Daniel 5:17-31

English Standard Version

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^(A)“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the ^(B)Most High God ^(C)gave ^(D)Nebuchadnezzar your father ^(E)kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^(F)all peoples, nations, and languages ^(G)trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. ²⁰ But ^(H)when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^(I)he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. ^21 (J)He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^(K)until he knew that the ^(L)Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. ²² And you his son,^{[a] (M)}Belshazzar, ^(N)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³ but you have lifted up yourself against ^(O)the Lord of heaven. And ^(P)the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^(Q)And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^(R)but the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^(S)whose are all your ways, ^(T)you have not honored.

²⁴ “Then from his presence ^(U)the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered^[b] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ Tekel, ^(V)you have been weighed^[c] in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^(W)the Medes and ^(X)Persians.”^[d]

²⁹ Then ^(Y)Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^(Z)was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

^30 (AA)That very night ^(AB)Belshazzar the ^(AC)Chaldean king was killed. ^31 [e] And ^(AD)Darius ^(AE)the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.