1 Belshazzar the king, made a great feast, to a thousand of his nobles,and, before the thousand, was drinking, wine.2 Belshazzar, gave word, at the flavour of the wine, to bring the vessels of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar his father, had brought forth, out of the temple which was in Jerusalem,that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein.3 Then brought they the vessels of gold which had been taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem,and the king and his nobles, his wives and, his concubines, drank therein:4 they drank wine,and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.5 Immediately, came forth the fingers of the hand of a man, and wrote,, over against the chandelier, upon the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king,and, the king, saw the part of the hand which was writing,6 Then, as for the king, his bright looks, changed in him, and, his thoughts, terrified him,and, the joints of his loins, were loosed, and, his knees, smote, one against another.7 The king began crying out again, to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans and the astrologers,the king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever it is that shall read this writing, and, the interpretation thereof, shall declare unto me, with purple, shall he be clothed, and have a chain of gold upon his neck, and, as the third in the kingdom, shall he have dominion.8 Then were coming in all the wise men of the king,but, the writing, could they not read, nor, the interpretation, make known to the king.9 Then, King Belshazzar, was greatly terrified, and, his bright looks, were changed upon him,and, his nobles, were perplexed.10 The queen, by reason of the words of the king and his nobles, into the house of banqueting, entered,the queen spake and said, O king! for ages, live! Let not thy thoughts, terrify thee, and, as for thy bright looks, let them not be changed.11 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 intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him,and, King Nebuchadnezzar thy father, appointed him, chief of the sacred scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers,thy father, O king!12 Forasmuch as, a distinguished spirit, and knowledge and intelligence, ability to interpret dreams and solve riddles and unravel knotty points, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let, Daniel, be called, and, the interpretation, will he declare.13 Then, Daniel, was brought in before the king,the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art, thou, that Daniel, that is of the sons of the exile of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?14 Then, I have heard concerning thee, that, the spirit of the gods, is in thee,and, light and intelligence and distinguished wisdom, are found in thee.15 Now, therefore, have been brought in before me, the wise men, the magicians, that, this writing, they might read, and, the interpretation thereof, might make known unto me,but they were not able, the interpretation of the thing, to declare.16 I, however, have heard concerning thee, that thou art able, interpretations, to unfold, and, knotty points, to unravel,Now, if thou be able, the writing, to read, and, the interpretation thereof, to make known unto me, with purple, shalt thou be clothed, and, a chain of gold, shalt thou have upon thy neck, and, as the third in the kingdom, shalt thou have dominion.17 Then spake Daniel, and said before the king, As for thy gifts, thine own let them remain, and, thy presents, on another, bestow,howbeit, the writing, will I read to the king, and, the interpretation thereof, will I make known to him.18 As for thee, O king, the Most High God, gave, kingship and greatness and honour and majesty, unto Nebuchadnezzar thy father;19 and, for the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, races and tongues, used to tremble and to withdraw falteringly from before him,Whom he would, he slew, and, whom he would, he kept alive, and, whom he would, he set up, and, whom he would, he put down.20 But, when uplifted was his heart and, his spirit, became obstinate so as to act arrogantly, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and, his dignity, took they from him;21 And, from among the sons of men, was he driven, and, his heart, to a wild beasts, became equal, and, with the wild asses, was his dwelling, and, grasslike oxen, they suffered him to eat, and, with the dew of the heavens, his body, was drencheduntil that he came to know that the Most High God, hath dominion, over the kingdom of men, and, whomsoever he pleaseth, he setteth up over it.22 And yet, thou, his son, O Belshazzar! hast not humbled thy heart, though, all this, thou knewest;23 but, against the Lord of the heavens, hast uplifted thyself, and, the vessels of his house, have they brought before thee, and, thou, and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have been drinking, wine, therein, and, gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which see not nor hear nor know, hast thou praised,whereas, God, in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy ways, him, hast thou not glorified.24 Then was there put forth from before him the part of the hand,and, this writing, was inscribed:25 And this is the writing which was inscribed, Mne, Mne, Tkel, u-Pharsin.26 This, is the interpretation of the thing,Mne, God hath reckoned up thy reign, and ended it: \fs1527 Tkel,thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting; \fs1528 Pres,snatched away is thy kingdom, and given to the Medes and Persians. \fs1529 Then Belshazzar, gave word, that they should clothe Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold upon his neck,and should make a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler over the kingdom.30 In that night, was slainBelshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans.31 And, Darius the Mede, received the kingdom,when about sixty-two years of age.

1 O rei Belsazar deu um grande banquete a mil dos seus grandes e bebeu vinho na presença dos mil. 2 Havendo Belsazar provado o vinho, mandou trazer os utensílios de ouro e de prata que Nabucodonosor, seu pai, tinha tirado do templo que estava em Jerusalém, para que bebessem neles o rei, os seus grandes e as suas mulheres e concubinas. 3 Então, trouxeram os utensílios de ouro, que foram tirados do templo da Casa de Deus, que estava em Jerusalém, e beberam neles o rei, os seus grandes, as suas mulheres e concubinas. 4 Beberam o vinho e deram louvores aos deuses de ouro, de prata, de cobre, de ferro, de madeira e de pedra.

5 Na mesma hora, apareceram uns dedos de mão de homem e escreviam, defronte do castiçal, na estucada parede do palácio real; e o rei via a parte da mão que estava escrevendo. 6 Então, se mudou o semblante do rei, e os seus pensamentos o turbaram; as juntas dos seus lombos se relaxaram, e os seus joelhos bateram um no outro. 7 E ordenou o rei, com força, que se introduzissem os astrólogos, os caldeus e os adivinhadores; e falou o rei e disse aos sábios de Babilônia: Qualquer que ler esta escritura e me declarar a sua interpretação será vestido de púrpura, e trará uma cadeia de ouro ao pescoço, e será, no reino, o terceiro dominador. 8 Então, entraram todos os sábios do rei; mas não puderam ler a escritura, nem fazer saber ao rei a sua interpretação. 9 Então, o rei Belsazar perturbou-se muito, e mudou-se nele o seu semblante; e os seus grandes estavam sobressaltados.

10 A rainha, por causa das palavras do rei e dos seus grandes, entrou na casa do banquete; e falou a rainha e disse: Ó rei, vive eternamente! Não te turbem os teus pensamentos, nem se mude o teu semblante. 11 Há no teu reino um homem que tem o espírito dos deuses santos; e nos dias de teu pai se achou nele luz, e inteligência, e sabedoria, como a sabedoria dos deuses; e teu pai, o rei Nabucodonosor, sim, teu pai, ó rei, o constituiu chefe dos magos, dos astrólogos, dos caldeus e dos adivinhadores. 12 Porquanto se achou neste Daniel um espírito excelente, e ciência, e entendimento, interpretando sonhos, e explicando enigmas, e solvendo dúvidas, ao qual o rei pôs o nome de Beltessazar; chame-se, pois, agora Daniel, e ele dará interpretação.

13 Então, Daniel foi introduzido à presença do rei. Falou o rei e disse a Daniel: És tu aquele Daniel, dos cativos de Judá, que o rei, meu pai, trouxe de Judá? 14 Tenho ouvido dizer a teu respeito que o espírito dos deuses está em ti e que a luz, e o entendimento, e a excelente sabedoria se acham em ti. 15 Acabam de ser introduzidos à minha presença os sábios e os astrólogos, para lerem esta escritura, e me fazerem saber a sua interpretação; mas não puderam dar a interpretação destas palavras. 16 Eu, porém, tenho ouvido dizer de ti que podes dar interpretações e solver dúvidas; agora, se puderes ler esta escritura e fazer-me saber a sua interpretação, serás vestido de púrpura, e terás cadeia de ouro ao pescoço, e no reino serás o terceiro dominador.

17 Então, respondeu Daniel e disse na presença do rei: As tuas dádivas fiquem contigo, e dá os teus presentes a outro; todavia, lerei ao rei a escritura e lhe farei saber a interpretação. 18 Ó rei! Deus, o Altíssimo, deu a Nabucodonosor, teu pai, o reino, e a grandeza, e a glória, e a magnificência. 19 E, por causa da grandeza que lhe deu, todos os povos, nações e línguas tremiam e temiam diante dele; a quem queria matava e a quem queria dava a vida; e a quem queria engrandecia e a quem queria abatia. 20 Mas, quando o seu coração se exalçou e o seu espírito se endureceu em soberba, foi derribado do seu trono real, e passou dele a sua glória. 21 E foi tirado dentre os filhos dos homens, e o seu coração foi feito semelhante ao dos animais, e a sua morada foi com os jumentos monteses; fizeram-no comer erva como os bois, e pelo orvalho do céu foi molhado o seu corpo, até que conheceu que Deus, o Altíssimo, tem domínio sobre os reinos dos homens e a quem quer constitui sobre eles. 22 E tu, seu filho Belsazar, não humilhaste o teu coração, ainda que soubeste de tudo isso. 23 E te levantaste contra o Senhor do céu, pois foram trazidos os utensílios da casa dele perante ti, e tu, os teus grandes, as tuas mulheres e as tuas concubinas bebestes vinho neles; além disso, deste louvores aos deuses de prata, de ouro, de cobre, de ferro, de madeira e de pedra, que não veem, não ouvem, nem sabem; mas a Deus, em cuja mão está a tua vida e todos os teus caminhos, a ele não glorificaste.

24 Então, dele foi enviada aquela parte da mão, e escreveu-se esta escritura. 25 Esta, pois, é a escritura que se escreveu: Mene, Mene, Tequel e Parsim. 26 Esta é a interpretação daquilo: Mene: Contou Deus o teu reino e o acabou. 27 Tequel: Pesado foste na balança e foste achado em falta. 28 Peres: Dividido foi o teu reino e deu-se aos medos e aos persas.

29 Então, mandou Belsazar que vestissem Daniel de púrpura, e que lhe pusessem uma cadeia de ouro ao pescoço, e proclamassem a respeito dele que havia de ser o terceiro dominador do reino. 30 Naquela mesma noite, foi morto Belsazar, rei dos caldeus. 31 E Dario, o medo, ocupou o reino, na idade de sessenta e dois anos.