¹ Belshazzar the king, made a great feast, to a thousand of his nobles,—and, before the thousand, was drinking, wine.

² Belshazzar, gave word, at the flavour of the wine, to bring the vessels of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar his father, had brought forth, out of the temple which was in Jerusalem,—that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein.

³ Then brought they the vessels of gold which had been taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem,—and the king and his nobles, his wives and, his concubines, drank therein:

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

⁵ Immediately, came forth the fingers of the hand of a man, and wrote, over against the chandelier, upon the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king,—and, the king, saw the part of the hand which was writing,

⁶ Then, as for the king, his bright looks, changed in him, and, his thoughts, terrified him,—and, the joints of his loins, were loosed, and, his knees, smote, one against another.

⁷ The king began crying out again, to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans and the astrologers,—the king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever it is that shall read this writing, and, the interpretation thereof, shall declare unto me, with purple, shall he be clothed, and have a chain of gold upon his neck, and, as the third in the kingdom, shall he have dominion.

⁸ Then were coming in all the wise men of the king,—but, the writing, could they not read, nor, the interpretation, make known to the king.

⁹ Then, King Belshazzar, was greatly terrified, and, his bright looks, were changed upon him,—and, his nobles, were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen, by reason of the words of the king and his nobles, into the house of banqueting, entered,—the queen spake and said, O king! for ages, live! Let not thy thoughts, terrify thee, and, as for thy bright looks, let them not be changed.

¹¹ There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and, in the days of thy father, light, and intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him,—and, King Nebuchadnezzar thy father, appointed him, chief of the sacred scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers,—thy father, O king!

¹² Forasmuch as, a distinguished spirit, and knowledge and intelligence, ability to interpret dreams and solve riddles and unravel knotty points, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let, Daniel, be called, and, the interpretation, will he declare.

¹³ Then, Daniel, was brought in before the king,—the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art, thou, that Daniel, that is of the sons of the exile of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

¹⁴ Then, I have heard concerning thee, that, the spirit of the gods, is in thee,—and, light and intelligence and distinguished wisdom, are found in thee.

¹⁵ Now, therefore, have been brought in before me, the wise men, the magicians, that, this writing, they might read, and, the interpretation thereof, might make known unto me,—but they were not able, the interpretation of the thing, to declare.

¹⁶ I, however, have heard concerning thee, that thou art able, interpretations, to unfold, and, knotty points, to unravel,—Now, if thou be able, the writing, to read, and, the interpretation thereof, to make known unto me, with purple, shalt thou be clothed, and, a chain of gold, shalt thou have upon thy neck, and, as the third in the kingdom, shalt thou have dominion.

¹⁷ Then spake Daniel, and said before the king, As for thy gifts, thine own let them remain, and, thy presents, on another, bestow,—howbeit, the writing, will I read to the king, and, the interpretation thereof, will I make known to him.

¹⁸ As for thee, O king, the Most High God, gave, kingship and greatness and honour and majesty, unto Nebuchadnezzar thy father;

¹⁹ and, for the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, races and tongues, used to tremble and to withdraw falteringly from before him,—Whom he would, he slew, and, whom he would, he kept alive, and, whom he would, he set up, and, whom he would, he put down.

²⁰ But, when uplifted was his heart and, his spirit, became obstinate so as to act arrogantly, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and, his dignity, took they from him;

²¹ And, from among the sons of men, was he driven, and, his heart, to a wild beast’s, became equal, and, with the wild asses, was his dwelling, and, grass—like oxen, they suffered him to eat, and, with the dew of the heavens, his body, was drenched—until that he came to know that the Most High God, hath dominion, over the kingdom of men, and, whomsoever he pleaseth, he setteth up over it.

²² And yet, thou, his son, O Belshazzar! hast not humbled thy heart, though, all this, thou knewest;

²³ but, against the Lord of the heavens, hast uplifted thyself, and, the vessels of his house, have they brought before thee, and, thou, and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have been drinking, wine, therein, and, gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which see not nor hear nor know, hast thou praised,—whereas, God, in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy ways, him, hast thou not glorified.

²⁴ Then was there put forth from before him the part of the hand,—and, this writing, was inscribed:

²⁵ And this is the writing which was inscribed, M’ne, M’ne, T’kel, u-Pharsin.

²⁶ This, is the interpretation of the thing,—M’ne [="Reckoned-up"], God hath reckoned up thy reign, and ended it:

²⁷ T’kel,—thou art weighed [="Weighed"] in the balances, and found wanting;

²⁸ P’res [="Snatched-away"],—snatched away is thy kingdom, and given to the Medes and Persians.

²⁹ Then Belshazzar, gave word, that they should clothe Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold upon his neck,—and should make a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler over the kingdom.

³⁰ In that night, was slain—Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans.

³¹ And, Darius the Mede, received the kingdom,—when about sixty-two years of age.