²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ^(A)“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and ^(B)subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that ^[a]moves on the earth.”

²² “But you his son, Belshazzar, ^(A)have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. ^23 (B)And you have ^[a]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the ^(C)vessels of ^[b]His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, ^(D)which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand ^(E)and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the ^[c]fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

²⁵ “And this is the inscription that was written:

^[d]MENE, MENE, ^[e]TEKEL, ^[f]UPHARSIN.

²⁶ This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; ²⁷ TEKEL: ^(F)You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; ²⁸ PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the ^(G)Medes and ^(H)Persians.”^{[g] 29} Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him ^(I)that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Belshazzar’s Fall

^30 (J)That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.