.
And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake {Hebrew: to their heart.}kindly unto them.
And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years.
And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph's knees.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die; but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit.
Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein {Or, was}is my Father glorified, {Many ancient authorities read that ye bear much fruit, and be my disciples.}that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.
Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you.
No longer do I call you {Greek: bondservants.}servants; for the {Greek: bondservant.}servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known unto you.
Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
These things I command you, that ye may love one another.
If the world hateth you, {Or, know ye}ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Remember the word that I said unto you, A {Greek: bondservant.}servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin.
He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
But this cometh to pass, that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, {Psalm 35:19; 69:4}They hated me without a cause.
But when the {Or, Advocate Or, Helper Greek: Paraclete.}Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which {Or, goeth forth from}proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me:
{Or, and bear ye also witness}and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
For these things came to pass, {Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20.}that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be {Or, crushed}broken.
And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
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 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.
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.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
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.
Then the king's {Aramaic: brightness.}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.
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.
Then came in all the king's wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.
Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.
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.
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, {Or, thy father, O King}the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty:
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.
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:
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.
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this,
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.
Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
And this is the writing that was inscribed: {That is, Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divisions.}MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end;
TEKEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
{That is, Divided.}PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
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.
In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. {[Chapter 6:1 in Aramaic]}
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.