Hope for the Future

¹How terrible will be the Lord's judgment on those rulers who destroy and scatter his people!

²This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: “You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done.

³I will gather the rest of my people from the countries where I have scattered them, and I will bring them back to their homeland. They will have many children and increase in number.

⁴I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

⁵The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land.

⁶When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The Lord Our Salvation.’

⁷“The time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people will no longer swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

⁸Instead, they will swear by me as the living God who brought the people of Israel out of a northern land and out of all the other countries where I had scattered them. Then they will live in their own land.”

Jeremiah's Message about the Prophets

⁹My heart is crushed, and I am trembling. Because of the Lord, because of his holy words, I am like a man who is drunk, someone who has had too much wine.

¹⁰The land is full of people unfaithful to the Lord; they live wicked lives and misuse their power. Because of the Lord's curse the land mourns and the pastures are dry.

¹¹The Lord says, “The prophets and the priests are godless; I have caught them doing evil in the Temple itself.

¹²The paths they follow will be slippery and dark; I will make them stumble and fall. I am going to bring disaster on them; the time of their punishment is coming. I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹³I have seen the sin of Samaria's prophets: they have spoken in the name of Baal and have led my people astray.

¹⁴But I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem do even worse: they commit adultery and tell lies; they help people to do wrong, so that no one stops doing what is evil. To me they are all as bad as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

¹⁵“So then, this is what I, the Lord Almighty, say about the prophets of Jerusalem: I will give them bitter plants to eat and poison to drink, because they have spread ungodliness throughout the land.”

¹⁶The Lord Almighty said to the people of Jerusalem, “Do not listen to what the prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what they have imagined and not what I have said.

¹⁷To the people who refuse to listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never touch them.”

¹⁸I said, “None of these prophets has ever known the Lord's secret thoughts. None of them has ever heard or understood his message, or ever listened or paid attention to what he said.

¹⁹His anger is a storm, a furious wind that will rage over the heads of the wicked,

²⁰and it will not end until he has done everything he intends to do. In days to come his people will understand this clearly.”

²¹The Lord said, “I did not send these prophets, but even so they went. I did not give them any message, but still they spoke in my name.

²²If they had known my secret thoughts, then they could have proclaimed my message to my people and could have made them give up the evil lives they live and the wicked things they do.

²³“I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only.

²⁴No one can hide where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth?

²⁵I know what those prophets have said who speak lies in my name and claim that I have given them my messages in their dreams.

²⁶How much longer will those prophets mislead my people with the lies they have invented?

²⁷They think that the dreams they tell will make my people forget me, just as their ancestors forgot me and turned to Baal.

²⁸The prophet who has had a dream should say it is only a dream, but the prophet who has heard my message should proclaim that message faithfully. What good is straw compared with wheat?

²⁹My message is like a fire and like a hammer that breaks rocks in pieces.

³⁰I am against those prophets who take each other's words and proclaim them as my message.

³¹I am also against those prophets who speak their own words and claim they came from me.

³²Listen to what I, the Lord, say! I am against the prophets who tell their dreams that are full of lies. They tell these dreams and lead my people astray with their lies and their boasting. I did not send them or order them to go, and they are of no help at all to the people. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Lord's Burden

³³The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, when one of my people or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the Lord's message?’ you are to say, ‘You are a burden to the Lord, and he is going to get rid of you.’

³⁴If any of my people or a prophet or a priest even uses the words ‘the Lord's burden,’ I will punish them and their families.

³⁵Instead, each one of them should ask their friends and their relatives, ‘What answer has the Lord given? What has the Lord said?’

³⁶So they must no longer use the words ‘the Lord's burden,’ because if any of them do, I will make my message a real burden to them. The people have perverted the words of their God, the living God, the Lord Almighty.

³⁷Jeremiah, ask the prophets, ‘What answer did the Lord give you? What did the Lord say?’

³⁸And if they disobey my command and use the words ‘the Lord's burden,’ then tell them that

³⁹I will certainly pick them up and throw them far away from me, both them and the city that I gave to them and their ancestors.

⁴⁰I will bring on them everlasting shame and disgrace that will never be forgotten.”

Nebuchadnezzar's Second Dream

¹King Nebuchadnezzar sent the following message to the people of all nations, races, and languages in the world: “Greetings!

²Listen to my account of the wonders and miracles which the Supreme God has shown me.

³“How great are the wonders God shows us! How powerful are the miracles he performs! God is king forever; he will rule for all time.

⁴“I was living comfortably in my palace, enjoying great prosperity.

⁵But I had a frightening dream and saw terrifying visions while I was asleep.

⁶I ordered all the royal advisers in Babylon to be brought to me so that they could tell me what the dream meant.

⁷Then all the fortunetellers, magicians, wizards, and astrologers were brought in, and I told them my dream, but they could not explain it to me.

⁸Then Daniel came in. (He is also called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god.) The spirit of the holy gods is in him, so I told him what I had dreamed. I said to him:

⁹Belteshazzar, chief of the fortunetellers, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that you understand all mysteries. This is my dream. Tell me what it means.

¹⁰“While I was asleep, I had a vision of a huge tree in the middle of the earth.

¹¹It grew bigger and bigger until it reached the sky and could be seen by everyone in the world.

¹²Its leaves were beautiful, and it was loaded down with fruit—enough for the whole world to eat. Wild animals rested in its shade, birds built nests in its branches, and every kind of living being ate its fruit.

¹³“While I was thinking about the vision, I saw coming down from heaven an angel, alert and watchful.

¹⁴He proclaimed in a loud voice, ‘Cut the tree down and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Drive the animals from under it and the birds out of its branches.

¹⁵But leave the stump in the ground with a band of iron and bronze around it. Leave it there in the field with the grass. “‘Now let the dew fall on this man, and let him live with the animals and the plants.

¹⁶For seven years he will not have a human mind, but the mind of an animal.

¹⁷This is the decision of the alert and watchful angels. So then, let all people everywhere know that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses—even to those who are least important.’

¹⁸“This is the dream I had,” said King Nebuchadnezzar. “Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None of my royal advisers could tell me, but you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Explains the Dream

¹⁹At this, Daniel, who is also called Belteshazzar, was so alarmed that he could not say anything. The king said to him, “Belteshazzar, don't let the dream and its message alarm you.” Belteshazzar replied, “Your Majesty, I wish that the dream and its explanation applied to your enemies and not to you.

²⁰The tree, so tall that it reached the sky, could be seen by everyone in the world.

²¹Its leaves were beautiful, and it had enough fruit on it to feed the whole world. Wild animals rested under it, and birds made their nests in its branches.

²²“Your Majesty, you are the tree, tall and strong. You have grown so great that you reach the sky, and your power extends over the whole world.

²³While Your Majesty was watching, an angel came down from heaven and said, ‘Cut the tree down and destroy it, but leave the stump in the ground. Wrap a band of iron and bronze around it, and leave it there in the field with the grass. Let the dew fall on this man, and let him live there with the animals for seven years.’

²⁴“This, then, is what it means, Your Majesty, and this is what the Supreme God has declared will happen to you.

²⁵You will be driven away from human society and will live with wild animals. For seven years you will eat grass like an ox and sleep in the open air, where the dew will fall on you. Then you will admit that the Supreme God controls all human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses.

²⁶The angel ordered the stump to be left in the ground. This means that you will become king again when you acknowledge that God rules all the world.

²⁷So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the poor. Then you will continue to be prosperous.”

²⁸All this did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar.

²⁹Only twelve months later, while he was walking around on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon,

³⁰he said, “Look how great Babylon is! I built it as my capital city to display my power and might, my glory and majesty.”

³¹Before the words were out of his mouth, a voice spoke from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to what I say! Your royal power is now taken away from you.

³²You will be driven away from human society, live with wild animals, and eat grass like an ox for seven years. Then you will acknowledge that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses.”

³³The words came true immediately. Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human society and ate grass like an ox. The dew fell on his body, and his hair grew as long as eagle feathers and his nails as long as bird claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

³⁴“When the seven years had passed,” said the king, “I looked up at the sky, and my sanity returned. I praised the Supreme God and gave honor and glory to the one who lives forever. “He will rule forever, and his kingdom will last for all time.

³⁵He looks on the people of the earth as nothing; angels in heaven and people on earth are under his control. No one can oppose his will or question what he does.

³⁶“When my sanity returned, my honor, my majesty, and the glory of my kingdom were given back to me. My officials and my noblemen welcomed me, and I was given back my royal power with even greater honor than before.

³⁷“And now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts proudly.”

Belshazzar's Banquet

¹One night King Belshazzar invited a thousand noblemen to a great banquet, and they drank wine together.

²While they were drinking, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups and bowls which his father Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from the Temple in Jerusalem. The king sent for them so that he, his noblemen, his wives, and his concubines could drink out of them.

³At once the gold cups and bowls were brought in, and they all drank wine out of them

⁴and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵Suddenly a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster wall of the palace, where the light from the lamps was shining most brightly. And the king saw the hand as it was writing.

⁶He turned pale and was so frightened that his knees began to shake.

⁷He shouted for someone to bring in the magicians, wizards, and astrologers. When they came in, the king said to them, “Anyone who can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in robes of royal purple, wear a gold chain of honor around his neck, and be the third in power in the kingdom.”

⁸The royal advisers came forward, but none of them could read the writing or tell the king what it meant.

⁹In his distress King Belshazzar grew even paler, and his noblemen had no idea what to do.

¹⁰The queen mother heard the noise made by the king and his noblemen and entered the banquet hall. She said, “May Your Majesty live forever! Please do not be so disturbed and look so pale.

¹¹There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. When your father was king, this man showed good sense, knowledge, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him chief of the fortunetellers, magicians, wizards, and astrologers.

¹²He has unusual ability and is wise and skillful in interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining mysteries; so send for this man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, and he will tell you what all this means.”

Daniel Explains the Writing

¹³Daniel was brought at once into the king's presence, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, that Jewish exile whom my father the king brought here from Judah?

¹⁴I have heard that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that you are skillful and have knowledge and wisdom.

¹⁵The advisers and magicians were brought in to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not discover the meaning.

¹⁶Now I have heard that you can find hidden meanings and explain mysteries. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be dressed in robes of royal purple, wear a gold chain of honor around your neck, and be the third in power in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Daniel replied, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give them to someone else. I will read for Your Majesty what has been written and tell you what it means.

¹⁸“The Supreme God made your father Nebuchadnezzar a great king and gave him dignity and majesty.

¹⁹He was so great that people of all nations, races, and languages were afraid of him and trembled. If he wanted to kill someone, he did; if he wanted to keep someone alive, he did. He honored or disgraced anyone he wanted to.

²⁰But because he became proud, stubborn, and cruel, he was removed from his royal throne and lost his place of honor.

²¹He was driven away from human society, and his mind became like that of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys, ate grass like an ox, and slept in the open air with nothing to protect him from the dew. Finally he admitted that the Supreme God controls all human kingdoms and can give them to anyone he chooses.

²²“But you, his son, have not humbled yourself, even though you knew all this.

²³You acted against the Lord of heaven and brought in the cups and bowls taken from his Temple. You, your noblemen, your wives, and your concubines drank wine out of them and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that cannot see or hear and that do not know anything. But you did not honor the God who determines whether you live or die and who controls everything you do.

²⁴That is why God has sent the hand to write these words.

²⁵“This is what was written: ‘Number, number, weight, divisions.’

²⁶And this is what it means: number, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end;

²⁷weight, you have been weighed on the scales and found to be too light;

²⁸divisions, your kingdom is divided up and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹Immediately Belshazzar ordered his servants to dress Daniel in a robe of royal purple and to hang a gold chain of honor around his neck. And he made him the third in power in the kingdom.

³⁰That same night Belshazzar, the king of Babylonia, was killed;

³¹and Darius the Mede, who was then sixty-two years old, seized the royal power.

¹We may make our plans, but God has the last word.

²You may think everything you do is right, but the Lord judges your motives.

³Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out.

⁴Everything the Lord has made has its destiny; and the destiny of the wicked is destruction.