²⁵ “And this is the inscription that was written:

^[a]MENE, MENE, ^[b]TEKEL, ^[c]UPHARSIN.

²⁶ This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; ²⁷ TEKEL: ^(A)You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; ²⁸ PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the ^(B)Medes and ^(C)Persians.”^{[d] 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 ^(D)that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Belshazzar’s Fall

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

¹¹ “And ^(A)the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: ^12 (B)merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and ^(C)souls of men. ¹⁴ The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have ^[a]gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. ¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, ¹⁶ and saying, ‘Alas, alas, ^(D)that great city ^(E)that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! ^17 (F)For in one hour such great riches ^[b]came to nothing.’ ^(G)Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance ^18 (H)and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ^(I)‘What is like this great city?’

^19 (J)“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! ^(K)For in one hour she ^[c]is made desolate.’

^43 (A)If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life ^[a]maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to ^[b]hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— ^44 [c]where

⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into ^[d]hell, ^[e]into the fire that shall never be quenched— ⁴⁶ where

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into ^[f]hell fire— ⁴⁸ where

Belshazzar’s Feast

5 Belshazzar the king ^(A)made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. ² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels ^(B)which his ^[a]father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought the gold ^(C)vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine, ^(D)and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

^13 (A)I will put an end to the sound of ^(B)your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.