For  ¹everything that has been  ²begotten of God  ³overcomes the  ⁴world; and this is the victory which has overcome the world — our  ⁵faith.

And who is he who overcomes the world except him who  ¹believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is  ¹He who came through water and blood ², Jesus Christ; not  ³in the water only, but  ³in the water and  ³in the blood; and the Spirit is He who  ⁴testifies, because the Spirit is the  ⁵reality.

For there are three who testify,

The Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are  ¹unto the one thing.

If we receive the testimony of men, the  ¹testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that He has testified concerning His Son.

He who  ¹believes into the Son of God has the testimony in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony which God has testified concerning His Son.

And this is the testimony, that God  ¹gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son.

He who  ¹has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

I have written  ¹these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe into the name of the Son of God.

And  ¹this is the  ²boldness which we have toward Him, that if we  ³ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

And if we  ¹know that He hears us in whatever we  ²ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not  ¹unto death, he shall  ²ask and he  ³will give  ⁴life to him, to those sinning not unto death. There is a  ⁵sin unto death; I do not say that he should make request concerning that.

All  ¹unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not unto death.

We know that everyone who is  ¹begotten of God does not sin, but  ²he who has been begotten of God  ³keeps himself, and the  ⁴evil one does not  ⁵touch him.

We know that we are  ¹of God, and the  ²whole world  ³lies in the  ⁴evil one.

And we know that the Son of God has  ¹come and has given us an  ²understanding that we might  ³know  ⁴Him who is  ⁵true; and we are  ⁶in Him who is true,  ⁷in His Son Jesus Christ.  ⁸This is the true God and eternal life.

 ¹Little children,  ²guard yourselves from  ³idols.

 ¹Belshazzar the king  ²made a great feast for a thousand of his lords; and he  ²drank wine before the thousand.

Belshazzar,  ¹under the influence of the wine, commanded men to bring the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his forefather had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

Then they brought the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.

They drank wine and praised the  ¹gods of gold and of silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

At that moment the fingers of a man's hand came forth and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw that part of the hand that wrote.

Then the king's countenance changed and his thoughts alarmed him; and the joints of his hips loosened and his knees began to knock together.

The king cried loudly to bring the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king responded and said to the wise men of Babylon, Any man who reads this writing and declares its interpretation to me shall be clothed in purple and shall have a chain of gold around his neck and shall rule as the third ruler in the kingdom.

Then all the king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing nor make its interpretation known to the king.

Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed; his countenance was further changed, and his lords were perplexed.

The queen mother, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet house. The queen mother responded and said, O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you, nor let your countenance change.

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your forefather light and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar your forefather — your forefather, O king — made him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans, and diviners,

Because an excellent spirit and knowledge and insight, and the interpretation of dreams, the declaring of riddles, and the resolving of problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be called, and he will declare the interpretation.

Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king responded and said to Daniel, Are you Daniel, one of the captives of Judah, whom my forefather the king brought from Judah?

Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you and that light and insight and surpassing wisdom are found in you.

And now the wise men, the conjurers, have been brought in before me that they might read this writing and make its interpretation known to me, but they cannot declare the interpretation of the thing.

But I have heard about you that you can give interpretations and resolve problems. If you can now read the writing and make its interpretation known to me, you shall be clothed in purple and shall have a chain of gold around your neck and shall rule as the third ruler in the kingdom.

Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts remain with you, or give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing for the king and make the interpretation known to him.

Regarding  ¹you, O king, God the Most High gave to Nebuchadnezzar your forefather kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty;

And because of the greatness which He gave to him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him; whomever he wished he slew, and whomever he wished he kept alive, and whomever he wished he raised up, and whomever he wished he brought down.

But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so arrogant that he conducted himself in pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken away from him.

And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like that of the beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys; men fed him with grass as they do bulls, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he came to know that God the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and sets over it whomever He wills.

And you his descendant, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this;

But you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens; and they have brought the vessels of His house 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 of gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see nor hear nor know. But the God in whose hand is your breath and to whom all your ways belong, you have not honored.

Then that part of the hand was sent from before Him, and this writing was inscribed.

And this is the writing that was inscribed:  ¹MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE — God has numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end;

TEKEL — You have been weighed in the scales and found to be lacking.

PERES — Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Then Belshazzar commanded; and they clothed Daniel in purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and they made the proclamation concerning him that he should rule as the third ruler in the kingdom.

In that very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was  ¹slain.

And Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.

It pleased Darius to set up over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who would be throughout the whole kingdom;

And over them, three chief ministers — of whom Daniel was one — so that these satraps might give account to them and the king might not suffer loss.

Then this Daniel distinguished himself among the chief ministers and satraps because in him there was an excellent spirit, and the king considered setting him over the whole kingdom.

Then the chief ministers and satraps sought to find a ground for accusation against Daniel from the perspective of the kingdom, but they could find no ground for accusation or fault, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or fault was found related to him.

Then these men said, We will not find any ground for accusation against this Daniel unless we find something related to him due to the law of his God.

Then these chief ministers and satraps came to prevail upon the king and said thus to him, King Darius, live forever!

All the chief ministers of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors, have taken counsel together that the king should establish a statute and make firm an edict that anyone who makes a  ¹petition within the next thirty days to any god or man besides you, O king, shall be cast into the lions' den.

Now, O king, establish the edict and sign the writing, so that it is not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot pass away.

Therefore King Darius signed the writing, that is, the edict.

Now when  ¹Daniel came to know that the writing had been signed, he went to his house (in his upper room he had windows open  ²toward Jerusalem) and three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, because he had always done so previously.

Then these men assembled and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.

Then they came near and spoke before the king concerning the king's edict: Did you not sign an edict that anyone who petitions, within the next thirty days, any god or man besides you, O king, shall be cast into the lions' den? The king answered and said, The thing is certain, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot pass away.

Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, has not respected you, O king, or the edict that you have signed, but three times daily makes his petition.

Then the king, when he heard the thing, was very displeased with himself and set his heart on delivering Daniel; and until the sun set, he made efforts to deliver him.

Then these men came to prevail upon the king and said to the king, Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or statute which the king establishes can be changed.

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king responded and said to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.

And a stone was brought and set over the mouth of the den. And the king sealed it with his signet ring and with the signet rings of his lords that nothing might be changed regarding Daniel.

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no entertainment was brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.

Then the king arose at dawn at the first light, and went in haste to the lions' den.

And when he had come near the den, he shouted to Daniel with a sad voice; the king responded and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?

Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever!

My God has sent His angel and has shut the lions' mouth, and they have not hurt me, inasmuch as before Him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.

Then the king was very pleased concerning him, and he commanded that they take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and he was found completely unhurt, because he had trusted in his God.

Then the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel and threw them into the lions' den, them, their children, and their wives; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

 ¹Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in the whole land: May your peace abound!

I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel;
For He is the living God
And enduring forever;
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be unto the end.

He delivers and rescues,
And He does signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth;
It is He who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

And this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.