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

King Belshazzar gave a special supper for a thousand of his important men, and drank wine with them.

2 B elshazzar hath said -- while tasting the wine -- to bring in the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple that in Jerusalem, that drink with them may the king, and his great men, his wives, and his concubines.

When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he had all the gold and silver cups brought which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. The king sent for them so that he and his important men and all his wives could drink from them.

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

So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the house of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his important men and all his wives drank from them.

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

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

5 I n 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;

All at once the fingers of a man’s hand were seen writing on the wall near the lamp-stand of the king’s house. And the king saw the back of the hand as it wrote.

6 t hen 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.

Then the king’s face turned white, and his thoughts turned to fear. His legs became weak and his knees began shaking.

7 C all 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 on his neck, and third in the kingdom he doth rule.'

The king called in a loud voice for the wonder-workers, the men who learned from stars and those who used their secret ways. He said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed with purple clothing and have a chain of gold around his neck. And he will be the third in power in the nation.”

8 T hen 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;

Then all the king’s wise men came in. But they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.

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

Then King Belshazzar was very afraid. His face lost even more of its color, and his important men did not know what to do.

10 T he 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:

The queen heard the words of the king and his men, and came into the room where they were eating. She said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts make you afraid or your face turn white.

11 t here is a man in thy kingdom in whom the spirit of the holy gods: and, in the days of thy father, light, and understanding, and wisdom -- as the wisdom of the gods -- was found in him; and king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, chief of the scribes, enchanters, Chaldeans, soothsayers, established him -- thy father, O king --

There is a man in your nation who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In your father’s time light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him the head of the wonder-workers, the men who learned from stars, and those who use their secret ways.

12 b ecause 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.'

This was because a special spirit was found in this Daniel whom the king called Belteshazzar. He had much learning and understanding to tell the meaning of dreams and secrets and to give answers to problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what this means.” Daniel Tells What the Writing Means

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

So Daniel was brought to the king. And the king said to him, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the people whom my father the king brought from Judah?

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

I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. Light and understanding and special wisdom have been found in you also.

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:

The wise men and wonder-workers were brought in to me so that they might read this writing and tell me what it means. But they could not tell me its meaning.

16 a nd I -- I have heard of thee, that thou art able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, lo -- thou art able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know -- purple thou dost put on, and a bracelet of gold on thy neck, and third in the kingdom thou dost rule.'

Now I have heard that you are able to tell the meaning of such things and give answers to hard problems. If you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you will be dressed in purple and wear a chain of gold around your neck. And you will be the third in power in the nation.”

17 T hen 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;

Then Daniel answered the king, saying, “Keep your gifts for yourself, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing to the king and tell him what it means.

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

O king, the Most High made your father Nebuchadnezzar king, and gave him greatness, honor, and power.

19 a nd 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;

Because of the greatness He gave to him, all the people of every nation and language shook in fear in front of him. He killed whomever he wanted. And he let live whomever he wanted. He gave honor to whomever he wanted. And he put down whomever he wanted.

20 a nd 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,

But when his heart and spirit became proud and he acted in pride, he was taken from his throne and his greatness was taken from him.

21 a nd from the sons of men he is driven, and his heart with the beasts hath been like, and with the wild asses 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.

He was driven away from people, and his mind became like that of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cattle, and his body became wet with the water from heaven. It was like this for him until he understood that the Most High God is ruler over the nation of all men, and that He lets whomever He wants rule it.

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

Yet you, his son Belshazzar, have not put away the pride from your heart, even though you knew all this.

23 a nd 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 thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.

You have honored yourself more than the Lord of heaven. The cups of His house have been brought to you. And you and your important men and all your wives have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But you have not honored the God Who holds your life and your ways in His hand.

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

So the hand was sent from Him to write on your wall.

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

“This is what was written: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.’

26 T his the interpretation of the thing: Numbered -- God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.

And this is what it means: ‘MENE’ means that God has numbered the days of your rule and has brought it to an end.

27 W eighed -- Thou art weighed in the balances, and hast been found lacking.

‘TEKEL’ means that you have been weighed and found to be too light.

28 D ivided -- Divided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.'

‘PERES’ means that your nation has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

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

Then Belshazzar had them dress Daniel in purple and put a chain of gold around his neck. And he made it known that Daniel was the third most powerful ruler in the nation. Belshazzar Is Killed

30 I n that night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans is slain,

That very night Belshazzar the king of Babylon was killed.

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

So Darius the Mede became the king when he was sixty-two years old.