¹⁷ Then Daniel replied and said before the king, “^[a]Keep your ^(A)gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. ^18 [b]O king, the ^(B)Most High God ^(C)granted ^[c]sovereignty, ^(D)greatness, honor, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. ¹⁹ Now because of the greatness which He granted him, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[d]languages trembled and feared in his presence; ^(E)whomever he wished, he killed, and whomever he wished, he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart ^[e]was ^(F)arrogant and his spirit became so ^[f](G)overbearing that he behaved presumptuously, he was ^(H)deposed from his royal throne, and his dignity was taken away from him. ²¹ He was also ^(I)driven away from ^[g]mankind, and his heart was made like that of animals, and his dwelling place was with the ^(J)wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he recognized that the ^(K)Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. ²² Yet you, his ^[h]son, Belshazzar, have ^(L)not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, ²³ but you have ^(M)risen up against the ^(N)Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the ^(O)gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God ^(P)in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ^(Q)ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the ^[i](R)hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

²⁵ “Now this is the inscription that was written:

²⁶ This is the interpretation of the ^[n]message: ‘Menē’—God has numbered your kingdom and ^(S)put an end to it. ²⁷ ‘Tekēl’—you have been ^(T)weighed on the scales and found deficient. ²⁸ ‘^[o]Perēs’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the ^(U)Medes and ^[p]Persians.”

²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they ^(V)clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ That same night ^(W)Belshazzar the Chaldean king was ^(X)killed. ^31 [q]So ^(Y)Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.