Daniel 5:1-12

Easy-to-Read Version

The Writing on the Wall

5 King Belshazzar gave a big party for 1000 of his officials. The king was drinking wine with them. ² As Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he ordered his servants to bring the gold and silver cups. His grandfather^[a] Nebuchadnezzar had taken these cups from the Temple in Jerusalem. King Belshazzar wanted his royal people, his wives, and his slave women to drink from those cups. ³ So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his officials, his wives, and his women slaves drank from them. ⁴ As they were drinking, they gave praise to their idol gods, which were only statues made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵ Suddenly, a person’s hand appeared and began writing on the wall. The fingers scratched words into the plaster on the wall, near the lampstand in the king’s palace. The king was watching the hand as it wrote.

⁶ King Belshazzar was very afraid. His face became white from fear, and his knees were shaking and knocking together. He could not stand up because his legs were too weak. ⁷ The king called for the men of magic and the Chaldeans to be brought to him. He said to these wise men, “I will give a reward to anyone who can read this writing and explain to me what it means. I will give him purple robes^[b] to wear and will put a gold chain around his neck. I will make him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

⁸ So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or understand what it meant. ⁹ King Belshazzar’s officials were confused, and the king became even more afraid and worried. His face was white from fear.

¹⁰ Then the king’s mother came into the place where the party was. She had heard the voices of the king and his royal officials. She said, “King, may you live forever! Don’t be afraid! Don’t let your face be so white with fear! ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father, this man showed that he could understand secrets. He showed that he was very smart and very wise. He showed that he was like the gods in these things. Your grandfather, King Nebuchadnezzar, put this man in charge of all the wise men. He ruled over all the men of magic and the Chaldeans. ¹² The man I am talking about is named Daniel. The king gave him the name Belteshazzar. He is very smart and he knows many things. He could interpret dreams, explain secrets, and find the answer to very hard problems. Call for Daniel, he will tell you what the writing on the wall means.”