Daniel Chapter 5
The Handwriting on the Wall
1 King Belshazzar held a huge feast for 1,000 of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While he was tasting the wine, he sent for the gold and silver items his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. 3 The king, his nobles, wives, and concubines drank out of them, 4 and praised their idols made out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 All of a sudden, the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and started writing on the plaster wall across from the lampstand. The king could see the back of the hand as it wrote. 6 His face grew pale with terror, his hip joints went slack, his knees knocked. 7 He shouted for his conjurers, astrologers, and fortunetellers. He told the wise men in Babylon, “Anybody that can read this inscription and tell me what it means will dress in purple, wear a gold chain around his neck, and be third in the empire.” 8 His wise men came in, but they couldn’t read it or explain what it meant. 9 He was scared, his face grew more pale, and his nobles were baffled.
Dan 5:1-9
10 When the queen heard about what the king and his nobles said, she came in the banquet hall,
“Long live the King! Don’t let your imagination run away with you or your face go pale. 11 There’s a man in your kingdom that has the spirit of the holy gods. In your predecessor’s time, he showed enlightenment, insight, and wisdom like the gods have. King Nebuchadnezzar appointed him chief of magicians, conjurers, astrologers, and fortunetellers. 12 That was because this Daniel—that the king named Belteshazzar—had a special spirit, knowledge, insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas, and solving of difficult problems. Call him; he’ll tell you what the inscription means.”
Dan 5:10-12
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting
13 They brought Daniel in, and he asked him,
“Are you the Daniel that’s among the exiles from Judah my predecessor brought back? 14 I’ve heard you have the spirit of the gods in you and you have insight, understanding, and extraordinary wisdom. 15 I’ve just now brought in the wise men and conjurers to read this inscription and interpret it, but they can’t do it. 16 I’ve heard that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read the inscription and tell me what it means, you’ll dress in purple, wear a gold chain around your neck, and be third in the empire.” Dan 5:13-16
17 Daniel said,
“Keep your gifts or give your rewards to someone else, but I’ll read the inscription and tell you what it means. 18 O King, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, honor, and majesty to your predecessor Nebuchadnezzar. 19 Because of his grandeur, the peoples, nations, and language groups trembled in front of him. He executed or spared, elevated or demoted anybody he wanted to. 20 But his heart and spirit became so proud that he acted out his arrogance. He was deposed, and his honor was taken away. 21 He was driven away from society, and his mind became like an animal’s mind. He lived with wild donkeys and ate grass like a cow. His body was wet from dew till he recognized that it’s the Most High that rules the human realm and appoints over it whoever he chooses. 22 Yet you, a successor of his, Belshazzar, haven’t humbled yourself, even though you knew that. 23 You’ve raised yourself against the Lord of heaven by bringing in the vessels from his Temple. You, your nobles, wives, and concubines have been drinking wine out of them and praising gods made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that can’t see, hear, or understand. But you haven’t honored the God that holds your life-breath and destiny in his hand. 24-25 He has sent the hand that wrote this inscription: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’
Dan 5:17-25
26It means:
‘MENE’: God has ‘numbered’ the time for your reign and ended it.
27 ‘TEKEL’: you’ve been ‘weighed’ on the scales and found wanting.
28 ‘PEREZ’: your empire has been ‘divided’ and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Belshazzar gave orders to dress Daniel in a purple robe, put a gold chain around his neck, and proclaim him third in the empire. 30 That night Belshazzar the Babylonian king was killed, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the empire at about age 62.
Dan 5:26-30