Daniel 5:13–31

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ⁱthe exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴I have heard of you that ^bthe spirit of the gods⁵ is in you, and that ^clight and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵Now ^jthe wise men, the ^kenchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^lthey could not show the interpretation of the matter. ^16mBut I have heard that you can give interpretations and ⁿsolve problems. ^oNow if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^oyou shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and ^pshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^q“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸O king, the ^rMost High God ^sgave ^tNebuchadnezzar your father ^ukingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^vall peoples, nations, and languages ^wtrembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. ²⁰But ^xwhen his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^yhe was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. ^21zHe was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^zuntil he knew that the ^rMost High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. ²²And you his son,^{6 a}Belshazzar, ^bhave not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³but you have lifted up yourself against ^cthe Lord of heaven. And ^dthe vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^eAnd you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^fbut the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^gwhose are all your ways, ^hyou have not honored.

²⁴“Then from his presence ⁱthe hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered⁷ the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷Tekel, ^jyou have been weighed⁸ in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^kthe Medes and ^lPersians.”⁹

²⁹Then ^aBelshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^mwas clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ⁿThat very night ^aBelshazzar the ^oChaldean king was killed. ³¹¹⁰ And ^pDarius ^kthe Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.