Daniel 5:5-9, 24-31

Suddenly the fingers of a person’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. King Belshazzar was very frightened. His face turned white, his knees knocked together, and he could not stand up because his legs were too weak. The king called for the magicians, wise men, and wizards of Babylon and said to them, “Anyone who can read this writing and explain it will receive purple clothes fit for a king and a gold chain around his neck. And I will make that person the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. King Belshazzar became even more afraid, and his face became even whiter. His royal guests were confused.

So God sent the hand that wrote on the wall. “These are the words that were written on the wall: ‘Mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.’ “This is what the words mean: Mene: God has counted the days until your kingdom will end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found not good enough. Parsin: Your kingdom is being divided and will be given to the Medes and the Persians.” Then Belshazzar gave an order for Daniel to be dressed in purple clothes and to have a gold chain put around his neck. And it was announced that Daniel was the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very same night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonian people, was killed. So Darius the Mede became the new king when he was sixty-two years old.