My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to The vGittith.1 A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 How lovely is your wdwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 xMy soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
ymy King and my God.
4 zBlessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.2
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one aappears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your banointed!
10 cFor a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a dsun and eshield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
fNo good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who gtrusts in you!
Revive Us Again
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you hrestored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You iforgave the iniquity of your people;
you jcovered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 kRestore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 lWill you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not mrevive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will nspeak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his osalvation is near to those who fear him,
that pglory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, qthe Lord will give what is good,
and rour land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
The Handwriting on the Wall
1 King oBelshazzar pmade a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.
2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the qvessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father1 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 the 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 praised the gods of rgold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 sImmediately the 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 the hand as it wrote. 6 Then tthe king’s color changed, and uhis thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king vcalled loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared2 to the wise men of Babylon, w“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be xclothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but ythey could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
10 The queen,3 because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, zlive forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom ain whom is the spirit of the holy gods.4 In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him bchief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an cexcellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, dwhom 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, eone of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods5 is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But fI have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “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 Most High God ggave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled 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 hwhen his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He 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, iuntil he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son,6 Belshazzar, have not jhumbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the 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. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, kwhich do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
24 “Then from his presence the 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 numbered7 the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, lyou have been weighed8 in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the mMedes and nPersians.”9
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was 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 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 10 And oDarius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Judging Others
1 h“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and iwith the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 j“Do not kgive dogs what is holy, and do not throw your lpearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
7 m“Ask, nand it will be given to you; oseek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, phow much more will your Father who is in heaven qgive good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “So rwhatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for sthis is the Law and the Prophets.
13 t“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy1 that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are ufew.
