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

¹⁰ they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

¹¹ And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, ¹² cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble,^{(B) 13} cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.^[a](C)

¹⁵ The merchants of these wares, who grew wealthy from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,^(D)

And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off^{(F) 18} and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

¹⁹ And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

Belshazzar’s Feast

5 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.^(A)

² Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.^{(B) 3} So they brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.^(C)

The Writing on the Wall

⁵ Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote.^(D)

³⁰ and the king said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty?”^(A)

²² it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth.^(A)

³⁸ into whose hand he has given human beings wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold.^(A)