Daniel 5
5
1Belshazzar the king hath made a great feast to a thousand of his great men, and before the thousand he is drinking wine;
2Belshazzar 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 [is] in Jerusalem, that drink with them may the king, and his great men, his wives, and his concubines.
3Then they have brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple of the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem, and drunk with them have the king and his great men, his wives and his concubines;
4they have drunk wine, and have praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5In 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;
6then 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.
7Call 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 [is] on his neck, and third in the kingdom he doth rule.’
8Then 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;
9then the king Belshazzar is greatly troubled, and his countenance is changing in him, and his great men are perplexed.
10The queen, on account of the words of the king and his great men, to the banquethouse 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:
11there 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 — 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 —
12because 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.’
13Then Daniel hath been caused to come up before the king; answered hath the king, and said to Daniel, ‘Thou art that Daniel who [art] of the sons of the Removed of Judah, whom the king my father brought in out of Judah?
14And I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods [is] in thee, and light, and understanding, and excellent wisdom have been found in thee.
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:
16and 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 [is] on thy neck, and third in the kingdom thou dost rule.’
17Then 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;
18thou, O king, God Most High, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour, gave to Nebuchadnezzar thy father:
19and 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;
20and 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,
21and from the sons of men he is driven, and his heart with the beasts hath been like, and with the wild asses [is] 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.
22‘And thou, his son, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though all this thou hast known;
23and 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 [is] thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.
24‘Then from before Him sent is the extremity of the hand, and the writing is noted down;
25and this [is] the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.
26This [is] the interpretation of the thing: Numbered — God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.
27Weighed — Thou art weighed in the balances, and hast been found lacking.
28Divided — Divided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.’
29Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold [is] on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.
30In that night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans is slain,
31and Darius the Mede hath received the kingdom, when a son of sixty and two years.
Currently Selected:
Daniel 5: YLT98
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Daniel 5
5
Belshazzar’s party
1King Belshazzar threw a huge party for a thousand of his princes, and he drank a lot of wine in front of them. 2While he was under the wine’s influence, Belshazzar commanded that the gold and silver equipment that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem’s temple be brought to the party so that the king, his princes, his consorts, and his secondary wives could drink wine out of them. 3So the gold#5.3 Vulg, Theodotion add silver. equipment that had been carried out of the temple, God’s house in Jerusalem, was brought in; and the king, his princes, his consorts, and his secondary wives drank out of it. 4They drank a lot of wine; and they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Writing on the wall
5Right then the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the king’s palace wall in the light of the lamp. The king saw the hand that wrote. 6The king’s mood changed immediately, and he was deeply disturbed. He felt weak, and his knees were shaking. 7The king yelled, calling for the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners.
The king told these sages of Babylon: “Anyone who can read this writing and tell me its meaning will wear royal robes, will have a gold chain around his neck, and will rule the kingdom as third in command.”
8Then all the king’s sages arrived, but they couldn’t read the writing or interpret it for the king. 9At that point King Belshazzar was really frightened. All the color drained from his face, and his princes were also very worried.
10Upon hearing the commotion coming from the king and his princes, the queen entered the banqueting hall and declared, “Long live the king! Don’t be so disturbed. Don’t be so frightened. 11There is a man in your kingdom who has the breath#5.11 Or spirit; also in 5:14 of holy gods in him! When your father was alive, this man was shown to possess illumination, insight, and wisdom like the very wisdom of the gods.#5.11 Or wisdom of God Your father King Nebuchadnezzar appointed this man as chief over the dream interpreters, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners. Yes, your father did this 12because this man—Daniel, the one the king named Belteshazzar—possesses an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and insight into the meaning of dreams. He can explain ambiguities and resolve mysteries. Now in light of all that, summon Daniel! He will explain the meaning of this thing.”
13So Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, “So you are Daniel, the Daniel from the exiles that my father the king brought from Judah? 14I have heard that the breath of the gods is in you and that you possess illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom. 15Now, the sages and the dream interpreters were brought before me to read this writing and interpret it for me, but they couldn’t explain its meaning. 16But I’ve heard that you can explain meanings and solve mysteries. So if you can read this writing and interpret it for me, you will wear royal robes, have a gold chain around your neck, and will rule the kingdom as third in command.”
Daniel interprets the writing
17Daniel answered the king: “Keep your gifts. Give the rewards to someone else. But I will still read the writing to the king and interpret it for him. 18Listen, Your Majesty: The Most High God gave kingship, power, glory, and majesty to your father Nebuchadnezzar. 19Because of the power God gave Nebuchadnezzar, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified of him. He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted: killing or sparing, exalting or humbling. 20But when he became arrogant, acting in stubborn pride, he was pulled off his royal throne and the glory was taken from him. 21He was driven away from other humans, and his mind became like an animal’s. He lived with wild donkeys, he ate grass like cattle, and dew from heaven washed his body until he realized that the Most High God dominates human kingship and sets over it anyone he wants.
22“But you who are his son, Belshazzar, you haven’t submitted, even though you’ve known all this. 23Instead, you’ve set yourself up against the Lord of heaven! The equipment of God’s house was brought to you; and you, your princes, your consorts, and your secondary wives drank wine out of it, all the while praising the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods who can’t see, hear, or know anything. But you didn’t glorify the true God who holds your very breath in his hand and who owns every road you take.
24“That’s why this hand was sent from God and why this message was written down. 25This is what was written down:
mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.#5.25 Aram Upharsin
26“This is the meaning of the word mene: God has numbered#5.26 Aram menah, which is a wordplay with Mene the days of your rule. It’s over! 27tekel means that you’ve been weighed#5.27 Aram teqal, which is a wordplay with Tekel on the scales, and you don’t measure up. 28peres#5.28 The singular form of the plural Parsin in 5:25 means your kingship is divided#5.28 Aram peras, which is a wordplay with Parsin and given to the Medes and the Persians.”#5.28 Aram Paras, another wordplay with Parsin
29Then Belshazzar commanded that Daniel be dressed in a purple robe, have a gold chain around his neck, and be officially appointed as third in command in the kingdom.
30That very same night, Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of 62.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.