Daniel Chapter 5

Summary:

King Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, calls an impious feast for all the lords of his realm. He calls for the sacred vessels taken from the temple at Jerusalem to be brought to his feast for use in the drunken revelry. Suddenly in the midst of the merrymaking, a bloodless hand appears and begins writing a mysterious phrase on the wall. Terrified, Belshazzar calls the magicians and astrologers, but they are unable to explain the meaning. The queen mother suggests that Daniel, who had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams over a half century earlier, would be able to interpret the writings. Daniel is summoned and tells Belshazzar that the cryptic Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin means that God hath numbered his kingdom, and brought it to an end. He is weighed in the balances, and found wanting; his kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. That very night the Medo-Persians, under the command of Cyrus, invaded Babylon exactly as predicted by the prophet Isaiah.