Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink therefrom.
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Then the king's {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Then came in all the king's wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.
Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.
Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.
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 understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, {Or, thy father, O King}the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?
I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee.
And now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing.
But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and dissolve doubts; now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty:
and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down.
But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts', and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he setteth up over it whomsoever he will.
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this,
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.
Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
And this is the writing that was inscribed: {That is, Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divisions.}MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end;
TEKEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
{That is, Divided.}PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. {[Chapter 6:1 in Aramaic]}
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
Querverweise zu Daniel 5,20 Dan 5,20
The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee:
and thou shalt be driven from men; and they dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had {Or, made a mock of}wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let {Hebrew: them.}the people go, and they departed?
Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God.
Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother, {Or, Sit ye down low}Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even {Or, your beautiful crown}the crown of your glory.
As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and {Hebrew: strengthened.}hardened his heart against turning unto Jehovah, the God of Israel.
O thou daughter that {Or, art sealed}dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds.
Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it; because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.
Thus saith Jehovah: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: {Or, from Migdol to Syene}from the tower of Seveneh shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Because he hath stretched out his hand against God,And {Or, biddeth defiance to}behaveth himself proudly against the Almighty;
He runneth upon him with a stiff neck, {Or, Upon}With the thick bosses of his bucklers;
Because he hath covered his face with his fatness,And gathered fat upon his loins;
but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin:
Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;And tread down the wicked where they stand.
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah:Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Pride goeth before destruction,And a haughty spirit before a fall.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?
He hath showed strength with his arm;He hath scattered the proud {Or, by}in the imagination of their heart.
He hath put down princes from their thrones,And hath exalted them of low degree.
I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.