The Prophet Daniel

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- Chapter 5 -

Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and each one of them drank according to his age.(a)

And so, when they were drunk, he instructed that the vessels of gold and silver should be brought, which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had carried away from the temple, which was in Jerusalem, so that the king, and his nobles, and his wives, and the concubines, might drink from them.

Then the gold and silver vessels were presented, which he had carried away from the temple and which had been in Jerusalem, and the king, and his nobles, wives, and concubines, drank from them.

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

The Handwriting on the Wall

In the same hour, there appeared fingers, as of the hand of a man, writing on the surface of the wall, opposite the candlestick, in the king’s palace. And the king observed the part of the hand that wrote.(b)

Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts disturbed him, and he lost his self-control, and his knees knocked against one other.(c)

And the king cried out loudly for them to bring in the astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. And the king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon, saying, “Whoever will read this writing and make known to me its interpretation will be clothed with purple, and will have a golden chain on his neck, and will be third in my kingdom.”(d)

Then, in came all the wise men of the king, but they could neither read the writing, nor reveal the interpretation to the king.

Therefore, king Belshazzar was quite confused, and his face was altered, and even his nobles were disturbed.

But the queen, because of what had happened to the king and his nobles, entered the banquet house. And she spoke out, saying, “O king, live forever. Do not let your thoughts confuse you, neither should your face be altered.(e)

There is a man in your kingdom, who has the spirit of the holy gods within himself, and in the days of your father, knowledge and wisdom were found in him. For king Nebuchadnezzar, your father, appointed him leader of the astrologers, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, even your father, I say to you, O king.

For a greater spirit, and foresight, and understanding, and interpretation of dreams, and the revealing of secrets, and the solution to difficulties were found in him, that is, in Daniel, to whom the king gave the name Belteshazzar. Now, therefore, let Daniel be summoned, and he will explain the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke to him, saying, “Are you Daniel, of the sons of the captivity of Judah, whom my father the king led out of Judea?

I have heard of you, that you have the spirit of the gods, and that greater knowledge, as well as understanding and wisdom, have been found in you.

And now the wise astrologers have entered into my presence, so as to read this writing and to reveal to me its interpretation. And they were not able to tell me the meaning of this writing.

Furthermore, I have heard about you that you can interpret obscure things and solve difficulties. So then, if you succeed in reading the writing, and in revealing its interpretation, you will be clothed with purple, and you will have a chain of gold around your neck, and you will be the third leader in my kingdom.”

To this Daniel responded by saying directly to the king, “Your rewards should be for yourself, and the gifts of your house you may give to another, but I will read to you the writing, O king, and I will reveal to you its interpretation.

O king, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, a kingdom and greatness, glory and honor.

And because of the greatness that he gave to him, all peoples, tribes, and languages trembled and were afraid of him. Whomever he wished, he put to death; and whomever he wished, he destroyed; and whomever he wished, he exalted; and whomever he wished, he lowered.

But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened in arrogance, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and his glory was taken away.

And he was expelled from the sons of men, and so his heart was placed with the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys, and he ate hay like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he realized that the Most High holds power over the kingdom of men, and that whoever he wishes, he will set over it.

Likewise, you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all these things.

But you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been presented before you. And you, and your nobles, and your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. Likewise, you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, and brass, iron, and wood and stone, who neither see, nor hear, nor feel, yet you have not glorified the God who holds your breath and all your ways in his hand.

Therefore, he has sent the part of the hand which has written this, which has been inscribed.

But this is the writing that has been decreed: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.

And this is the interpretation of the words. MANE: God has numbered your kingdom and has finished it.

THECEL: you have been weighed on the scales and found lacking.

PHARES: your kingdom has been divided and has been given to the Medes and the Persians.

Then, by the king’s command, Daniel was dressed with purple, and a chain of gold was placed around his neck, and it was proclaimed of him that he held power as the third in the kingdom.

That same night, king Belshazzar the Chaldean was killed.

And Darius the Mede succeeded to the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two years.(f)

Footnotes

(a)5:1 Baltasar:He is believed to be the same as Nabonydus, the last of the Chaldean kings, grandson to Nebuchadnezzar. He is called his son, ver. 2, 11, etc., according to the style of the scriptures, because he was a descendant from him.(Challoner)

(b)5:5 Articulos manus can also mean the joints of the hand.(Conte)

(c)5:6 The phrase “compages renum eius solvebantur” literally means that the binding of his kidneys was loosened. But renum (kidney) was often used figuratively in ancient times (see Wisdom, chapter 1, for another example). It was used to refer to the concepts of temperament, self-control, composure, and patience.(Conte)

(d)5:7 The color purple is repeatedly mentioned in the Book of Daniel as being associated with wealth and royal power. This is because the purple color of ancient times was obtained, in a time-consuming and laborious process, from a certain gland in certain types of shellfish. Thousands of these shellfish were required to produce a small amount of the dye, and so the dye was expensive and rare, and usually only found with the very wealthy or the powerful. This color is often called Royal purple, because of its use by kings, or Tyrian purple, after the city which was a center of production and commerce for the dye.(Conte)

(e)5:10 The queen:Not the wife, but the mother of the king.(Challoner)

(f)5:31 Darius:He is called Cyaxares by the historians; and was the son of Astyages, and uncle to Cyrus.(Challoner)

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded that the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem be brought to him, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.

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

The Handwriting on the Wall

In the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.

The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Then all the king’s wise men came in; but they could not read the writing, and couldn’t make known to the king the interpretation.

Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his face was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.

The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house. The queen spoke and said, “O king, live forever; don’t let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed.

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. The king, Nebuchadnezzar, your father—yes, the king, your father—made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers,

because an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting of dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you and that light, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you.

Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me its interpretation; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing.

But I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Then Daniel answered before the king, “Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

“To you, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty.

Because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed whom he wanted to, and he kept alive whom he wanted to. He raised up whom he wanted to, and he put down whom he wanted to.

But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.

He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the animals’, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky, until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will.

“You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don’t see, or hear, or know; and you have not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways.

Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.

“This is the writing that was inscribed: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’

“This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE: God has counted your kingdom, and brought it to an end.

TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting.

PERES: your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.

Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.