² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels ^(A)which his ^[a]father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with ^(A)some of the articles of ^[a]the house of God, which he carried ^(B)into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; ^(C)and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

The Captivity of Jerusalem

^13 (A)And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he ^(B)cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, ^(C)as the Lord had said.

^23 (A)And you have ^[a]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the ^(B)vessels of ^[b]His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, ^(C)which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand ^(D)and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

¹⁶ Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, ^(A)the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? ¹⁸ But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

¹⁹ “For thus says the Lord of hosts ^(B)concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away ^(C)captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the ^(D)vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: ²² ‘They shall be ^(E)carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I ^(F)visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then ^(G)I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

^7 (A)King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, ^(B)which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the ^[a]temple of his gods; ⁸ and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to ^(C)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹ This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, ¹⁰ thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. ¹¹ All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away.

¹⁸ O king, ^(A)the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your ^[a]father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor.

The Writing on the Wall Explained

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel ^[a]who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my ^[b]father the king brought from Judah?