Daniel 5:22-30

New Catholic Bible

²² “Even though you, Belshazzar, his son, were aware of all this, you did not humble your heart. ²³ You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the vessels of his temple to be brought to you, and you, your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have drunk your wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor have intelligence. But you have not glorified the God in whose hands are your breath of life and the entire course of your life.

²⁴ “That is why he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. ²⁵ The words inscribed are Mene, Tekel, and Peres.^[a] This is what the words mean:

²⁶ “Mene: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.

²⁷ “Tekel: you have been weighed on the scales and been found wanting.

²⁸ “Peres: your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹ Then, at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, with a gold chain around his neck, and a proclamation was made declaring that Daniel would rank third in the government of the kingdom.

³⁰ On that very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was slain.