5:1  Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine in the presence of the thousand.

5:2  When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which stood in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.

5:3  Then they brought the gold vessels that they had taken out of the temple, the house of God which stood in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

5:4  They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5:5  Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.

5:6  Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.

5:7  The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, "Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me I shall clothe with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom."

5:8  Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.

5:9  Then King Belshazzar became greatly alarmed, his face grew even paler, and his nobles became perplexed.

5:10  The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, " O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face become pale.

5:11  "There lives a man in your kingdom in whom dwells a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods appeared in him And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners.

5:12  "This came because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems appeared in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Summon Daniel now and he will declare the interpretation."

5:13  Then the authorities brought Daniel in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, " Do we identify you as that Daniel who came from the exiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

5:14  "Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods dwells in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have emanated from you.

5:15  "Just now I brought the wise men and the conjurers before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the message.

5:16  "But I personally have heard about you, that you have the ability to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you can read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, I will clothe you with purple and you shall wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom."

5:17  Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.

5:18  "O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.

5:19  "Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled.

5:20  "But when his heart became lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, God deposed him from his royal throne and took his glory away from him.

5:21  "God drove him away from mankind, and his heart became like that of beasts, and he dwelled with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle, and his body became drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God rules over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes.

5:22   "Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,

5:23  but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand But the God in whose hand comes your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

5:24  "Then God sent the hand and wrote this inscription.

5:25   "Now He wrote out this inscription : 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.'

5:26  " I will interpret the message: 'MENE'--God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

5:27  "'TEKEL' I have weighed you on the scales and found you deficient.

5:28  "'PERES' I have divided your kingdom and have given it over to the Medes and Persians."

5:29  Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

5:30  That same night someone assassinated Belshazzar the Chaldean king.

5:31  So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.