The Word Made Fresh
1King Belshazzar threw a great party for a thousand of his officials, and was drinking wine in their presence.
2While drinking his wine, Belshazzar ordered the servants to bring in the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had acquired from the temple in Jerusalem so that the king, his nobles and his wives and concubines could drink from them. 3The vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, were brought in, and the king, his lords, wives, and concubines drank from them. 4They drank in praise of the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5Suddenly, a human hand appeared and began to write with a finger on the royal palace wall next to a lampstand. The king watched as the hand wrote. 6His face went pale, and he was terrified. His arms and legs were weak and shaky. 7He cried out loudly for the enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners to be brought in. He said to them, “Whoever can read this and tell me what it means will be clothed in purple, with a gold chain around his neck, and a promotion to the third highest position in the kingdom.” 8So, all the king’s wise men came in, but they couldn’t read the writing, and couldn’t tell the king what it meant. 9The king was terrified. His face went white. His lords were baffled.
10The queen came into the banquet hall when she heard the commotion among the kings and his lords. She said, “Live forever, O king! Don’t allow your thoughts to frighten you and make your face pale. 11There is a man in your kingdom who has been given a gift from the holy gods. While your father was on the throne this man was discovered to have the gift of understanding and wisdom like the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, put him in charge of the magicians and enchanters and Chaldeans and diviners 12because this man has a good spirit, with knowledge that understands and interprets dreams, riddles and problems. His name is Daniel, and the king named him Belteshazzar. Summon him, and he will give you the meaning of this vision.”
13Daniel was brought to the king, and the king said, “You are Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah that my father brought here? 14I have been told that you have a godly spirit, with knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. 15The wise men of the kingdom have been brought to me to read this writing and interpret it for me, but they weren’t able to do that. 16But I was told that you can interpret such things and solve mysteries. If you are able to read the writing and explain it to me you will be clothed in purple garments, be given a golden chain around your neck, and be given the third highest rank in the kingdom.”
17Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give them to someone else. I will read what has been written to the king, and interpret it for him. 18The Most High God gave the kingship to your father Nebuchadnezzar, with greatness, glory, and majesty. 19Because he bestowed this greatness upon your father, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled before him. He killed whoever he wanted to kill, and kept alive whomever he wanted to spare, and honored whomever he wished to honor, and humbled whomever he wished to humble. 20But when he had accomplished all this his heart was hardened, and he acted proudly. So, he was removed from his throne and had his glory taken away from him. 21He was driven away from the city, and his mind became like an animal’s mind. He lived among the wild donkeys and ate grass like the oxen. He was bathed with dew from the heavens. He learned that the Most High God is ruler over all the kingdoms of mankind, and whomever God wishes to be in charge is put in charge. 22You, Belshazzar, are his son. Your heart is proud, even though you knew all this. 23You have lifted yourself above the LORD of heaven. The vessels of God’s temple have been brought in. You and your officials and wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold and bronze and iron and wood and stone, things which cannot see or hear or know. But you have not honored the God who is in charge of the very air you breathe and to whom all your days belong.
24“So, it was from God that the hand was sent to do this writing. 25This is what was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPARSIN. This is the interpretation: MENE means that God has set a limit to how long you will reign and when it will end. 27TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the divine scales and have been found wanting. 28UPARSIN means that your kingdom has been torn in two and given to the Medes and the Persians.”
29Then Belshazzar gave the order for Daniel to be clothed in purple, with a golden neckless. A proclamation was announced giving him the third rank in the kingdom.
30That night the Chaldean King Belshazzar was murdered, 31and Darius the Mede, who was sixty-two years old, was given the kingdom.
Commentary
1-5: Nabonidus is actually now the king of Babylon. It was he whom Cyrus deposed in 539 B.C. Nabonidus for a time made his palace in the desert oasis settlement of Teima, probably due to conflicts with the predominant priestly caste. While he was away he left his son Belshazzar in charge of the city of Babylon. Belshazzar throws a big party while his father is out of town, and decides to use the sacred vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar was not his biological father, but was his father in the political sense that he was the father of all who reigned after him. While they drank and partied they praised the gods made of various metals posed here and there.
6-9: A hand appears and writes on the wall. Belshazzar declares to his wise men that anyone who deciphers the script will be made third in the kingdom — after his father Nabonidus and himself, presumably. Belshazzar himself cannot read the writing and none of his wise men dare to claim to be able to do so.
10-12: Belshazzar, meet Belteshazzar, aka Daniel. The queen mother (Nebuchadnezzar’s widow, some have speculated) knows about this Jewish diviner (the queen always knows) and tells the king to summon him. We are given no clue as to what has happened to Daniel in the intervening years, or how he has fallen from the rank of “chief of the enchanters, magicians, Chaldeans, and diviners.”
13-16: We keep seeing Joseph and Pharaoh in the story, don’t we? The king tells Daniel that if he can read the writing he’ll be elevated to rank third in the kingdom, very like Pharaoh’s relationship with Joseph in Genesis 41.
17-23: Daniel poo-poos the trivial gesture, but tells the king he’ll read what was written, nonetheless. He proceeds to inform Belshazzar that the God of heaven was offended because he used the temple vessels in a profane manner and because he praised instead the blind and dumb gods made of silver and gold and bronze and iron and wood and stone.
24-28: Daniel translates the writing on the wall. It says, “Belshazzar, the jig is up,” to be brief.
29: Belshazzar, unmoved by Daniel’s pronouncement, keeps good his promise of reward and elevates Daniel to rank third in the kingdom (the next day he’ll be second in the kingdom).
30: That very night Belshazzar is killed. No records have so far been recovered that would shed more light on that statement, so we don’t know by whom or why the murder took place.
31: Darius the Mede did indeed receive the kingdom, but not for a while. Cyrus the Great is the one who conquered Babylon. Darius came some 17 years later.
Takeaway
Daniel is not swayed by wealth and acclaim. He doesn’t care for awards or rewards. He is to be admired for his honesty and humility, especially since he will suffer much because of it. He is a good example of the person who will stand by the truth no matter what the consequences may be.