Daniel 5:22-28
Easy-to-Read Version
22 “But Belshazzar, you already knew this. You are Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson,[a] but still you have not made yourself humble. 23 No, you did not become humble. Instead, you have turned against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from his Temple to be brought to you. Then you and your royal officials, your wives, and your slave women drank wine from those cups. You gave praise to the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They are not really gods; they cannot see or hear or understand anything. But you did not give honor to the God who has the power over your life and everything you do. 24 So because of that, God sent the hand that wrote on the wall. 25 These are the words that were written on the wall:
mene, mene, tekel, uparsin.
26 “This is what these words mean:
Mene[b]:
God has counted the days until your kingdom will end.
27 Tekel[c]:
You have been weighed on the scales and found not good enough.
28 Uparsin[d]:
Your kingdom is being taken from you.
It will be divided among the Medes and Persians.”
Footnotes
- Daniel 5:22 grandson Or “son.” This does not necessarily mean they were from the same family. It might only mean that Belshazzar was one of the kings of Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar was king.
- Daniel 5:26 Mene A weight, like the Hebrew word “mina.” This is like the word “to count.”
- Daniel 5:27 Tekel A weight, like the Hebrew word “shekel.” This word is like the word meaning “to weigh.”
- Daniel 5:28 Uparsin Literally, “ peres,” a weight. This word is like the word meaning “to divide” or “to split.” It is also like the name of the country of Persia.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
