(A)In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his (B)knees knocked against each other. (C)The king cried [a]aloud to bring in (D)the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; (E)and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king’s wise men came, (F)but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly (G)troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were [b]astonished.

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:7 Lit. with strength
  2. Daniel 5:9 perplexed

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. His face turned pale(A) and he was so frightened(B) that his legs became weak(C) and his knees were knocking.(D)

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)

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) So King Belshazzar became even more terrified(N) and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:7 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 11