Belshazzar’s Feast

1King Balthasar made a great feast to a thousand of his princes, and dranke wine before the thousande. 2And Balthasar when he had tasted the wine, commaunded to bring hym the golden and siluer vessels, whiche his father Nabuchodonozor had brought from the temple in Hierusalem, that the king and his princes, and his wyues, and his concubines, might drinke therin. 3So were brought the golde vessels that they had taken out of the temple of the Lordes house at Hierusalem: and the king, and his princes, his wyues, and his concubines drunke in them. 4They drunke wine, & praysed the gods of golde, siluer, brasse, iron, wood, and stone.

The Handwriting on the Wall

5In the very same houre there appeared fingers of a mans hande wryting right ouer against the candlesticke vpon the plaster of the wall of the kinges palace, and the king sawe the knockles of the hande that wrote. 6Then chaunged the king his countenaunce, & his thoughtes troubled hym, so that the ioyntes of his loynes were loosed, and his knees smote one against the other. 7Wherfore the king cryed mightyly, that they should bring the soothsayers, Chaldees, & wysardes: the king spake also to the wise men of Babylon, & said, Who so can reade this wryting, & shewe me the interpretation thereof, shalbe clothed with purple, and haue a cheyne of golde about his necke, and shalbe the third ruler in the kingdome. 8Upon this came al the kinges wise men, but they coulde neither reade the wryting, nor shewe the king the interpretation. 9Then was king Balthasar greatly troubled, and his countenaunce was chaunged in him, and his princes were astonied.

10Now the queene by reason of the talke of the king & his princes, came into the banket house: and the queene spake, and sayde, O king, lyue for euer: let not thy thoughtes trouble thee, and let not thy countenaunce be chaunged. 11There is a man in thy kingdome that hath the spirite of the holy Gods within him: & in the dayes of thy father, light, and vnderstanding, & wysdome, like the wysedome of the gods, was founde in hym, whom the king Nabuchodonozor thy father, the king I say thy father made chiefe of the wyse men, soothsayers, Chaldeans, and wysardes. 12Because that such an aboundaunt spirite, knowledge, and vnderstanding, to expound dreames, to open secretes, & to declare harde doubtes, was founde in him, yea euen in Daniel, whom the king named Baltassar: let Daniel be called, and he shal declare the interpretation.

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

13Then was Daniel brought before the king: so the king spake vnto Daniel, and sayde, Art thou that Daniel, whiche art of the children of the captiuitie of Iuda, whom my father the king brought out of Iurie? 14I haue hearde of thee, that thou hast the spirite of the holy gods, & that light and vnderstanding, and excellent wysdome is founde in thee. 15Now haue there ben brought before me wyse men and soothsayers to reade this wryting, and to shewe me the interpretation therof: but they could not declare the interpretation of the thing. 16Then hearde I of thee that thou couldest shewe interpretations, and dissolue doubtes: nowe if thou canst reade his writing, & shew me the meaning therof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and haue a cheyne of gold about thy necke, & be the thirde ruler in the kingdome.

17Then Daniel aunswered, and sayd before the king, As for thy rewardes, kepe them to thy selfe, and geue thy giftes to another: yet I wil reade the writing vnto the king, and shewe him the interpretation. 18O thou king, the most high god gaue vnto Nabuchodonozor thy father a kingdome, and maiestie, and honour, & glorie. 19And for the maiestie that he gaue him, al people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: he slue whom he would, he smote whom it pleased him: againe, whom he would he set vp, and whom he list he put downe. 20But because his heart was loftie, and his minde strengthened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they toke his glory from him. 21He was driuen out from the sonnes of men, his heart was made lyke the beastes, and his dwelling was with the wilde Asses, they fed him with grasse lyke Oxen, and his body was wet with the deawe of the heauen, till he knewe that the most hie God bare rule ouer the kingdome of men, and that he appoynteth ouer it whom so euer he pleaseth. 22And thou his sonne, O Balthasar, hast not submitted thyne heart, though thou knewest all these thinges: 23But hast lift vp thy selfe against the Lorde of heauen, so that the vessels of his house were brought before thee, that thou and thy princes, with thy wyues and concubines, might drinke wine thereout: and thou hast praysed the gods of siluer and golde, of brasse and iron, of wood and stone, which neither see, heare, nor vnderstand: As for the God in whose hande consisteth thy breath and all thy wayes, thou hast not glorified him. 24Then was the knockles of the hand sent from him, and hath written this writing.

25And this the writing that he hath writte: MENE MENE, THECEL, VPHARSIN. 26Now the interpretation of the thing is this: MENE, God hath numbred thy kingdome, and brought it to an ende. 27THECEL, thou art wayed in the balauce, and art founde wanting. 28PHERES, thy kingdome is deuided, and geuen to the Medes, and Perses.

29Then commaunded Balthasar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and a chayne of golde about is necke, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdome.

30The very same night was Balthasar the king of the Chaldees slaine. 31And Darius of the Medes toke the kingdome, being threescore & two yeres of age.