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Daniel 5:3-7 & 22-31 CEV
(3) When the gold cups (stolen from the true God's temple in Jerusalem) were brought in, everyone at the banquet drank from them and praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
(4) (SEE 5:3)
(5) Suddenly a human hand was seen writing on the plaster wall of the palace. The hand was just behind the lampstand, and the king could see it writing.
(6) He was so frightened that his face turned pale, his knees started shaking, and his legs became weak.
(7) The king called in his advisors, who claimed they could talk with the spirits of the dead and understand the meanings found in the stars. He told them, "The man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. He will wear robes of royal purple and a gold chain around his neck."
Daniel 5:22-31 CEV
(22) King Belshazzar, you knew all of this (how the true God ( יהוה ) had dealt with Belshazzar's father Nebuchadnezzar), but you still refused to honor the Lord who rules from heaven.
(23) Instead, you turned against him and ordered the cups from his temple to be brought here, so that you and your wives and officials could drink wine from them. You praised idols made of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, even though they cannot see or hear or think. You refused to worship the God who gives you breath and controls everything you do.
(24) That's why he sent the hand to write this message on the wall.
(25) The words written there are mene, which means "numbered," tekel, which means "weighed," and parsin, which means "divided." God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be king. So God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians.
(26) (SEE 5:25)
(27) (SEE 5:25)
(28) (SEE 5:25)
(29) Belshazzar gave a command for Daniel to be made the third most powerful man in his kingdom and to be given a purple robe and a gold chain.
(30) That same night, the king was killed.
(31) Then Darius the Mede, who was sixty-two years old, took over his kingdom.
Daniel 5:3-7 & 22-31 BBE
(3) Then they took in the gold and silver vessels which had been in the Temple of the house of God at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his other women, took wine from them.
(4) They took their wine and gave praise to the gods of gold and silver, of brass and iron and wood and stone.
(5) In that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing.
(6) Then the colour went from the king's face, and he was troubled by his thoughts; strength went from his body, and his knees were shaking.
(7) The king, crying out with a loud voice, said that the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs, were to be sent for. The king made answer and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever is able to make out this writing, and make clear to me the sense of it, will be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold round his neck, and will be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom.
Daniel 5:22-31 BBE
(22) And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this;
(23) But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory;
(24) Then the part of the hand was sent out from before him, and this writing was recorded.
(25) And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres.
(26) This is the sense of the words: Mene; your kingdom has been numbered by God and ended.
(27) Tekel; you have been put in the scales and seen to be under weight.
(28) Peres; your kingdom has been cut up and given to the Medes and Persians.
(29) Then, by the order of Belshazzar, they put a purple robe on Daniel, and a gold chain round his neck, and a public statement was made that he was to be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom.
(30) That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldaeans, was put to death.
(31) And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old.
Daniel 5:3-7 & 22-31 NWT
3 At that time they brought in the vessels of gold that they had taken away from the temple of the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and from them the king and his grandees, his concubines and his secondary wives drank. 4 They drank wine, and they praised the gods of gold and of silver, copper, iron, wood and stone. 5 At that moment the fingers of a man's hand came forth and were writing in front of the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king, and the king was beholding the back of the hand that was writing. 6 At that time, as regards the king, his very complexion was changed in him, and his own thoughts began to frighten him, and his hip joints were loosening and his very knees were knocking each other. 7 The king was calling out loudly to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the astrologers. The king was answering and saying to the wise men of Babylon: "Any man that will read this writing and show me its very interpretation, with purple he will be clothed, with a necklace of gold about his neck, and as the third one in the kingdom he will rule."
Daniel 5:22-31 "And as for you, his son Belshazzar, you have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 But against the Lord of the heavens you exalted yourself, and they brought before you even the vessels of his house; and you yourself and your grandees, your concubines and your secondary wives have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised mere gods of silver and of gold, copper, iron, wood and stone, that are beholding nothing or hearing nothing or knowing nothing; but the God in whose hand your breath is and to whom all your ways belong you have not glorified. 24 Consequently from before him there was being sent the back of a hand, and this very writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL and PARSIN. 26 "This is the interpretation of the word: MENE, God has numbered [the days of] your kingdom and has finished it. 27 "TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and have been found deficient. 28 "PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians." 29 At that time Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, with a necklace of gold about his neck; and they heralded concerning him that he was to become the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 In that very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed 31 and Darius the Mede himself received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
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You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals.
The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
KJV - King James Version
MKJV - Modern King James Version
NWT - New World Translation
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
RV - Revised Version
YLT - Young's Literal Translation