Daniel 5:5-9

New International Version

⁵ Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. ⁶ His face turned pale^(A) and he was so frightened^(B) that his legs became weak^(C) and his knees were knocking.^(D)

⁷ The king summoned the enchanters,^(E) astrologers^[a](F) and diviners.^(G) Then he said to these wise^(H) men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck,^(I) and he will be made the third^(J) highest ruler in the kingdom.”^(K)

⁸ Then all the king’s wise men^(L) came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.^{(M) 9} So King Belshazzar became even more terrified^(N) and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.