Bible Readings for November 28, 2015

Today our passages are Daniel 5:1-31; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Psalm 119:113-128; and Proverbs 28:19-20. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal. 

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Daniel 5:1-31 (Contemporary English Version)

Daniel 5

King Belshazzar's Banquet

 ¹One evening, King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his highest officials, and he drank wine with them. ²He got drunk and ordered his servants to bring in the gold and silver cups his father Nebuchadnezzar ^[a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Belshazzar wanted the cups, so that he and all his wives and officials could drink from them. ^3-4When the gold cups were brought in, everyone at the banquet drank from them and praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.     ⁵Suddenly a human hand was seen writing on the plaster wall of the palace. The hand was just behind the lampstand, and the king could see it writing. ⁶He was so frightened that his face turned pale, his knees started shaking, and his legs became weak.
    ⁷The king called in his advisors, who claimed they could talk with the spirits of the dead and understand the meanings found in the stars. He told them, " The man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. He will wear robes of royal purple and a gold chain around his neck."
    ⁸All of King Belshazzar's highest officials came in, but not one of them could read the writing or tell what it meant, ⁹and they were completely puzzled. Now the king was more afraid than ever before, and his face turned white as a ghost.
    ¹⁰When the queen heard the king and his officials talking, she came in and said:
   Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! Don't be afraid or look so pale. ¹¹In your kingdom there is a man who has been given special powers by the holy gods. When your father Nebuchadnezzar was king, this man was known to be as smart, intelligent, and wise as the gods themselves. Your father put him in charge of all who claimed they could talk with the spirits or understand the meanings in the stars or tell about the future. ¹²He also changed the man's name from Daniel to Belteshazzar. Not only is he wise and intelligent, but he can explain dreams and riddles and solve difficult problems. Send for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.
    ¹³When Daniel was brought in, the king said:
   So you are Daniel, one of the captives my father brought back from Judah! ¹⁴I was told that the gods have given you special powers and that you are intelligent and very wise. ¹⁵Neither my advisors nor the men who talk with the spirits of the dead could read this writing or tell me what it means. ¹⁶But I have been told that you understand everything and that you can solve difficult problems. Now then, if you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. You will wear royal purple robes and have a gold chain around your neck.
    ¹⁷Daniel answered:
   Your Majesty, I will read the writing and tell you what it means. But you may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. ¹⁸Sir, the Most High God made your father a great and powerful man and brought him much honor and glory. ¹⁹God did such great things for him that people of all nations and races shook with fear.
   Your father had the power of life or death over everyone, and he could honor or ruin anyone he chose. ²⁰But when he became proud and stubborn, his glorious kingdom was taken from him. ²¹His mind became like that of an animal, and he was forced to stay away from people and live with wild donkeys. Your father ate grass like an ox, and he slept outside where his body was soaked with dew. He was forced to do this until he learned that the Most High God rules all kingdoms on earth and chooses their kings.
    ²²King Belshazzar, you knew all of this, but you still refused to honor the Lord who rules from heaven. ²³Instead, you turned against him and ordered the cups from his temple to be brought here, so that you and your wives and officials could drink wine from them. You praised idols made of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, even though they cannot see or hear or think. You refused to worship the God who gives you breath and controls everything you do. ²⁴That's why he sent the hand to write this message on the wall.
    ^25-28The words written there are mene, which means " numbered," tekel, which means " weighed," and parsin, ^[b] which means " divided." God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be king. So God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians. ²⁹Belshazzar gave a command for Daniel to be made the third most powerful man in his kingdom and to be given a purple robe and a gold chain.
    ³⁰That same night, the king was killed. ³¹Then Darius the Mede, who was sixty-two years old, took over his kingdom.
   

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 5:2 his father Nebuchadnezzar: Belshazzar was actually the son of King Nabonidus, who was from another family. But in ancient times, it was possible to refer to a previous king as the " father" of the present king.
2. Daniel 5:25 mene. . . tekel. . . parsin: In the Aramaic text of verse 25, the words " mene, tekel, parsin," are used, and in verses 26-28 the words " mene, tekel, peres" (the singular of " parsin" ) are used. " Parsin" means " divided," but " peres" can mean either " divided" or " Persia."

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2 Peter 2:1-22 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Peter 2

False Prophets and Teachers

 ¹Sometimes false prophets spoke to the people of Israel. False teachers will also sneak in and speak harmful lies to you. But these teachers don't really belong to the Master who paid a great price for them, and they will quickly destroy themselves. ²Many people will follow their evil ways and cause others to tell lies about the true way. ³They will be greedy and cheat you with smooth talk. But long ago God decided to punish them, and God doesn't sleep.     ⁴God did not have pity on the angels that sinned. He had them tied up and thrown into the dark pits of hell until the time of judgment. ⁵And during Noah's time, God did not have pity on the ungodly people of the world. He destroyed them with a flood, though he did save eight people, including Noah, who preached the truth.
    ⁶God punished the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ^[a] by burning them to ashes, and this is a warning to anyone else who wants to sin. ^7-8Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. So the Lord rescued him. ⁹This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment.
    ¹⁰The Lord is especially hard on people who disobey him and don't think of anything except their own filthy desires. They are reckless and proud and are not afraid of cursing the glorious beings in heaven. ¹¹Although angels are more powerful than these evil beings, ^[b] even the angels don't dare to accuse them to the Lord. ¹²These people are no better than senseless animals that live by their feelings and are born to be caught and killed. They speak evil of things they don't know anything about. But their own corrupt deeds will destroy them. ¹³They have done evil, and they will be rewarded with evil.
   They think it is fun to have wild parties during the day. They are immoral, and the meals they eat with you are spoiled by the shameful and selfish way they carry on. ^{[c] 14}All they think about is having sex with someone else's husband or wife. There is no end to their wicked deeds. They trick people who are easily fooled, and their minds are filled with greedy thoughts. But they are headed for trouble! ¹⁵They have left the true road and have gone down the wrong path by following the example of the prophet Balaam. He was the son of Beor and loved what he got from being a crook. ¹⁶But a donkey corrected him for this evil deed. It spoke to him with a human voice and made him stop his foolishness.
    ¹⁷These people are like dried up water holes and clouds blown by a windstorm. The darkest part of hell is waiting for them. ¹⁸They brag out loud about their stupid nonsense. And by being vulgar and crude, they trap people who have barely escaped from living the wrong kind of life. ¹⁹They promise freedom to everyone. But they are merely slaves of filthy living, because people are slaves of whatever controls them.
    ²⁰When they learned about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they escaped from the filthy things of this world. But they are again caught up and controlled by these filthy things, and now they are in worse shape than they were at first. ²¹They would have been better off if they had never known about the right way. Even after they knew what was right, they turned their backs on the holy commandments that they were given. ²²What happened to them is just like the true saying,
   "A dog will come back
   to lick up its own vomit.
   A pig that has been washed
   will roll in the mud."
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Peter 2:6 Sodom and Gomorrah: During the time of Abraham the Lord destroyed these cities because the people there were so evil (see Genesis 19.24).
2. 2 Peter 2:11 evil beings: Or "evil teachers."
3. 2 Peter 2:13 and the meals they eat with you are spoiled by the shameful and selfish way they carry on: Some manuscripts have "and the meals they eat with you are spoiled by the shameful way they carry on during your feasts of Christian love."

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Psalm 119:113-128 (Contemporary English Version)

¹¹³I hate anyone
   whose loyalty is divided,
   but I love your Law.
    ¹¹⁴You are my place of safety
   and my shield.
   Your word is my only hope.
    ¹¹⁵All of you worthless people,
   get away from me!
   I am determined to obey
   the commands of my God.
    ¹¹⁶Be true to your word, LORD.
   Keep me alive and strong;
   don't let me be ashamed
   because of my hope.
    ¹¹⁷Keep me safe and secure,
   so that I will always
   respect your laws.
    ¹¹⁸You reject all deceitful liars
   because they refuse
   your teachings.
    ¹¹⁹As far as you are concerned,
   all evil people are ^[a] garbage, and so I follow your rules.
    ¹²⁰I tremble all over
   when I think of you
   and the way you judge.
    ¹²¹I did what was fair and right!
   Don't hand me over to those
   who want to mistreat me.
    ¹²²Take good care of me,
   your servant,
   and don't let me be harmed
   by those conceited people.
    ¹²³My eyes are weary from waiting
   to see you keep your promise
   to come and save me.
    ¹²⁴Show your love for me,
   your servant,
   and teach me your laws.
    ¹²⁵I serve you,
   so let me understand
   your teachings.
    ¹²⁶Do something, LORD!
   They have broken your Law.
    ¹²⁷Your laws mean more to me
   than the finest gold.
    ¹²⁸I follow all of your commands, ^[b] but I hate anyone
   who leads me astray.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 119:119 As far as. . . are: A few Hebrew manuscripts and ancient translations. Most Hebrew manuscripts have " You get rid of evil people as if they were."
2. Psalm 119:128 I. . . commands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 28:19-20 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹Work hard, and you will have
   a lot of food;
   waste time, and you will have
   a lot of trouble.
    ²⁰God blesses his loyal people,
   but punishes all who want
   to get rich quick.

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Verse of the Day

“Praise the LORD and pray in his name! Tell everyone what he has done.” - 1 Chronicles 16:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement, James Allen wrote, “Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”