Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^khis spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king ^lcommanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,¹ “O king, ^mlive forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ⁿtorn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But ^oif you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, ^pthere is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was ^qangry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^rDaniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared² to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

Christ Our Advocate

1 My little children, ^sI am writing these things to you ^tso that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an ^uadvocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the ^vpropitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^wkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a ^xliar, and ^ythe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever ^zkeeps his word, in him truly the love of God is ^aperfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he ^babides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, ^cI am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is ^da new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{1 e}the darkness is passing away and ^fthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ^ghates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever ^hloves his brother abides in the light, and in him² there is no cause for ⁱstumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^jwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and ^cnot one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be ^dfulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, ^ethat they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has ^fhated them because they are ^gnot of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you ^htake them out of the world, but that you ⁱkeep them from the evil one.¹ 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 ^jSanctify them² in the truth; your word is truth. 18 ^kAs you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself,³ that they also may be sanctified⁴ in truth.