1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.5.2 father: or, grandfather5.2 taken: Chaldee, brought forth 3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5¶ In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.5.6 countenance: Chaldee, brightnesses5.6 was changed: Chaldee, changed it5.6 joints: or, girdles: Chaldee, bindings, or, knots 7The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.5.7 aloud: Chaldee, with might5.7 scarlet: or, purple 8Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.5.9 countenance: Chaldee, brightnesses
10¶ Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;5.11 father: or, grandfather 12Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.5.12 interpreting: or, of an interpreter5.12 dissolving: or, of a dissolver5.12 doubts: Chaldee, knots 13Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?5.13 father: or, grandfather 14I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing: 16And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.5.16 make interpretations: Chaldee, interpret, etc
17¶ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.5.17 rewards: or, fee 18O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared 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. 20But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:5.20 in pride: or, to deal proudly5.20 deposed: Chaldee, made to come down 21And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.5.21 his heart…: or, he made his heart equal, etc 22And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
25¶ And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30¶ In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.5.31 being…: Chaldee, he as the son of, etc5.31 about: or, now
O Banquete de Belsazar:
A Escrita na Parede
1Certa vez o rei Belsazar deu um grande banquete para mil dos seus nobres, e com eles bebeu muito vinho. 2Enquanto Belsazar bebia vinho, deu ordens para trazerem as taças de ouro e de prata que o seu predecessor, Nabucodonosor, tinha tomado do templo de Jerusalém, para que o rei e os seus nobres, as suas mulheres e as suas concubinas bebessem nessas taças. 3Então trouxeram as taças de ouro que tinham sido tomadas do templo de Deus em Jerusalém, e o rei e os seus nobres, as suas mulheres e as suas concubinas beberam nas taças. 4Enquanto bebiam o vinho, louvavam os deuses de ouro, de prata, de bronze, de ferro, de madeira e de pedra.
5Mas, de repente apareceram dedos de mão humana que começaram a escrever no reboco da parede, na parte mais iluminada do palácio real. O rei observou a mão enquanto ela escrevia. 6Seu rosto ficou pálido, e ele ficou tão assustado que os seus joelhos batiam um no outro e as suas pernas vacilaram.
7Aos gritos, o rei mandou chamar os encantadores, os astrólogos e os adivinhos e disse a esses sábios da Babilônia: “Aquele que ler essa inscrição e interpretá-la, revelando-me o seu significado, vestirá um manto vermelho, terá uma corrente de ouro no pescoço e será o terceiro em importância no governo do reino”.
8Todos os sábios do rei vieram, mas não conseguiram ler a inscrição nem dizer ao rei o seu significado. 9Diante disso o rei Belsazar ficou ainda mais aterrorizado e o seu rosto, mais pálido. Seus nobres estavam alarmados.
10Tendo a rainha5.10 Ou rainha-mãe ouvido os gritos do rei e dos seus nobres, entrou na sala do banquete e disse: “Ó rei, vive para sempre! Não fiques assustado nem tão pálido! 11Existe um homem em teu reino que possui o espírito dos santos deuses. Na época do teu predecessor verificou-se que ele era um iluminado e tinha inteligência e sabedoria como a dos deuses. O rei Nabucodonosor, teu predecessor—sim, o teu predecessor—o nomeou chefe dos magos, dos encantadores, dos astrólogos e dos adivinhos. 12Verificou-se que esse homem, Daniel, a quem o rei dera o nome de Beltessazar, tinha inteligência extraordinária e também a capacidade de interpretar sonhos e resolver enigmas e mistérios. Manda chamar Daniel, e ele te dará o significado da escrita”.
13Assim Daniel foi levado à presença do rei, que lhe disse: “Você é Daniel, um dos exilados que meu pai, o rei, trouxe de Judá? 14Soube que o espírito dos deuses está em você e que você é um iluminado com inteligência e sabedoria fora do comum. 15Trouxeram os sábios e os encantadores à minha presença para lerem essa inscrição e me dizerem o seu significado, porém eles não o conseguiram. 16Mas eu soube que você é capaz de dar interpretações e de resolver mistérios. Se você puder ler essa inscrição e dizer-me o que significa, você será vestido com um manto vermelho e terá uma corrente de ouro no pescoço, e será o terceiro em importância no governo do reino”.
17Então Daniel respondeu ao rei: “Podes guardar os teus presentes para ti mesmo e dar as tuas recompensas a algum outro. No entanto, lerei a inscrição para o rei e te direi o seu significado.
18“Ó rei, foi a Nabucodonosor, teu predecessor, que o Deus Altíssimo deu soberania, grandeza, glória e majestade. 19Devido à alta posição que Deus lhe concedeu, homens de todas as nações, povos e línguas tremiam diante dele e o temiam. A quem o rei queria matar, matava; a quem queria poupar, poupava; a quem queria promover, promovia; e a quem queria humilhar, humilhava. 20No entanto, quando o seu coração se tornou arrogante e endurecido por causa do orgulho, ele foi deposto de seu trono real e despojado da sua glória. 21Foi expulso do meio dos homens e sua mente ficou como a de um animal; passou a viver com os jumentos selvagens e a comer capim como os bois; e o seu corpo se molhava com o orvalho do céu, até reconhecer que o Deus Altíssimo domina sobre os reinos dos homens e põe no poder quem ele quer.
22“Mas tu, Belsazar, seu sucessor, não te humilhaste, embora soubesses de tudo isso. 23Ao contrário, te exaltaste acima do5.23 Ou te levantaste contra o Senhor dos céus. Mandaste trazer as taças do templo do Senhor para que nelas bebessem tu, os teus nobres, as tuas mulheres e as tuas concubinas. Louvaste os deuses de prata, de ouro, de bronze, de ferro, de madeira e de pedra, que não podem ver nem ouvir nem entender. Mas não glorificaste o Deus que sustenta em suas mãos a tua vida e todos os teus caminhos. 24Por isso ele enviou a mão que escreveu as palavras da inscrição.
25“Esta é a inscrição que foi feita:
MENE, MENE, TEQUEL, PARSIM5.25 Aramaico: UPARSIM; isto é, E PARSIM..
26“E este é o significado dessas palavras:
“Mene5.26 Mene pode significar contado ou mina (uma unidade monetária).: Deus contou os dias do teu reinado e determinou o seu fim.
27“Tequel5.27 Tequel pode significar pesado ou siclo.: Foste pesado na balança e achado em falta.
28“Peres5.28 Peres (o singular de Parsim) pode significar dividido ou Pérsia ou meia mina ou meio siclo.: Teu reino foi dividido e entregue aos medos e persas”.
29Então, por ordem de Belsazar, vestiram Daniel com um manto vermelho, puseram-lhe uma corrente de ouro no pescoço, e o proclamaram o terceiro em importância no governo do reino.
30Naquela mesma noite Belsazar, rei dos babilônios5.30 Aramaico: caldeus., foi morto, 31e Dario, o medo, apoderou-se do reino, com a idade de sessenta e dois anos.
