King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine before the eyes of thousands. Having tasted the wine, Belshazzar ordered the gold and silver vessels to be brought, which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple of Jerusalem, so that the king, his nobles, his wives and his concubines could drink from them. Then they brought golden vessels, which were taken from the sanctuary of the house of God in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, copper, iron, wood and stone. At that very hour, the fingers of a human hand came out and wrote against the lamp on the limestone wall of the royal palace, and the king saw the hand that was writing.
Then the king changed his countenance; his thoughts confused him, the ties of his loins weakened, and his knees began to beat against each other. The king shouted loudly to bring the charmers, the Chaldeans and the fortune-tellers. The king began to speak and said to the wise men of Babylon:
“Whoever reads this writing and explains to me its meaning, he will be clothed in purple, and a golden chain will be around his neck, and he will be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
And all the king’s wise men entered, but they could not read what was written and explain its meaning to the king. King Belshazzar became extremely alarmed, and the appearance of his face changed on him, and his nobles were embarrassed. The queen, in response to the words of the king and his nobles, entered the feast chamber; The queen began to speak and said:
- King, live forever! May your thoughts not confuse you, and may the appearance of your face not change! There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy God. In the days of your father, light, reason and wisdom were found in him, similar to the wisdom of the gods. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him the head of the mystic scholars, charmers, Chaldeans and fortune-tellers - your father himself, the king, because in him, in Daniel, whom the king renamed Belshazzar, there was a high spirit, knowledge and reason, capable of explaining dreams, interpreting the mysterious and resolving knots. So let Daniel be called and he will explain the meaning.
Then Daniel was brought before the king, and the king began to speak and said to Daniel:
“Are you Daniel, one of the captive sons of Judah whom my father the king brought from Judea?” I heard about you that the spirit of God is in you and light, and intelligence, and high wisdom is found in you. Behold, wise men and charmers were brought to me to read this writing and explain to me its meaning. But they couldn't explain it to me. And I heard about you that you can explain meaning and resolve knots. So, if you can read this writing and explain to me its meaning, then you will be clothed in purple, and a golden chain will be around your neck, and you will be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Then Daniel answered and said to the king:
“Let your gifts remain with you, and give the honors to someone else.” And I will read what is written to the king and explain the meaning to him. Tsar! The Almighty God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingdom, greatness, honor and glory. Before the greatness that He gave him, all peoples, tribes and languages trembled and feared him: whomever he wanted, he killed, and whomever he wanted, he left alive; whom he wanted, he elevated, and whom he wanted, he humiliated. But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit hardened to the point of insolence, he was overthrown from his royal throne and deprived of his glory, and was excommunicated from the sons of men, and his heart became like that of an animal, and he lived with wild asses. They fed him grass like an ox, and his body was watered with heavenly dew, until he knew that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of man and puts over it whomever he wants. And you, his son Belshazzar, did not humble your heart, although you knew all this, but you exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven and the vessels of His house were brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and concubines drank wine from them, and you glorified the gods of silver, gold, copper, iron, wood and stone, who neither see, nor hear, nor understand, but God, in whose hand is your breath and Whom all your ways you have not glorified. For this reason the hand was sent from Him, and this scripture was written. And this is what is written: “mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.” This is the meaning of the words: “me” - God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; “Tekel” - you are weighed on the scales and found very light; “Peres” - your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
Then, at the command of Belshazzar, they clothed Daniel in purple and placed a golden chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third ruler in the kingdom. That same night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, being sixty-two years old.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru