Daniel 5:4-14

New King James Version

⁴They drank wine, ^(A)and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

⁵^(B)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. ⁶Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his ^(C)knees knocked against each other. ⁷^(D)The king cried ^[a]aloud to bring in ^(E)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; ^(F)and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸Now all the king’s wise men came, ^(G)but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. ⁹Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(H)troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were ^[b]astonished.

¹⁰The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. ¹¹^(I)There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your ^[c]father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your ^[d]father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹²Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and ^[e]explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, ^(J)whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

The Writing on the Wall Explained

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel ^[f]who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my ^[g]father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴I have heard of you, that ^(K)the ^[h]Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.