2 Under the influence ofC the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vesselsv that his predecessorD Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them. 3 So they brought in the goldE vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem,w and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them. 4 They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.x

THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

5 At that moment the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king’s palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the handF that was writing,