Belshazzar
the king made a great feast to a thousand of his
lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
02 Belshazzar, 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.
03 Then 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.
04 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold,
and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of
stone.
05 In 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.
06 Then 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.
07 The 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.
08 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they
could not read the writing, nor make known to the
king the interpretation thereof.
09 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and
his countenance was changed in him, and his lords
were astonied.
10 Now 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:
11 There 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;
12 Forasmuch 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.
13 Then 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?
14 I 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.
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15 And 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:
16 And 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.
17 Then 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.
18 O thou king, the most high God gave
Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty,
and glory, and honour:
19 And 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.
20 But 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:
21 And 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.
22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not
humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all
this;
23 But 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:
24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him;
and this writing was written.
25 And this is the writing that was written,
ME-NE, MENE, TE-KEL, U-PHAR-SIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing:
ME-NE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and
finished it.
27 TE-KEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and
art found wanting.
28 PE-RES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to
the Medes and Persians.
29 Then 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.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the
Chaldeans slain.
31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being
about threescore and two years old.
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