Daniel 5–6

A Hand Writes on the Palace Wall

5King Belshazzar gave a big dinner. He invited a thousand of his nobles to it. He drank wine with them.

²While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to his servants. He commanded them to bring in some gold and silver cups. They were the cups his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Belshazzar had them brought in so everyone could drink from them. That included the king himself, his nobles, his wives and his concubines.

³So the servants brought in the gold cups that had been taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem. The king and his nobles drank from them. So did his wives and concubines. ⁴As they drank the wine, they praised their gods. The statues of those gods were made out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood or stone.

⁵Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared. They wrote something on the plaster of the palace wall. It happened near the lampstand.

The king watched the hand as it wrote. ⁶His face turned pale. He became so afraid that his knees knocked together. His legs couldn’t hold him up any longer.

⁷The king sent for those who try to figure things out by using magic. He also sent for those who study the heavens. All of them were wise men in Babylon. He ordered that they be brought to him. He said to them, “I want one of you to read this writing and tell me what it means. If you do, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

⁸Then all of the king’s wise men came in. But they couldn’t read the writing. They couldn’t tell him what it meant. ⁹So King Belshazzar became even more terrified. His face grew more pale. And his nobles were bewildered.

¹⁰The queen heard the king and his nobles talking. So she came into the dining hall. “King Belshazzar, may you live forever!” she said. “Don’t be afraid! Don’t look so pale! ¹¹I know a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. He has understanding and wisdom and good sense just like the gods. That was discovered when your father Nebuchadnezzar was king. Nebuchadnezzar appointed him chief of those who tried to figure things out by using magic. He also put him in charge of those who studied the heavens.

¹²“The man’s name is Daniel. Your father called him Belteshazzar. He has a clever mind and knowledge and understanding. He is also able to tell what dreams mean. He can explain riddles and solve hard problems. Send for him. He’ll tell you what the writing means.”

¹³So Daniel was brought to the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel? Are you one of the prisoners my father the king brought here from Judah? ¹⁴I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. I’ve also heard that you have understanding and good sense and special wisdom.

¹⁵“The wise men and those who practice magic were brought to me. They were asked to read this writing and tell me what it means. But they couldn’t.

¹⁶“I have heard that you are able to explain things and solve hard problems. I hope you can read this writing and tell me what it means. If you can, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Then Daniel answered the king. He said, “You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can give your rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing for you. I’ll tell you what it means.

¹⁸“King Belshazzar, the Most High God was good to your father Nebuchadnezzar. He gave him authority and greatness and glory and honor. ¹⁹God gave him a high position. Then all of the people from every nation and language became afraid of the king. He put to death anyone he wanted to. He spared anyone he wanted to spare. He gave high positions to anyone he wanted to. And he brought down anyone he wanted to bring down.

²⁰“But his heart became very stubborn and proud. So he was removed from his royal throne. His glory was stripped away from him. ²¹He was driven away from people. He was given the mind of an animal. He lived like the wild donkeys. He ate grass just as cattle do. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until he recognized that the Most High God rules over all of the kingdoms of men. He puts anyone he wants to in charge of them.

²²“But you knew all of that, Belshazzar. After all, you are Nebuchadnezzar’s son. In spite of that, you are still proud. ²³You have taken your stand against the Lord of heaven. You had your servants bring cups from his temple to you. You and your nobles drank wine from them. So did your wives and concubines. You praised your gods. The statues of those gods are made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood or stone. They can’t see or hear or understand anything. But you didn’t honor the God who holds in his hand your very life and everything you do. ²⁴So he sent the hand that wrote on the wall.

²⁵“Here is what was written.

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin

²⁶“And here is what those words mean.

Mene means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.

²⁷Tekel means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven’t measured up to God’s standard.

²⁸Peres means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylonia, was killed. ³¹His kingdom was given to Darius the Mede. Darius was 62 years old.

Daniel Is Thrown Into a Den of Lions

6It pleased Darius to appoint 120 royal rulers over his entire kingdom. ²He placed three leaders over them. One of the leaders was Daniel. The royal rulers were made accountable to the three leaders. Then the king wouldn’t lose any of his wealth. ³Daniel did a better job than the other two leaders or any of the royal rulers. He was an unusually good and able man. So the king planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

⁴But the other two leaders and the royal rulers heard about it. So they looked for a reason to bring charges against Daniel. They tried to find something wrong with the way he ran the government. But they weren’t able to. They couldn’t find any fault with his work. He could always be trusted. He never did anything wrong. And he always did what he was supposed to.

⁵Finally those men said, “It’s almost impossible for us to come up with a reason to bring charges against this man Daniel. If we do, it will have to be in connection with the law of his God.”

⁶So the two leaders and the royal rulers went as a group to the king. They said, “King Darius, may you live forever! ⁷All of the royal leaders, high officials, royal rulers, advisers and governors want to make a suggestion. We’ve agreed that you should give an order. And you should make sure it’s obeyed. Here is the command you should give. King Darius, during the next 30 days don’t let any of your people pray to any god or man except to you. If they do, throw them into the lions’ den.

⁸“Now give the order. Write it down in the laws of the Medes and Persians. Then it can’t be changed.” ⁹So King Darius put the order in writing.

¹⁰Daniel found out that the king had signed the order. In spite of that, he did just as he had always done before. He went home to his upstairs room. Its windows opened toward Jerusalem. He went to his room three times a day to pray. He got down on his knees and gave thanks to his God.

¹¹Some of the other royal officials went to where Daniel was staying. They saw him praying and asking God for help. ¹²So they went to the king. They spoke to him about his royal order. They said, “King Darius, didn’t you sign an official order? It said that for the next 30 days none of your people could pray to any god or man except to you. If they did, they would be thrown into the lions’ den.”

The king answered, “The order must still be obeyed. It’s one of the laws of the Medes and Persians. So it can’t be changed.”

¹³Then they spoke to the king again. They said, “Daniel is one of the prisoners from Judah. He doesn’t pay any attention to you, King Darius. He doesn’t obey the order you put in writing. He still prays to his God three times a day.”

¹⁴When the king heard that, he was very upset. He didn’t want Daniel to be harmed in any way. Until sunset, he did everything he could to save him.

¹⁵Then the men went as a group to the king. They said to him, “King Darius, remember that no order or law you make can be changed. That’s what the laws of the Medes and Persians require.”

¹⁶So the king gave the order. Daniel was brought out and thrown into the lions’ den. The king said to him, “You always serve your God faithfully. So may he save you!”

¹⁷A stone was brought and placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed it with his own special ring. He also sealed it with the rings of his nobles. Then nothing could be done to help Daniel.

¹⁸The king returned to his palace. He didn’t eat anything that night. He didn’t ask for anything to be brought to him for his enjoyment. And he couldn’t sleep.

¹⁹As soon as the sun began to rise, the king got up. He hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰When he got near it, he called out to Daniel. His voice was filled with great concern. He said, “Daniel! You serve the living God. You always serve him faithfully. So has he been able to save you from the lions?”

²¹Daniel answered, “My king, may you live forever! ²²My God sent his angel. And his angel shut the mouths of the lions. They haven’t hurt me at all. That’s because I haven’t done anything wrong in God’s sight. I’ve never done anything wrong to you either, my king.”

²³The king was filled with joy. He ordered his servants to lift Daniel out of the den. So they did. They didn’t see any wounds on him. That’s because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴Then the king gave another order. The men who…