^26 (A)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of ^[a]Sheshach shall drink after them.

⁹ behold, I will send and take ^(A)all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(B)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and ^(C)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

The Fall of Babylon the Great

18 After^(A) these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, ^(B)and the earth was illuminated with his glory. ² And he cried ^[a]mightily with a loud voice, saying, ^(C)“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and ^(D)has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and ^(E)a cage for every unclean and hated bird! ³ For all the nations ^(F)have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, ^(G)and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the ^[b]abundance of her luxury.”

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ^(H)“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. ^5 (I)For her sins ^[c]have reached to heaven, and ^(J)God has remembered her iniquities. ^6 (K)Render to her just as she rendered ^[d]to you, and repay her double according to her works; ^(L)in the cup which she has mixed, ^(M)mix double for her. ^7 (N)In the measure that she glorified herself and lived ^[e]luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as ^(O)queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ ⁸ Therefore her plagues will come ^(P)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And ^(Q)she will be utterly burned with fire, ^(R)for strong is the Lord God who ^[f]judges her.

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

^9 (S)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her ^(T)will weep and lament for her, ^(U)when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ^(V)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! ^(W)For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And ^(X)the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: ^12 (Y)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 ^(Z)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 ^[g]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, ^(AA)that great city ^(AB)that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! ^17 (AC)For in one hour such great riches ^[h]came to nothing.’ ^(AD)Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance ^18 (AE)and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ^(AF)‘What is like this great city?’

^19 (AG)“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! ^(AH)For in one hour she ^[i]is made desolate.’

^20 (AI)“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[j]holy apostles and prophets, for ^(AJ)God has avenged you on her!”

Finality of Babylon’s Fall

²¹ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ^(AK)“Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and ^(AL)shall not be found anymore. ^22 (AM)The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. ^23 (AN)The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, ^(AO)and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For ^(AP)your merchants were the great men of the earth, ^(AQ)for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. ²⁴ And ^(AR)in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who ^(AS)were slain on the earth.”

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.

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

¹⁰ The 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 (L)There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your ^[d]father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your ^[e]father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹² Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and ^[f]explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, ^(M)whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

The Writing on the Wall Explained

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel ^[g]who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my ^[h]father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard of you, that ^(N)the ^[i]Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now ^(O)the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. ¹⁶ And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and ^[j]explain enigmas. ^(P)Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, ^(Q)the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your ^[k]father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ¹⁹ And because of the majesty that He gave him, ^(R)all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he ^(S)executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. ^20 (T)But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. ²¹ Then he was ^(U)driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^(V)till he ^[l]knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

²² “But you his son, Belshazzar, ^(W)have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. ^23 (X)And you have ^[m]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the ^(Y)vessels of ^[n]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, ^(Z)which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand ^(AA)and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the ^[o]fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

²⁵ “And this is the inscription that was written:

^[p]MENE, MENE, ^[q]TEKEL, ^[r]UPHARSIN.

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

Belshazzar’s Fall

^30 (AF)That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. ^31 (AG)And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Judgment on Babylon and Babylonia

50 The word that the Lord spoke ^(A)against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

¹⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

³³ Thus says the Lord of hosts: