Daniel 5
1 Belshazzar the king, made a great feast, to a thousand of his nobles, —and, before the thousand, was drinking, wine.
[Several years later, ] Belshazzar [became the] king [of Babylon. One day] he invited 1,000 of his officers to a big feast, and he drank [a lot of] wine with them.
2 Belshazzar, gave word, at the flavour of the wine, to bring the vessels of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar his father, had brought forth, out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, —that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein.
While he was drinking, he commanded [his servants] bring to him the gold and silver cups that the previous king, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. [He did that] because he wanted himself and his officials, his wives, and [even] his (concubines/slave wives) to drink from them, [making fun of the god that we Israelis worshiped].
3 Then brought they the vessels of gold which had been taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem, —and the king and his nobles, his wives and, his concubines, drank therein:
So his servants brought in [all] those gold cups, that had been taken [many years previously] from the temple of [the true] God in Jerusalem. Then the king and his officials and his wives and his slave wives drank [wine] from those cups.
4 they drank wine, —and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.
They drank to praise/honor their idols that were made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and [even] wood and stone.
5 Immediately, came forth the fingers of the hand of a man, and wrote, over against the chandelier, upon the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king, —and, the king, saw the part of the hand which was writing,
Suddenly they saw a man’s hand writing on the plaster of the wall opposite the lampstand. The king also saw the hand as it was writing.
6 Then, as for the king, his bright looks, changed in him, and, his thoughts, terrified him, —and, the joints of his loins, were loosed, and, his knees, smote, one against another.
He became very frightened, and his face became pale/white. His knees started shaking, and his legs became very weak, with the result that he could not stand up.
7 The king began crying out again, to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans and the astrologers, —the king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever it is that shall read this writing, and, the interpretation thereof, shall declare unto me, with purple, shall he be clothed, and have a chain of gold upon his neck, and, as the third in the kingdom, shall he have dominion.
[Then] he shouted to summon the men who worked magic, the men who studied the stars, and the fortune-tellers. He said, “I will [greatly honor] any one of them who can read this writing and tell me what it means. I will give him a purple [robe like I wear because I am the king], and I will put a gold chain around his neck. He will become a very important official in my kingdom; there will be only two others who will be more important than he will be.”
8 Then were coming in all the wise men of the king, —but, the writing, could they not read, nor, the interpretation, make known to the king.
But when all those wise men came in, none of them could read the writing, or tell him what it meant.
9 Then, King Belshazzar, was greatly terrified, and, his bright looks, were changed upon him, —and, his nobles, were perplexed.
So King Belshazzar became more afraid. His face became [even] paler/whiter. And [all] his officials [who were there at the feast] did not know what to do.
10 The queen, by reason of the words of the king and his nobles, into the house of banqueting, entered, —the queen spake and said, O king! for ages, live! Let not thy thoughts, terrify thee, and, as for thy bright looks, let them not be changed.
But when the mother of the king (OR, of the previous king) heard the king and his officials talking [loudly about what had happened], she entered the room where they were having the feast. She said [to Belshazzar], “(Your majesty/O King), I hope you will live for a long time! But do not be pale and afraid about this.
11 There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and, in the days of thy father, light, and intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him, —and, King Nebuchadnezzar thy father, appointed him, chief of the sacred scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers, —thy father, O king!
There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. When Nebuchadnezzar was ruling, they discovered that this man understood many things and was wise, just like the gods. The man who was king previously, Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him to be in charge of all the men [in Babylon] who worked magic, the men who worked sorcery, the men who studied the stars, and the fortune-tellers.
12 Forasmuch as, a distinguished spirit, and knowledge and intelligence, ability to interpret dreams and solve riddles and unravel knotty points, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let, Daniel, be called, and, the interpretation, will he declare.
That man’s name is Daniel; the king gave him a [new] name, Belteshazzar. He is very intelligent and is able to know and understand many things. He is [even] able to tell the meaning of dreams, and explain riddles, and explain things that are very difficult to understand. Summon him, and he will tell you what [this writing] means.”
13 Then, Daniel, was brought in before the king, —the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art, thou, that Daniel, that is of the sons of the exile of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?
So they [went and] brought me in. The king asked me, “You [must] be Daniel [RHQ]! [They told me that you are] one of those who was brought [here] from Judah by the previous king.
14 Then, I have heard concerning thee, that, the spirit of the gods, is in thee, —and, light and intelligence and distinguished wisdom, are found in thee.
I have [also] heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you are very wise and understand many things.
15 Now, therefore, have been brought in before me, the wise men, the magicians, that, this writing, they might read, and, the interpretation thereof, might make known unto me, —but they were not able, the interpretation of the thing, to declare.
My wise men and men who work magic have tried to read the writing on this wall and tell me what it means, but they are not able to do it.
16 I, however, have heard concerning thee, that thou art able, interpretations, to unfold, and, knotty points, to unravel, —Now, if thou be able, the writing, to read, and, the interpretation thereof, to make known unto me, with purple, shalt thou be clothed, and, a chain of gold, shalt thou have upon thy neck, and, as the third in the kingdom, shalt thou have dominion.
[Someone] told me that you can tell what dreams mean and explain things that are very difficult to understand. If you can read these words and tell me what they mean, [I] give you a purple robe [like I wear because I am the king], and I will put a gold chain around your neck. You will become a very important official in my kingdom; there will be only two others who will be more important than you will be.”
17 Then spake Daniel, and said before the king, As for thy gifts, thine own let them remain, and, thy presents, on another, bestow, —howbeit, the writing, will I read to the king, and, the interpretation thereof, will I make known to him.
I replied, “[I do not want] your gifts; keep them, or give them to someone else. But I will read for you the writing [on the wall], and I will tell you what it means.
18 As for thee, O king, the Most High God, gave, kingship and greatness and honour and majesty, unto Nebuchadnezzar thy father;
(Your Majesty/O king), the Supreme God caused the man who was king before you, Nebuchadnezzar, to become a great ruler, who was greatly praised and honored.
19 and, for the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, races and tongues, used to tremble and to withdraw falteringly from before him, —Whom he would, he slew, and, whom he would, he kept alive, and, whom he would, he set up, and, whom he would, he put down.
Because God caused him to become [very] great, people of many [HYP] people-groups and nations and who spoke many different languages were very much afraid of him. He [commanded his soldiers to] kill those whom he wanted to be killed, and he (spared/allowed to live) those whom he wanted to spare. He honored those whom he wanted to honor, and he caused to be disgraced those whom he wanted to be disgraced.
20 But, when uplifted was his heart and, his spirit, became obstinate so as to act arrogantly, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and, his dignity, took they from him;
But when he became very proud and stubborn [IDM], he was removed from being king [MTY]. People did not consider him to be glorious/great any more.
21 And, from among the sons of men, was he driven, and, his heart, to a wild beast’s, became equal, and, with the wild asses, was his dwelling, and, grass—like oxen, they suffered him to eat, and, with the dew of the heavens, his body, was drenched—until that he came to know that the Most High God, hath dominion, over the kingdom of men, and, whomsoever he pleaseth, he setteth up over it.
[His officials] sent him away in order that he would not be near [other] people. [God] caused him to have a mind like animals have. He lived among the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cows do, and dew from the sky caused his body to be damp/wet [each morning]. [He was like that] until he learned that the Supreme God is [really the one who] rules the kingdoms of this world, and that he appoints whomever he chooses to rule those kingdoms.
22 And yet, thou, his son, O Belshazzar! hast not humbled thy heart, though, all this, thou knewest;
Now, Belshazzar, you have become the king. You [also] knew all those things, but you have not made yourself humble.
23 but, against the Lord of the heavens, hast uplifted thyself, and, the vessels of his house, have they brought before thee, and, thou, and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have been drinking, wine, therein, and, gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which see not nor hear nor know, hast thou praised, —whereas, God, in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy ways, him, hast thou not glorified.
You have considered yourself to be greater than [God], the Lord of heaven. [So you have commanded your servants to] bring to you these sacred cups, [which were dedicated to the Supreme God, and which were taken] from his temple [in Jerusalem]. You and your officials and your wives and your (concubines/slave wives) have been drinking wine from these cups, while you have been praising [your own] gods—gods which are made of gold and silver and bronze and iron and wood and stone. [Those are gods] that cannot see, that cannot hear, and that do not know anything! You have not honored the God who gives you breath and who controls everything that happens to you.
24 Then was there put forth from before him the part of the hand, —and, this writing, was inscribed:
So God sent that hand to write a message [for you].
25 And this is the writing which was inscribed, M’ne, M’ne, T’kel, u-Pharsin.
This is the message that it wrote: ‘Mene, mene, tekel, parsin.’
26 This, is the interpretation of the thing, —M’ne ["Reckoned-up"], God hath reckoned up thy reign, and ended it:
This is what those words mean: Mene [means] ‘numbered/counted’. [That means that] God has been counting the days that you will rule, and he has [now] decided that you will not rule any more.
27 T’kel, —thou art weighed ["Weighed"] in the balances, and found wanting;
Tekel [means ‘weighed’. It is as though God] has weighed you on a scale, and you do not weigh what you should, [which means that you have not been doing what you should; you are not fit to be a king] [MET].
28 P’res ["Snatched-away"], —snatched away is thy kingdom, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Parsin [means ‘divided’. That means that God] has divided your kingdom. Some of it will be ruled by people from Media and some will be ruled by people from Persia.”
29 Then Belshazzar, gave word, that they should clothe Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold upon his neck, —and should make a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler over the kingdom.
Then Belshazzar [did what he had promised]. He put on me a purple robe [like the one he himself wore. He] put a gold chain around my neck. And he proclaimed that there would be only two others who would be more important than me in his kingdom.
30 In that night, was slain—Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans.
But that same night [soldiers from Media entered the city and] killed Belshazzar, the King of Babylonia.
31 And, Darius the Mede, received the kingdom, —when about sixty-two years of age.
Darius, the King of Media, became the King [of Babylonia] when he was 62 years old.
