¶ Belshazzar the king made¹ a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

Belshazzar², whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden³ and silver vessels which his father⁴ Nebuchadnezzar had taken out⁵ of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

They drank wine, and praised⁸ the gods of gold⁹, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

In the same¹⁰ hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote¹¹ over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the king's¹² countenance¹³ was changed¹⁴, and his thoughts troubled him, so that¹⁵ the joints¹⁶ of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

The king cried aloud¹⁸ to bring¹⁹ in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed²⁰ with scarlet²¹, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third²² ruler in the kingdom.

Then came in all the king's wise men: but²³ they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

Then was king Belshazzar greatly²⁴ troubled, and his countenance²⁵ was changed²⁶ in him, and his lords were astonied.

¶ Now the queen²⁷, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king²⁸, live for ever: let not²⁹ thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

There is a man³⁰ in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father³¹ light³² and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar³³ thy father³⁴, the king, I say, thy father, made master³⁵ of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

Forasmuch as an excellent³⁶ spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of³⁷ dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom³⁸ the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.

Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou³⁹ that Daniel, which art of the children⁴⁰ of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father⁴¹ brought out of Jewry⁴²?

⁴⁴I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.

⁴⁵And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:

And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make⁴⁶ interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt⁴⁷ be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let⁴⁸ thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards⁴⁹ to another; yet I will read⁵⁰ the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

O thou⁵¹ king, the most⁵² high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:

And for the majesty that he⁵³ gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew⁵⁴; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.

¶ But when⁵⁵ his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened⁵⁶ in pride⁵⁷, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

And he was driven⁵⁸ from the sons of men; and his heart was made like⁵⁹ the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

And thou⁶⁰ his son⁶¹, O Belshazzar, hast⁶² not humbled thine heart, though⁶³ thou knewest all this;

But hast lifted⁶⁴ up thyself against the Lord⁶⁵ of heaven; and they⁶⁶ have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised⁶⁷ the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which⁶⁸ see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose⁶⁹ hand thy breath is, and whose⁷⁰ are all thy ways, hast thou⁷¹ not glorified:

⁷²Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

And this is the writing that was written, MENE⁷³, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God⁷⁴ hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

TEKEL; Thou⁷⁵ art⁷⁶ weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

PERES⁷⁷; Thy⁷⁸ kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed⁷⁹ Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

¶⁸⁰In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

And Darius⁸¹ the Median took the kingdom, being⁸² about threescore and two years old.