Daniel 5

The Writing on the Wall

1 King Belshazzar threw a massive party for a thousand of his people. Dude was getting lit, drinking up with his crew.

2 While they were turning up, Belshazzar remembered those gold and silver cups his dad Nebuchadnezzar snatched from the temple in Jerusalem. So he told his boys to bring them out so they could drink from them.

3 They brought the cups, and everyone, Belshazzar, his homies, his wives, and his side chicks, started sipping from them.

4 While drinking out of these sacred cups, they wilded out, toasting and praising their fake gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Then outta nowhere, a hand showed up and started writing on the wall! The king was straight tripping, watching a hand write in the light of the lampstand in the palace.

6 Belshazzar’s face went pale. His knees buckled, and the dude was shaking, like he just saw a ghost.

7 He called for all his astrologers, magicians, and wise men to come through. He said, “Whoever can read this and tell me what it means, I am going to make him rich. He will get to wear purple and gold chains and be third in charge of my whole kingdom.”

8 But when all the wise men showed up, none of them could read the writing or explain what it meant.

9 Now the king was really freaked out, and his whole crew did not know what to do.

10 Then the queen heard about all the craziness and came to the party. She said, “Listen, King, do not stress out or be scared.”

11 “There is a dude in your kingdom with the spirit of the holy gods in him. Back in the day, your dad, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of all the wise men because he had mad wisdom and insight.”

12 “His name’s Daniel, aka Belteshazzar. He is smart with dreams and solving mysteries. Get him in here, and he will tell you what the writing means.”

Daniel Reads the Message

13 So, they brought Daniel to the king. The king said, “You are Daniel, right, The one from Judah that my dad brought here?”

14 “I heard you got that holy spirit in you, and you can solve any problem thrown your way.”

15 “My crew could not figure out this writing or tell me what it means.”

16 “But if you can, I will hook you up with purple robes, a gold chain, and make you third in command over the whole kingdom.”

17 Daniel said, “Keep your gifts or give them to somebody else. But I will still tell you what the writing means.”

18 “Let me break it down. The Most High God gave your dad, Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom and made him mad powerful.”

19 “He had so much power that everyone feared him. If he wanted somebody dead, they were dead. If he wanted to spare someone, they lived. He could promote or demote whoever he wanted.”

20 “But when your dad got too cocky and arrogant, God humbled him. He lost his mind.”

21 “He got kicked out of society and lived with wild animals, ate grass like an ox, and got drenched by the dew. That happened until he realized the Most High God is the real King and gives kingdoms to whoever He wants.”

22 “But you, Belshazzar, knew all this, yet you are out here acting wild, not humbling yourself.”

23 “You disrespected God by drinking out of His sacred cups, praising fake gods made of gold, silver, and stone, stuff that cannot see or hear. But you dissed the real God who gave you your whole life.”

24 “That is why He sent the hand to write this message.”

25 “And here is what the writing says: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.”

26 “Here is what it means: Mene, God has counted the days of your reign and it is a wrap.”

27 “Tekel, You have been weighed on the scales and you are not measuring up.”

28 “Parsin, Your kingdom’s getting split up and handed over to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Even though Daniel gave him bad news, Belshazzar kept his word. He put purple robes on Daniel, hung a gold chain around his neck, and made him third in charge.

Judgment on Belshazzar

30 That same night, Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, got taken out.

31 Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, and he was 62 years old when he did.