⁵^lIn the same hour ^mcame forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon ⁿthe plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw ^othe part of the hand that wrote. ⁶Then the king’s ^p^†countenance ^†was changed, and ^p^qhis thoughts troubled him, so that ^rthe ^||^†joints of ^s^this loins were loosed, and ^this knees smote one against another. ⁷^uThe king cried ^†aloud to bring in ^v^ythe astrologers, ^w^ythe Chaldeans, and ^x^ythe soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to ^zthe wise men of Babylon, ^aWhosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, ^ashall be clothed with ^||scarlet, and ^ahave a chain of gold about his neck, and ^a^bshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

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Footnotes

lSo ch 4:19, 33. Comp. ch. 4:31.
mComp. Ezek. 8:3.
n Isai 27:9 (Heb.).
over. 24.
pver. 9, 10. ch. 7:28.
†Chald. p brightnesses. So ch. 2:31. & 4:36.
†Chald. changed it.
pver. 9, 10. ch. 7:28.
qch. 4:19.
rSo Isai. 5:27. Comp. Isai. 13:8. Jer. 50:43.
||Or, r girdles.
†Chald. bindings, or, knots. ver. 12, 16.
sSo Ps. 69:23.
uComp. ch. 2:2. & 4:6.
†Chald. with might. See ch. 3:4.
vSee ch. 1:20.
yver. 11.
wSee ch. 1:4.
yver. 11.
xSee ch. 2:27.
yver. 11.
zver. 8. See ch. 2:12.
aver. 16, 29. So Gen. 41:42. ch. 2:6. Comp. 1 Esdr. 3:6. 1 Macc. 10:20, 62.
aver. 16, 29. So Gen. 41:42. ch. 2:6. Comp. 1 Esdr. 3:6. 1 Macc. 10:20, 62.
||Or, purple. 2 Chr. 2:7. So Ex. 25:4, &c. Ezek. 27:16. See Judg. 8:26.
aver. 16, 29. So Gen. 41:42. ch. 2:6. Comp. 1 Esdr. 3:6. 1 Macc. 10:20, 62.
aver. 16, 29. So Gen. 41:42. ch. 2:6. Comp. 1 Esdr. 3:6. 1 Macc. 10:20, 62.
bComp. ch. 6:2.

Cross references

t Nahum 2:10.
t Nahum 2:10.

Public Domain

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared 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 around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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 hand that was writing, his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that he soiled himself and his knees knocked together. The king shouted to bring in the mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and gives me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around his neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him.

The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will have a gold chain placed around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Immediately human fingers appeared and they wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king, and the king was watching the palm of the hand that was writing. Then his face changed and his thoughts terrified him, and his hip joints gave way and his knees knocked together. The king cried aloud to bring in the conjurers, the astrologers and the diviners; the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man that can read this writing and can tell me its explanation will be clothed in purple and will have a necklace of gold hung around his neck and he will rule as third in authority in the kingdom.”