17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts and give your rewards to someone else;g however, I will read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him. 18 Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty,h greatness, glory, and majesty to your predecessor Nebuchadnezzar.i 19 Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languagesj were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted. 20 But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant,k he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken from him.l 21 He was driven away from people,m his mind was like an animal’s, he lived with the wild donkeys,n he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms and sets anyone he wants over them.o

22 “But you his successor, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart,p even though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them,q you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand.r But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.D,s 24 Therefore, he sent the hand, and this writing was inscribed.

THE INSCRIPTION’S INTERPRETATION

25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the message:

‘Mene’E means that God has numberedF the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.t

27 ‘Tekel’G means that you have been weighedH on the balance and found deficient.

28 ‘Peres’I,* means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”K

29 Then Belshazzar gave an order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck,u and issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed, 31 and Darius the Medev received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.