Belshazzar the king who was a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar gave a great ^afeast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking his wine in the presence of the thousand guests. 2 Belshazzar, as he tasted the wine, gave a command to bring in the gold and silver ^avessels which his ¹father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the ²temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his ³concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the gold and silver vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 They ^adrank the wine and praised the gods of ^bgold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing opposite the lampstand on a well-lit area of the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that did the writing. 6 Then the king’s ^aface grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; the ^bjoints and muscles of his hips and back weakened and his ^cknees began knocking together. 7 The king called aloud to bring in the ^aenchanters (Magi) , the Chaldeans who were master astrologers and the diviners. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and explain its interpretation to me shall be ^bclothed with purple and have a ^cchain of gold put around his neck, and have authority as the ^1dthird ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but ^athey could not ¹read the writing or reveal to the king its interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^aperplexed, his ^bface became even paler, and his nobles were bewildered and alarmed.

10 Now the queen mother, overhearing the excited words of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet area. The queen mother spoke and said, “^aO king, live forever! Do not be alarmed at your thoughts or let your face be changed. 11 There is a ^aman in your kingdom in whom is ¹a ^bspirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And ²King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father ^cthe king, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and diviners. 12 It was because an ^aextraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, the ability to interpret dreams, clarify riddles, and solve complex problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named ^bBelteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called and he will give the interpretation.”

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the sons of the ^aexiles of Judah, whom my father the king ^bbrought from Judah? 14 I have heard of you, that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. 15 Now the ^awise men and the enchanters, were brought in before me so that they might read this writing and reveal its meaning to me, but they ^bcould not give the interpretation of the message. 16 But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to make interpretations and solve complex problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and reveal its ^ainterpretation to me, you shall be ^bclothed with purple and have a chain of gold put around your neck, and you shall have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your ^agifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the writing to the king and reveal the interpretation to him. 18 O king, the ^aMost High God ^bgave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and ^cgreatness and glory and majesty; 19 and because of the greatness that He gave him, all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language trembled and feared him. ^aWhomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he kept alive; whomever he wished he promoted and whomever he wished he humbled. 20 But when his heart was ^alifted up and his spirit became so ^bproud that he behaved arrogantly, he was ^cdeposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. 21 He was also ^adriven from mankind, and his mind was made like that of an animal, and his dwelling place was with the ^bwild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he came to know without any doubt that the ^cMost High God rules over the kingdom of mankind and He appoints it to whomever He wills. 22 And you, his ¹son, O Belshazzar, have ^anot humbled your heart (mind) , even though you knew all this. 23 And you have ^aexalted yourself against the ^bLord of heaven, and the vessels of His house have been brought before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the ^cgods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But the God who holds ^din His hand your breath of life and your ^eways you have not honored and glorified but have dishonored and defied. 24 Then the ^ahand was sent from the presence of the Most High God, and this inscription was written:

25 “This is the ¹inscription that was written, ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided.’ 26 This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’—God has numbered the days of your kingdom and ^aput an end to it; 27 ‘TEKEL’—you have been ^aweighed on the scales of righteousness and found deficient; 28 ‘¹PERES’—²your kingdom has been divided and given over to the ^aMedes and ³Persians.”

29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was ^aclothed with purple and a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation concerning him was issued declaring that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 During that same ¹night ^aBelshazzar the last Chaldean king was ^bslain by troops of the ²invading army. 31 ^aSo ¹Darius the Mede received the kingdom; he was about the age of sixty-two.