Daniel 5

¹Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

²Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

³Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

⁴They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

⁵In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

⁶Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

⁷The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

⁸Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

⁹Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.

¹⁰Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

¹¹There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

¹²Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.

¹³Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?

¹⁴I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.

¹⁵And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:

¹⁶And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

¹⁷Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

¹⁸O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:

¹⁹And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.

²⁰But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

²¹And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

²²And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;

²³But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

²⁴Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

²⁵And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

²⁶This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

²⁷TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

²⁸PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

²⁹Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

³¹And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Daniel 5

¹Belshazzar the king hath made a great feast to a thousand of his great men, and before the thousand he is drinking wine;

²Belshazzar hath saidwhile tasting the wineto bring in the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple that is in Jerusalem, that drink with them may the king, and his great men, his wives, and his concubines.

³Then they have brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and drunk with them have the king and his great men, his wives and his concubines;

⁴they have drunk wine, and have praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

⁵In that hour come forth have fingers of a man's hand, and they are writing over-against the candlestick, on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king is seeing the extremity of the hand that is writing;

⁶then the king's countenance hath changed, and his thoughts do trouble him, and the joints of his loins are loosed, and his knees are smiting one against another.

⁷Call doth the king mightily, to bring up the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Answered hath the king, and said to the wise men of Babylon, that, `Any man who doth read this writing, and its interpretation doth shew me, purple he putteth on, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and third in the kingdom he doth rule.'

⁸Then coming up are all the wise men of the king, and they are not able to read the writing, and the interpretation to make known to the king;

⁹then the king Belshazzar is greatly troubled, and his countenance is changing in him, and his great men are perplexed.

¹⁰The queen, on account of the words of the king and his great men, to the banquet-house hath come up. Answered hath the queen, and said, `O king, to the ages live; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor thy countenance be changed:

¹¹there is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and, in the days of thy father, light, and understanding, and wisdomas the wisdom of the godswas found in him; and king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, chief of the scribes, enchanters, Chaldeans, soothsayers, established himthy father, O king

¹²because that an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of enigmas, and loosing of knots was found in him, in Daniel, whose name the king made Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and the interpretation he doth show.'

¹³Then Daniel hath been caused to come up before the king; answered hath the king, and said to Daniel, `Thou art that Daniel who art of the sons of the Removed of Judah, whom the king my father brought in out of Judah?

¹⁴And I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and light, and understanding, and excellent wisdom have been found in thee.

¹⁵`And now, caused to come up before me have been the wise men, the enchanters, that this writing they may read, and its interpretation to cause me to know: and they are not able to shew the interpretation of the thing:

¹⁶and II have heard of thee, that thou art able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, lothou art able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to knowpurple thou dost put on, and a bracelet of gold is on thy neck, and third in the kingdom thou dost rule.'

¹⁷Then hath Daniel answered and said before the king, `Thy gifts be to thyself, and thy fee to another give; nevertheless, the writing I do read to the king, and the interpretation I cause him to know;

¹⁸thou, O king, God Most High, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour, gave to Nebuchadnezzar thy father:

¹⁹and because of the greatness that He gave to him, all peoples, nations, and languages were trembling and fearing before him: whom he willed he was slaying, and whom he willed he was keeping alive, and whom he willed he was raising up, and whom he willed he was making low;

²⁰and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he hath been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him,

²¹and from the sons of men he is driven, and his heart with the beasts hath been like, and with the wild asses is his dwelling; the herb like oxen they cause him to eat, and by the dew of the heavens is his body wet, till that he hath known that God Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and whom He willeth He raiseth up over it.

²²`And thou, his son, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though all this thou hast known;

²³and against the Lord of the heavens thou hast lifted up thyself; and the vessels of His house they have brought in before thee, and thou, and thy great men, thy wives, and thy concubines, are drinking wine with them, and gods of silver, and of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that are not seeing, nor hearing, nor knowing, thou hast praised: and the God in whose hand is thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.

²⁴`Then from before Him sent is the extremity of the hand, and the writing is noted down;

²⁵and this is the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.

²⁶This is the interpretation of the thing: NumberedGod hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.

²⁷WeighedThou art weighed in the balances, and hast been found lacking.

²⁸DividedDivided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.'

²⁹Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰In that night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans is slain,

³¹and Darius the Mede hath received the kingdom, when a son of sixty and two years.