Tuesday in Season after Pentecost

9Verse 9. Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack! 10Verse 10. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’ 11Verse 11. Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD. 12Verse 12. Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. 13Verse 13. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great. 14Verse 14. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15Verse 15. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. 16Verse 16. The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

1Verse 1. Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. 2Verse 2. Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. 3Verse 3. Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. 4Verse 4. As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 5Verse 5. At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing, 6Verse 6. his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together. 7Verse 7. The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” 8Verse 8. So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him. 9Verse 9. Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were bewildered. 10Verse 10. Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale. 11Verse 11. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king, 12Verse 12. did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.”