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The Banquet of Belshazzar

King Belshazzar held a grand banquet for his nobles; a thousand of them attended, and he drank wine with them.

Under the influence of wine, he ordered that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in, so that he and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink from them.

The gold and silver vessels taken from God’s temple were brought in, and the king, along with his nobles, wives, and concubines, drank from them.

While they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, as well as wood and stone.

Suddenly, a man’s fingers appeared opposite the lampstand and wrote on the plastered wall of the king’s palace. Watching the hand as it wrote, the king turned pale.

So terrified was he that his knees knocked and his legs gave way.

Daniel was brought in and questioned by the king: “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father brought from Judah?

I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods, that you have insight and extraordinary wisdom.

I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around your neck, and be appointed third in rank in my kingdom.”

Daniel replied: “You may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read and interpret the writing for you.

You have defied the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels from his temple brought to you, and, along with your nobles, your wives, and your concubines, you drank wine from them. You praised the idols made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor understand; but you never glorified God, who has power over your life and all your fortunes.

So he sent the hand that wrote the inscription,

which read MENE, TEKEL, PERES. These words mean:

MENE, God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end;

TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;

PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.