Belshazzar Dishonors the Father's House
5 1 King Belshazzar gave a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of our Father in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
The Hand of Our Father Writes
5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, near the lampstand; and the king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king's face went pale, and his thoughts terrified him; his legs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
7 The king cried out to bring in the enchanters, the astrologers, and the diviners. He said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me its meaning will be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around his neck, and rule as third in the kingdom." 1 1 v7 Belshazzar was co-regent under his absent father Nabonidus, so 'third in the kingdom' was the highest rank he could grant.
8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or explain its meaning to the king. 9 So King Belshazzar was even more terrified, and his face grew paler still; and his nobles were bewildered.
10 Because of the words of the king and his nobles, the queen came into the banquet hall. She said, "King, may you live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you, and do not let your face grow pale. 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have insight and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father — the king, your father — made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners, 12 because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and understanding — interpreting dreams, explaining riddles, and solving hard problems — were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation."
Daniel Reads the Father's Verdict
13 So Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to Daniel, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah whom the king my father brought from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that insight, understanding, and extraordinary wisdom are found in you. 15 The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and explain its meaning, but they could not give the interpretation. 16 But I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and solve hard problems. Now if you can read the writing and make its meaning known to me, you will be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around your neck, and rule as third in the kingdom."
17 Then Daniel replied before the king, "Keep your gifts for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing for the king and make its meaning known to him. 18 Your Majesty, the Most High our Father gave your father Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Those he wished, he killed; those he wished, he kept alive; those he wished, he raised up; and those he wished, he brought low. 20 But when his heart became proud and his spirit hardened with arrogance, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven away from people, and his mind became like that of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and was fed grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven — until he acknowledged that the Most High our Father rules over the kingdom of men and appoints over it whomever he desires.
22 But you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Sovereign of heaven. You had the vessels of his house brought before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone — gods that cannot see or hear or know anything. But the One in whose hand is your very breath and to whom all your ways belong — our Father — you have not honored. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote this inscription.
25 This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE — our Father has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
27 TEKEL — you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28 PERES — your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then Belshazzar gave the order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, put a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed that he was to rule as third in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. 2 2 v31 Darius the Mede is named in Daniel as receiving the kingdom after Babylon's fall; his precise identification in secular history is debated.