Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine before them all. Under the influence of wine, he gave command to bring the gold and silver utensils which his father, Nebuchadrezzar, had taken from the temple at Jerusalem, that the king, his nobles, his wives, and the others of his household might drink from them. So they brought the golden vessels which were taken from the temple of God which was at Jerusalem. And the king, his nobles, his wives, and the others of his household drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.
Then the king grew pale, and his thoughts troubled him, his legs trembled and his knees knocked together. The king called for the magicians and those who study the stars and said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever shall read this writing and tell what it means shall be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold about his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing nor tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his face grew pale, and his nobles were thrown into confusion.
Now the queen, because of what the king and his nobles had said, came into the banquet-house and said, "O king, live forever; let not your thoughts trouble you nor let yourself grow pale. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of your father he was found to have light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods. Now let Daniel be called, and he will tell what it means."
So Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king said to him, "Are you that Daniel, one of the men who were carried away captive, whom the king, my father, brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have understanding and great wisdom. The wise men and the magicians have been brought in before me to read this writing and to tell what it means; but they are not able. I have heard that you can tell what dreams mean and answer hard questions. Now if you can read the writing and tell what it means, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold about your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."
Then Daniel answered the king, "Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. Without them I will read the writing to the king, and tell what it means. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadrezzar, your father, the kingdom and power, glory and majesty. Because of the power that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and races trembled and feared him. He killed or kept alive as he wished; and he raised up or put down whom he pleased. But when he became proud and haughty, he was made to come down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him, and he was driven away from men, and his mind became like that of the beasts, and he lived with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of men and that he sets up over it whom he will.
"But you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not been humble, though you knew all this, but you have raised yourself against the Lord of heaven, and have had the utensils of his temple brought before you, and you, your nobles, your wives, and the others of your household have drunk wine from them. You have given praise to the gods of silver, of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, which cannot see nor hear nor know; and you have not praised the God in whose control are your very breath and all that you do."
"Then the hand was sent out before him and traced this writing:
"This is what it means: Mene: God has numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel: you are weighed in the scales and found wanting. Peres: your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Then at Belshazzar's command Daniel was clothed with purple and a chain of gold was put about his neck, and he was proclaimed the third ruler in the kingdom. But on that very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed, and Darius, the Mede, received the kingdom.
Popular Bible Queries
Matthew 22:8
Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Psalms 150:6
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Revelations 2:22
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Proverbs 6:34
For jealousy [is] the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Matthew 23:30
And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Jeremiah 13:10
This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.
Proverbs 13:2
A man shall eat good by the fruit of [his] mouth: but the soul of the transgressors [shall eat] violence.
Exodus 11:5
And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that [is] behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
Psalms 147:4
He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by [their] names.
Acts 23:35
I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.
Kings-1 17:1
And Elijah the Tishbite, [who was] of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, [As] the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
Kings-1 19:1
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
Exodus 9:23
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 1:28
And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners [shall be] together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
Daniel 6:18
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Deuteronomy 15:18
It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant [to thee], in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
Acts 17:13
But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
Joshua 15:47
Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border [thereof]:
Samuel-1 2:9
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
Galatians 2:17
But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, [is] therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Revelations 1:16
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
Jeremiah 4:26
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place [was] a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, [and] by his fierce anger.
Exodus 27:12
And [for] the breadth of the court on the west side [shall be] hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
Kings-2 2:11
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Genesis 5:4
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
Chronicles-1 29:25
And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him [such] royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
Psalms 78:35
And they remembered that God [was] their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
Ezra 9:7
Since the days of our fathers [have] we [been] in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, [and] our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as [it is] this day.
Genesis 26:34
And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
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