Daniel 5

King Belshazzar parties using God’s cups

King Belshazzar held a huge banquet with a thousand of his nobles. While he was drinking the wine, he ordered his servants to bring out the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar (his father) had looted from Jerusalem’s temple so that the king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink from them. So that’s what they did. They drank the wine while praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Humanoid hand writes mysterious inscription

Then the fingers of a human hand suddenly appeared and began writing on the plaster wall near the lampstand in the king’s palace, and the king saw it. The king’s demeanor changed as he became alarmed. His legs gave out, and his knees started knocking together. He shouted to bring in the necromancers, Chaldeans, and omen readers. He told Babylon’s wise men,

“Anyone who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me will be given purple clothes, a gold necklace, and authority as the third in command over the entire kingdom.”

So all the king’s wise men came in, but they couldn’t read the inscription or explain its interpretation. King Belshazzar was so dismayed, that his demeanor change even more, and all his nobles were confused.

The queen came to the banquet hall when she heard what had happened. She said,

“Long live the king! Don’t be alarmed or change your demeanor. There’s a man in your empire who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. Illumination, insight, and wisdom were found in him during your father’s reign, so your father appointed him as the head over the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans, and omen interpreters. Daniel, who the king named Belteshazzar, contained a superior spirit, knowledge, insight, dream-interpretation, riddle-solving, and problem-solving. Let’s summon Daniel so he can tell us its interpretation.

Babylon will fall because they exalted themselves over God

So Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king asked him,

“Are you the same Daniel that my father captured and brought from Judah? I’ve heard that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and superior wisdom have been found in you. I just brought in the wise men and necromancers to read and interpret this inscription, but they couldn’t do it. I’ve heard about how you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read this inscription and tell me its interpretation, I’ll give you purple clothes, a gold necklace, and authority as third in command over the entire kingdom.”

Daniel responded,

“You can keep those gifts for yourself or give them to someone else, but I’ll still read you the inscription and tell you its interpretation. Oh king, the Ultimate God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty, grandeur, honor, and majesty. Because of that grandeur God gave him, every nation, ethnicity, and language fearfully trembled before him. He killed whoever he wanted, and he spared whoever he wanted. He promoted whoever he wanted, and he demoted whoever he wanted. But his heart became so high and his spirit became so proud that he became brazen with audacity, so he was deposed from his royal throne and his grandeur was stripped away from him. He was driven away from civilization, and his mind became like a wild animal’s. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like a cow. He became drenched with heaven’s dew until he recognized that the Ultimate God rules over humanity’s empire, and he appoints whoever he wants to rule over it. And here you are, King Belshazzar. Even though you are his son and you already knew all of that, you still exalted yourself higher than Heaven’s King. You brought in the vessels from his house so that you and your nobles and wives and concubines could drink out of them while praising the gods of silver, gold, bronze, wood, and stone even though they can’t see, hear, or understand. But you failed to glorify the God who holds your spirit-breath and all your paths in his hand. He sent the hand that wrote this inscription.

“The inscription says,

‘50 shekels, 50 shekels, 1 shekel, ½ shekel.’

And this is what it means:

‘50 shekels: God has numbered your empire and ended it.
1 shekel: You’ve been weighed on the scales and found to be deficient.
½ shekel: Your empire has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.’”

Then Belshazzar gave the orders and Daniel was given purple clothes, a gold necklace, and authority as third in command over the entire empire.

That same night, Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at age 62.