Dan 5, Hab 2, Rev 18 | ESV | STEP | King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand .

1 ^aKing Belshazzar ^bmade a great feast for a thousand of his ^clords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

2 ^dBelshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^ethe vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father ^{▼▼Or predecessor; also verses 11, 13, 18} had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in ^gthe golden vessels 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. 4 They drank wine and ^hpraised the ⁱgods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 ^jImmediately ^kthe fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw ^lthe hand as it wrote. 6 ^mThen the king’s color changed, ⁿand his thoughts alarmed him; ^ohis limbs gave way, and ^phis knees knocked together. 7 ^qThe king called loudly to bring in ^rthe enchanters, the ^sChaldeans, and ^tthe astrologers. The king declared ^{▼▼Aramaic answered and said; also verse 10} to the wise men of Babylon, ^v“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and ^wshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but ^xthey could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^yalarmed, and his ^zcolor changed, and his ^aalords were perplexed.

10 The queen, ^{▼▼Or queen mother; twice in this verse} because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, ^ac“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you ^ador your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom ^aein whom is the spirit of the holy gods. ^{▼▼Or Spirit of the holy God} In the days of your father, ^aglight and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king— ^ahmade him chief of the magicians, ^aienchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 ^ajbecause an excellent spirit, knowledge, and ^akunderstanding ^alto interpret dreams, explain riddles, and ^amsolve problems were found in this Daniel, ^anwhom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ^aothe exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that ^apthe spirit of the gods ^{▼▼Or Spirit of God} is in you, and that ^arlight and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now ^asthe wise men, the ^atenchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^authey could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 ^avBut I have heard that you can give interpretations and ^awsolve problems. ^axNow if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^ayyou shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and ^azshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^ba“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the ^bbMost High God ^bcgave ^bdNebuchadnezzar your father ^bekingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^bfall peoples, nations, and languages ^bgtrembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But ^bhwhen his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^bihe was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 ^bjHe was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^bkuntil he knew that the ^blMost High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son, ^{▼▼Or successor} ^bnBelshazzar, ^bohave not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against ^bpthe Lord of heaven. And ^bqthe vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^brAnd you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^bsbut the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^btwhose are all your ways, ^buyou have not honored.

24 “Then from his presence ^bvthe hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered ^{▼▼ Mene sounds like the Aramaic for numbered} the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, ^bxyou have been weighed ^{▼▼ Tekel sounds like the Aramaic for weighed} in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^bzthe Medes and ^caPersians.” ^{▼▼ Peres (the singular of Parsin) sounds like the Aramaic for divided and for Persia}

29 Then ^ccBelshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^cdwas clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 ^ceThat very night ^cfBelshazzar the ^cgChaldean king was killed. 31 ^{▼▼Ch 6:1 in Aramaic} And ^ciDarius ^cjthe Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Habakkuk 2

1 I will ^cktake my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and ^cllook out to see ^cmwhat he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith

2 And the Lord answered me:

^cn“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still ^cothe vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, ^cpwait for it;
^cqit will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but ^crthe righteous shall live by his faith. ^{▼▼Or faithfulness}
5 “Moreover, wine ^{▼▼Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth} is ^cua traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain}
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death ^cwhe has never enough.
^cxHe gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”

Woe to the Chaldeans

6 Shall not all these ^cytake up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,

^cz“Woe to him ^dawho heaps up what is not his own—
for ^dbhow long?—
and ^dcloads himself with pledges!”
7 ^ddWill not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 ^deBecause you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
^dffor the blood of man and ^dgviolence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 ^dh“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
^dito ^djset his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
^dkby cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For ^dlthe stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 ^dm“Woe to him ^dnwho builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that ^dopeoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 ^dpFor the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of ^dqthe glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 ^dr“Woe to him ^dswho makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze ^dtat their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill ^duof shame instead of glory.
^dvDrink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
^dwThe cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and ^dxutter shame will come upon your glory!
17 ^dyThe violence ^dzdone to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
^eafor the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 ^eb“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, ^eca teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes ^edspeechless idols!
19 ^eeWoe to him ^efwho says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and ^egthere is no breath at all in it.
20 But ^ehthe Lord is in his holy temple;
^eilet all the earth keep silence before him.”

Revelation of John 18

The Fall of Babylon

1 After this I saw ^ejanother angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and ^ekthe earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,

^el“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become ^ema dwelling place for demons,
a haunt ^enfor every unclean spirit,
a haunt ^eofor every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk ^{▼▼Some manuscripts fallen by}
^eqthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and ^erthe kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and ^esthe merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

^et“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for ^euher sins are heaped high as heaven,
and ^evGod has remembered her iniquities.
6 ^ewPay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her ^exdouble for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her ^eyin the cup she mixed.
7 ^ezAs she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
^fa‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come ^fbin a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and ^fcshe will be burned up with fire;
for ^fdmighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
9 And ^fethe kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, ^ffwill weep and wail over her ^fgwhen they see the smoke of her burning. 10 ^fhThey will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! ^fiYou great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For ^fjin a single hour your judgment has come.”
11 And ^fkthe merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. ^{▼▼Or and slaves, and human lives}

14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 ^fmThe merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, ^fnwill stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
^fothat was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For ^fpin a single hour all this wealth ^fqhas been laid waste.”
And ^frall shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and ^fscried out ^ftas they saw the smoke of her burning,

^fu“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw ^fvdust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city
^fwwhere all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For ^fxin a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 ^fyRejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and ^fzapostles and prophets,
for ^gaGod has given judgment for you against her!”
21 Then ^gba mighty angel ^gctook up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“So will Babylon ^gdthe great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and ^gethe sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and ^gfthe sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and ^ggthe voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for ^ghyour merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived ^giby your sorcery.
24 And ^gjin her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of ^gkall who have been slain on earth.”