American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and {Or, as otherwise read, it raised up one dominion}it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
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.
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the {Or, castle}palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and {Hebrew: none touched the ground.}touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power.
And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them.
Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and {Another reading is, the continual burnt-offering was taken away from him.}it took away from him the continual burnt-offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
And {Or, a host was given to it against the &c. Or, a host was set over the &c.}the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be {Hebrew: justified.}cleansed.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought {Hebrew: understanding.}to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me {Or, where I had stood}upright.
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end.
The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
And the rough he-goat is the king of {Hebrew: Javan.}Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not {Or, with his power See verse 22.}by his own power; and he shall {Or, corrupt}destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall {Or, corrupt}destroy the mighty ones and {Hebrew: people of the saints.}the holy people.
And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in their security shall he {Or, corrupt}destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
And the vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come.
And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king's business: and I wondered at the vision, {Or, but there was none to make it understood}but none understood it.