Historical
Belshazzar's big party[a]
5 King Belshazzar gave a big party for 1,000 important people in his country. He drank wine with all of them. 2 When he had drunk a lot of wine, he spoke to his servants. He commanded them to bring the valuable gold and silver cups, so that the people could drink from them. His father, King Nebuchadnezzar, had taken those cups from God's temple in Jerusalem. King Belshazzar wanted to drink from them, as well as his important friends, his wives and his other women. 3 So his servants brought the gold and silver cups that had come from God's temple in Jerusalem. Then the king, his wives, his other women and all the important people drank wine from those cups. 4 While they drank the wine, they praised their gods. Their gods were idols that were made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.
A hand writes on the wall
5 While they were doing that, the fingers of a human hand appeared. They wrote on the wall of the king's palace, near the light that stood in the room. The king watched the hand while it wrote. 6 When he saw it, his face became white. He was very afraid. His knees shook and his legs became weak.
7 The king called for his enchanters, his wise men and his diviners to come.[b] When they arrived, the king said to them, ‘Who can read these words? Who can tell me what they mean? Whoever can do that, I will make him great. I will put valuable purple clothes on him and he will have a gold chain around his neck. I will make him the third ruler in the kingdom.’[c]
8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the words. They could not tell the king what the words meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more afraid. His face became even whiter. His officers did not know what to do.
The queen tells Belshazzar about Daniel[d]
10 The king's mother heard the voices of the king and his officers. So she came into the room where they were having the party. She said to the king, ‘King, live for ever! Do not be afraid. Do not shake with fear! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. When your father was alive, this man showed that he was very wise, like the gods. He could understand secret things. Your father, Nebuchadnezzar, made him the leader of all the magicians, wise men, enchanters and diviners. 12 His name was Daniel, but the king called him Belteshazzar. He was very clever and he knew many things. He could explain what dreams mean. He could find the answer to difficult problems. Send somebody to bring Daniel here. He will tell you what these words mean.’
Belshazzar asks Daniel to explain the message
13 So they brought Daniel to stand in front of the king. The king said to him, ‘Are you one of the men that my father, the king, brought here from Judah? Is your name Daniel? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. You are very wise and clever. I have heard that you understand many things. 15 I told my wise men and enchanters to read these words. I asked them to tell me what the words mean. But they could not explain the message to me. 16 I have heard that you can tell people what their dreams mean. And I have heard that you can find the answer to difficult problems. So can you read these words? Can you tell me what they mean? If you can do that, then I will put valuable purple clothes on you. You will have a gold chain around your neck. You will become the third ruler in the kingdom.’
Daniel warns the king
17 Then Daniel answered the king, ‘You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can make someone else important. But I will read the words for the king, and I will tell him what they mean. 18 I tell you this, King Belshazzar. The powerful God who rules over everything gave authority to your father, Nebuchadnezzar, to rule as king. God made him very great and very famous, so that he ruled with power. People respected him as a great king. 19 Because God made him so great, the people in every nation, who spoke every language, were very afraid of him. If he wanted to kill someone, he could kill them. And if he wanted to save someone, he could let them live. If he wanted to make someone important, he did that. And if he wanted to make someone poor, he did that too. 20 But he became very proud and he boasted about his power. So God took away his kingdom. People did not respect him any longer as king. 21 They chased him away from his home. His mind became like an animal's mind. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cows do. Dew from the sky made his body wet. He lived in that way until he understood that the powerful God above rules over human kingdoms. God gives authority to rule to anyone that he chooses.
22 King Belshazzar, you are Nebuchadnezzar's son, and you knew all that. But you did not become humble. 23 You thought that you were greater than the Lord of heaven. So you told your servants to bring the valuable cups that belong to God's temple. You yourself, your wives, your other women and your important friends drank wine from those cups. You praised your gods that were made from silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Those are idols that cannot see or hear. They cannot understand anything. But you worshipped them instead of the true God. He is the God who gives life to you. He has power over everything that you do. 24 Because of that, God sent the hand that wrote this message.
25 These are the words:
Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.
26 This is what the words mean:
Mene means “counted”. It shows that God has counted the days of your kingdom. Now these days are finished. Your kingdom has come to an end.
27 Tekel means “weighed”. It shows that God has weighed you. But the scales show that you are too light.
28 Peres means “separate”.[e] It shows that God has cut your kingdom into two separate parts. He has given it to the people from Media and Persia.’
29 When Belshazzar heard that, he caused his servants to put purple clothes on Daniel. They put a gold chain round his neck to show that he was an important person. The king told everyone that Daniel had become the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That same night, Belshazzar, the king of the Babylonians, died. His enemies killed him. 31 Then Darius from Media received power as king. He was 62 years old.
Some men speak to the king against Daniel[f]
6 King Darius decided to choose 120 men to rule the regions of his nation. Together, they would rule the whole kingdom. 2 He also chose three other men to be his officers. He gave them authority over the 120 rulers. The king wanted to be sure that they were working well. Daniel was one of the three officers. 3 Daniel did his work much better than the other officers and rulers. He was very good at his job. Daniel was so good that the king wanted to make him ruler over the whole kingdom.
4 The other officers and rulers were jealous. They wanted to find something bad about Daniel so that they could tell the king. They watched how Daniel worked to serve the king. But they could not find that he did any wrong thing. That was because Daniel was good and honest. He always did everything properly. 5 Then these men said to each other, ‘We cannot find anything that Daniel does wrong in his work. We must find something that he does to obey the laws of his God.’
6 So the officers and rulers agreed together what they would do. They went to the king and they said, ‘King Darius, live for ever! 7 All the officers in the kingdom have decided on a good idea. All the rulers, the judges, the wise people, and the leaders in the different regions agree. We think that the king should make a strong law. For 30 days, people must pray only to you, the king. If they pray to any other person or god, you must punish them. Your servants must throw them into the cave where your lions live. 8 You should write down this law and then you should write your name on it, as king. Then it will be a law of the Medes and the Persians which nobody can change.’
9 King Darius agreed. He wrote his name on this new law.[g]
Daniel refuses to obey the king's new law
10 Daniel heard that the king had written this new law. Then he went home. He went upstairs to his room where the windows opened in the direction of Jerusalem. He bent down on his knees and he prayed to God, and he thanked God. He did that three times every day, in the same way that he had always done before.
11 Then the officers and rulers who were jealous of Daniel went to see what he would do. They saw that Daniel was praying to God and he was asking God for help. 12 So they went to tell the king about this. They said, ‘Remember that you wrote a new law. You commanded that for 30 days, nobody must pray to any god or person, except to you, the king. If anyone prays to someone else, your servants must throw them into the cave where your lions live.’
The king answered them, ‘It is true. It is a law of the Medes and the Persians and nobody can change it.’
13 Then the officers said to the king, ‘But Daniel does not obey your new law. He is one of the men that they brought here from Judah. He does not respect you or your law. He still prays three times every day to his God.’
14 When the king heard this, he was very sad. He tried to think of a way to save Daniel. Until sunset, the king thought about what he could do to save Daniel.[h] 15 Then the officers agreed together and they went back to the king. They said, ‘Remember, sir, that nobody can change a law that the king has made. It is a law of the Medes and the Persians.’
16 So the king sent his servants to fetch Daniel. Then they threw Daniel into the cave where the lions lived. The king said to Daniel, ‘You have always continued to serve your God. I am sure that he will save you.’ 17 They took a big stone and they covered the top of the lions' cave. The king put a mark on the stone with his ring of authority. He also marked it with the rings of his important men. This meant that nobody could move the big stone to save Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to his palace. He ate no food. Nobody brought anything to him to give him pleasure. He was unable to sleep.
God shuts the lions' mouths
19 The king got up very early in the morning, at sunrise. He hurried to the cave where the lions were. 20 When he got near to the cave, he was very upset. He shouted to Daniel, ‘Daniel, you have continued to worship the living God, as his servant. Was your God able to save you from the lions?’
21 Then Daniel said to the king, ‘King, live for ever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the lions' mouths. So the lions have not hurt me. God knows that I have done no wrong thing. I have not done anything to hurt you, the king, either.’
23 The king was very happy when he heard Daniel's voice. He told his servants that they must pull Daniel up out of the lions' cave. So they lifted him out. When they looked at him, they saw that the lions had not hurt him at all. Daniel had trusted in his God, so God had kept him safe.
King Darius punishes the jealous men
24 Then the king gave a command to his servants. They brought the jealous men who had said bad things against Daniel. They threw them into the lions' cave, together with their wives and their children. Before they reached the floor of the cave, the lions attacked them. They broke all their bones into pieces.
25 After that, King Darius wrote to all the people of every nation, who spoke all languages. He wrote:
‘I hope that you all have good and happy lives.
26 I have made a law for every part of my kingdom. All people must respect the God that Daniel serves. They must respect him with fear.
He is the God who always lives.
He will continue for ever.
Nobody will ever destroy his kingdom.
He will rule for ever.
27 He rescues his people and he keeps them safe.
He does powerful miracles in the heavens and on the earth.
He has saved Daniel from the lions' power!’
28 So Daniel continued to have authority while Darius was king, and also when Cyrus from Persia became king.[i]
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