‏ Daniel 5

CHAPTER 5

King Belshazzar's Feast

1Belshazzar the king made [²supper ¹a great] for his great men -- a thousand; and before the thousand was the wine. 2And drinking Belshazzar spoke in the tasting of the wine   to bring the items, the ones of gold and the ones of silver which [³brought forth ¹Nebuchadnezzar   ²his father] from out of the temple   in Jerusalem. And they drank with them -- the king, and   his great men, and   his concubines, and   his mistresses. 3And they brought the items   of gold, and the ones of silver, which were brought forth from out of the temple   of God   in Jerusalem, and they drank with them -- the king, and   his great men, and   his concubines, and   his mistresses. 4They drank wine, and they praised the gods   of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of iron, and of wood, and of stones.

The Writing on the Wall

5In the same   hour came forth fingers of the hand of a man, and they wrote over against the lamp upon the whitewashed portion  of the wall of the house of the king. And the king viewed the knuckles of the hand   writing. 6Then [³of the ⁴king ¹the ²appearance] changed, and   his thoughts disturbed him, and the bonding together   of his loin parted, and   his knees struck together. 7And [³yelled ¹the ²king] in strength   to bring the magi, and the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. And he said to the wise men  of Babylon, Who ever should read   this writing, and   [²its interpretation ¹should make known] to me, purple shall be put on him, and the necklace   of gold upon   his neck, and as third in   my kingdom he shall rule. 8And entering were all the wise men  of the king, and they were not able [²the ³writing ¹to read], nor [²the ³interpretation ¹to make known] to the king. 9And   king Belshazzar was disturbed, and   his appearance changed in him, and   his great men were disturbed. 10And the queen entered into the house of the banquet. And [³responded ¹the ²queen] and said, O king, [²into ³the ⁴eon ¹live]! [³not ¹Let ⁴disturb ⁵you   ²your thoughts], and   [⁴appearance ³your ²not ¹let] be changed! 11There is a man in   your kingdom in which [²spirit ⁵God ³of the ⁴holy ¹is]. And in the days   of your father, vigilance, and understanding, and wisdom as wisdom of God, was found in him; and   king Nebuchadnezzar   your father [³ruler ⁴of enchanters ⁵of magi ⁶of Chaldeans ⁷and of astrologers ¹placed ²him]. 12For [²spirit ¹extra] is in him, and intelligence, and understanding of interpreting dreams, and reporting things held, and untying things bonded together -- it is Daniel, and the king put to him the name -- Belteshazzar. Now then let him be called! and   its interpretation he will announce to you. 13Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And [³said ¹the ²king]   to Daniel, Are you Daniel, the one from the sons of the captivity   of Judea, of which [⁴brought ²the ³king   ¹my father]? 14I heard concerning you, that spirit of God is in you, and vigilance, and understanding, and [²wisdom ¹extra] is found in you. 15And now there entered before me the wise men, magi, and astrologers, that   [²this writing ¹they should read], and the interpretation they should make known to me. But they were not able to announce to me. 16And I heard concerning you, that you are able [²judgments ¹to interpret]. Now then, if you should be able   [²this writing ¹to read], and   its interpretation to make known to me, purple shall be put on you, and the necklace   of gold will be upon   your neck, and as third in   my kingdom you shall rule.

Daniel Interprets the Writing

17Then answered Daniel, and he said before the king,   [²your gifts ⁴yours ¹Let ³be], and the present   of your house [²to another ¹give]! But I [²the ³writing ¹shall read] to the king, and the interpretation of it I shall make known to you. 18O king,   God the highest [²the ³kingdom ⁴and ⁵the ⁶greatness ⁷and ⁸the ⁹honor ¹⁰and ¹¹the ¹²glory ¹gave] to Nebuchadnezzar   your father. 19And because of the greatness of which he gave to him, all the peoples, tribes, languages were trembling and fearing from before him. Whom he willed he did away with, and whom he willed he beat, and whom he willed he raised up high, and whom he willed he humbled. 20And when [²was raised up high   ¹his heart], and   his spirit was fortified   to be prideful, he was brought down from the throne of the kingdom, and the honor was removed from him. 21And from the men he was driven out, and   his heart [²with ³the ⁴wild beasts ¹was given to be], and with the wild donkeys among which he dwelt. And grass [³as ⁴an ox ¹was fed ²him], and [³of ⁴the ⁵dew ⁶of the ⁷heaven   ¹his body ²was dipped], until of which time  he knew that [³dominated   ¹God ²the highest] the kingdom   of men, and to whomever it seems good  he gives it. 22And you,   his son, O Belshazzar, humbled not   your heart in front   of God, of which all these things  you knew. 23And against the lord  the God   of heaven you were haughty, and the items   of his house they brought before you; even you, and   your great men, and   your concubines, and   your mistresses [²wine ¹drank] in them, and the gods   of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of iron, and of wood, and of stones, the ones that see not, and hear not, and know not, you praised; and the God of whom   your breath is in his hand, and all   your ways -- him you glorified not. 24On account of this, [⁴from ⁵his presence ³was sent ¹the knuckle ²of a hand], and   this writing he arranged. 25And this is the writing being arranged -- Mene, Tekel, Peres. 26This is  the interpretation of the saying, Mene -- God measured   your kingdom and finished it. 27Tekel -- it was set in the yoke balance scale  and found lacking. 28Peres -- [²was divided   ¹your kingdom] and was given to the Medes and Persians. 29And Belshazzar spoke, and they put on   Daniel purple, and the [²necklace   ¹gold] they put around   his neck, and proclaimed concerning him for him to be [²ruler ¹third] in the kingdom. 30In the same   night [⁶was done away with ¹Belshazzar ²the ³king ⁴of the ⁵Chaldeans]. 31And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being [³years old  ¹sixty ²two].