Belshazzar

Belshazzar's Banquet

0NE of the enemies of' the Israelites was Nebuchadnezzar. He came from Babylon with his army and captured the city of Jerusalem. He carried away as captives many of the princes and nobles of Judah, including the Prophet Daniel.
    Belshazzar succeeded Nebuchadnezzar as king and made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. They all drank from the golden and silver vessels which were stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. They praised their gods of gold and silver and iron and stone.
    Suddenly there appeared fingers, like the hand of a man, writing upon the wall of the king's palace. The king was afraid. He brought in the wise men of Babylon and said: "Whoever shall read this writing and let me know the meaning of it shall be honored in my kingdom." But none of them could explain the writing.
    Then the queen told the king about Daniel, whom Belshazzar's father had made the prince of the wise men. Daniel was brought in before the king.
    Daniel said, "0 Belshazzar, you have turned against the Lord of heaven. The vessels of his house have been used for the drinking of wine, and false gods have been honored in this hall."
    Then Daniel told the king the meaning of the words. "This is the writing that is written: MENE, TEKEL, PERES. MANE means that your kingdom is coming to an end. Tekel means that God has judged you and He was not pleased with you. Peres means that your kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians."
    Then the king gave great power to Daniel. But the same night Belshazzar was killed and his kingdom came to an end.