Daniel 5:13–31

Daniel Interprets the Writing on the Wall

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the ^1aexiles from Judah, whom my father the king ^bbrought from Judah?

¹⁴“Now I have heard about you that ¹a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.

¹⁵“Just now the ^awise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this writing and make its interpretation known to me, but they ^bcould not declare the interpretation of the ¹message.

¹⁶“But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and ¹solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and make its ^ainterpretation known to me, you will be ^bclothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will rule with power as the ²third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your ^agifts remain with you or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the writing to the king and make the interpretation known to him.

¹⁸“¹O king, the ^aMost High God ^bgranted the kingdom, ^cgrandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.

¹⁹“And because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue feared and were in dread before him; ^awhomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he kept alive, and whomever he wished he raised up, and whomever he wished he made low.

²⁰“But when his heart was ^araised up and his spirit became so ^bstrong that he behaved arrogantly, he was ^cdeposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken away from him.

²¹“He was also ^adriven away from the sons of ¹men, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his place of habitation was with the ^bwild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of the sky until he knew that the ^cMost High God is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and that He sets up over it whomever He wishes.

²²“Yet you, his ¹son, Belshazzar, have ^anot made your heart lowly, ²even though you knew all this,

²³but you have ^araised yourself up against the ^bLord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the ^cgods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear, or know. But the God ^din whose hand are your life-breath and all your ^eways, you have not honored.

²⁴“Then the ^1ahand was sent from Him, and this writing was ²inscribed.

²⁵“Now this is the writing that was ¹inscribed: ‘²MENĒ, ³MENĒ, ⁴TEKĒL, ⁵UPHARSIN.’

²⁶“This is the interpretation of the ¹message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and ^aput an end to it.

²⁷“‘TEKĒL’—you have been ^aweighed on the scales and found lacking.

²⁸“‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the ^aMedes and ¹Persians.”

²⁹Then Belshazzar said the word, and they ^aclothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now would be the ¹third powerful ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰That same night ^aBelshazzar the Chaldean king was ^bkilled.

³¹¹So ^aDarius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.