17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself or your rewards give to another; nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and I will make known to him the explanation.u 18 ⌊O king⌋,v the Most High God gave the kingdom and the greatness and the glory and the majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your ⌊predecessor⌋.w 19 And because of the greatness that he gave to him, all the peoples, the nations and languages trembled and feared before him; whomever he wanted he killed, and whomever he wanted he let live, and whomever he wanted he honored, and whomever he wanted he humbled. 20 But ⌊when⌋x his heart became arrogant and his spirit became hard so as to act proudly, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and they glory ⌊was taken away from him⌋.z 21 And he was driven away ⌊from human society⌋a and his mind was made like the animalsb and his dwelling was with the wild asses; and ⌊he was given⌋c grass like oxen to eat, and withd the dew of heaven his body was bathed, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and ⌊whoever⌋e he wants he sets over it.

22 “But you his ⌊successor⌋,f Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart ⌊even though⌋g you knew all this. 23 And now you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords,h your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine fromi them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stonej that do not see and do not hear and do not know, but the God ⌊who holds your life in his hand⌋k and all of your ways ⌊come from him⌋,l you have not honored. 24 So then the palm of the hand was sent out from his presence and this writing was inscribed.

25 “Now this was the writing that was inscribed: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.’

26 “This is the explanation of the matter:m ‘Mene’—God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end to it.

27 “ ‘Tekel’—you have been weighed on scales and you have been found wanting.n

28 “ ‘Peres’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.’ ”