¹King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine in front of the thousand.

²Belshazzar, at the taste of the wine, gave the order to bring the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his consorts and his concubines might drink from them.

³Then they brought the vessels of gold that they had brought out from the temple, the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his consorts and his concubines drank from them.

⁴They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵At that moment the fingers of a human hand came out and wrote in front of the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king; and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.

⁶Then the king's radiance changed, and his thoughts alarmed him, and the joints of his loins were loosened, and his knees knocked one against the other.

⁷The king called out with all his strength to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king answered and said to the wise men of Babylon: "Whoever reads this writing and declares to me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, with a chain of gold on his neck, and will rule as third in the kingdom."

⁸Then all the king's wise men came in, but they were not able to read the writing or make its interpretation known to the king.

⁹Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his radiance changed on him, and his nobles were bewildered.

¹⁰Because of the words of the king and his nobles, the queen went in to the house of the banquet. The queen answered and said, "O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you, and do not let your radiance change."

¹¹There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the breath of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light, insight, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers.

¹²Because an extraordinary breath, understanding, and insight, interpreting dreams, explaining riddles, and loosening knots were found in him, in Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar — now let Daniel be summoned, and he will declare the interpretation.

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel: Are you that Daniel, of the sons of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah?

¹⁴And I have heard of you that the breath of the gods is in you, and that light, insight, and exceptional wisdom are found in you.

¹⁵And now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me to read aloud this writing and make its interpretation known to me, but they were not able to declare the interpretation of the matter.

¹⁶And I have heard of you that you are able to interpret interpretations and to untie knots. Now if you are able to read aloud the writing and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed in purple, with a chain of gold on your neck, and you will rule as third in the kingdom.

¹⁷Then Daniel answered and said before the king: Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read aloud the writing to the king and I will make known its interpretation to him.

¹⁸As for you, O king, God Most High gave the kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.

¹⁹Because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were trembling and afraid before him. Whomever he wished, he killed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he lifted up; and whomever he wished, he brought low.

²⁰But when his heart was lifted up and his breath grew stubborn, so that he acted presumptuously, he was brought down from his royal throne, and his glory was taken away from him.

²¹And he was driven away from the sons of mankind, and his heart was made like the animals', and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys; they fed him grass like oxen, and his body was drenched with the dew of the skies, until he knew that God Most High rules in the kingdom of mankind and appoints over it whomever he wishes.

²²But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, seeing that you knew all this.

²³And against the lord of the heavens you have exalted yourself, and the vessels of his house they brought before you, and you and your nobles, your wife and your concubine drank wine in them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, that do not see and do not hear and do not know; and God in whose hand is your vital breath, and to whom is all your way, you have not honored.

²⁴Then the palm of a hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.

²⁵And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.

²⁶This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene — God has numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end.

²⁷Tekel — you have been weighed in the scales and found lacking.

²⁸Peres — your kingdom has been split in two and given to the Medes and Persians.

²⁹Then Belshazzar spoke, and they clothed Daniel in purple, with the chain of gold on his neck, and they made a proclamation concerning him that he would be ruler as third in the kingdom.

³⁰In it, in the night, Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed.

³¹And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.