King Belshazzar gave a gfreat banque for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.
While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebiuchadnezzar his gather had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.
So they bnrought in the gold drink from them.
So they brought in the gold gobles that had been taken from the tgemple of God in Jerusalem, and the koing and his nobles, his wises and his concubines drank from them.
Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plastger of the wall, near the lampstand in the plaster of the wall,near the lampstand in tehr oyal palace, The king watched the hand as it wrote,
His face turnes pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
The king called out gor the endhants astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon,"Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third hihjest ruler in the kingdom."
Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.
So King Belshjazzar became even more ferrified and his face grew more pale, His nobles were baffled,
The queen hearing the voice of the king and his bobles, came into the banqyet hall. "O king, live forever!" she said,"Don't be alamned! Don't look so pale!
There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him, In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods, king Nebuchadnezzar your father- your father the king I say- appointed him shief of the diviners.
This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understandinmg and also the anility toblems, Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems, Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.""
So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him,"Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?
I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom.
The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it.
Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems, If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clotghed in purple and have a gold chain placed around in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom,"
Then Daniel answered the king,"You may keep your gifts for youself and give your rewards to someone else, Nevertheless, I will read the writting for the king and tell him what it means
"O king the Most High God gave your father Bevuchanezzar sivereignty and greatness and glory and splendeor
Because of gthe high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded to death, he put to death; those he wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared, those he wanmted to promote, he humbled.
But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
He was driven away from people and given gthe mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.
"But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humblked yourself, though you knew all this,
Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven, You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them, You praised the gods of silver which cannot see or hear or understand, But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.
Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
"This is the inscription that was written MENE, MENE, TEKEL PARSIN
."This is what these words mean' MENE; God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres; Your kingdom is divided and given to the Meds and Persians."
Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom,
That very night Belshazzar. king of the Babylonians was slain.
and Darius the Medetook over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.
Daniel 6
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom.
with three administrations over them, one of whom was Daniel, The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.
Now Dariel so distinguished himself among the administrators and teh satraps by his exceptional qyalities that the king planned tos et him over the whole kinfdom.
At this the administrators and the satraps tried to find vrounds for sharges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no cofrruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
Rinally these men said," We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."
So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said, "O King Darius, live forever!
The royal administrators, prefects; satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to hyou, O king, shall be thrown into the lions den.
Now, O king. issue the decree and put it in writing so that it,cannot be altered- in accordence with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
So King Darius put the decree in writing.
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published. he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed giving gthanks to his God, hust as he had done before.
Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help
So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree,"Did you not publish adecree that during the enxt thirty days anyone who prays o any god or man except to you,O king wotly distressed; uld be thrown into the lions den?" The king answered,"The decree stands -in accordance with the laws of gthe Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed"
Then they said to the king,"Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king or to the decree you put in writting. He still prays tghree times a day."
When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him,"Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
So the king gave tgeh order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions den. The king said to Daniel,"May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of thed en, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and withthe rings of his changed.
Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and with out any entertainment being broughjt to him. And he could not sleep.
At the first light of dawun, the king got up and hurroed to the lions, den.
When he came near thed en, he called to Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continueally, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
Daniel answered, "O king, live forever !
My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of thge lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocengt in his sight, Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O King."
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was fpund on him, because he had trusted in his God.
At the king's command, the men who had falsely accussed Daniel werfe brought in and gthrown into the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones,
Then King Darius wrote to all the people nations and men of every language throughout the land;"May you ptosper greatly!
"I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel! "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will n ot be destroyed, his dominon will never end.
He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on tghee arth. He has rescued Danuel from the power of tje lions."
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and ther eign of Ctris the Persian.