5 Belshatsar (Belshazzar) the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshatsar, while he tasted the wine, commanded that the golden and silver vessels which Nevukadnetsar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Yerushalem (Jerusalem) be brought to him, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at Yerushalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

5 In the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.

7 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Kasdim (Chaldeans), and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Bavel (Babylon), “The one who reads this writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

8 Then all the king’s wise men came in; but they could not read the writing and couldn’t make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshatsar (Belshazzar) was greatly troubled. His face was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.

10 The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house. The queen spoke and said, “Oh king, live forever; don’t let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. The king, Nevukadnetsar (Nebuchadnezzar), your father—yes, the king, your father—made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Kasdim, and soothsayers 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting of dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts were found in the same Daniyel, whom the king named Belteshatsar (Belteshazzar). Now let Daniyel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”