A Hand Writes on the Palace Wall
1King Belshazzar gave a huge banquet. He invited a thousand of his nobles to it. He drank wine with them. 2While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to his servants. He commanded them to bring in some gold and silver cups. They were the cups his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Belshazzar had them brought in so everyone could drink from them. That included the king himself, his nobles, his wives and his concubines. 3So the servants brought in the gold cups. The cups had been taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem. The king and his nobles drank from them. So did his wives and concubines. 4As they drank the wine, they praised their gods. The statues of those gods were made out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood or stone.
5Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared. They wrote something on the plaster of the palace wall. It happened near the lampstand. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6His face turned pale. He was so afraid that his legs became weak. And his knees were knocking together.
7The king sent for those who try to figure things out by using magic. He also sent for those who study the heavens. All of them were wise men in Babylon. Then the king spoke to them. He said, “I want one of you to read this writing. I want you to tell me what it means. Whoever does this will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around his neck. And he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
8Then all the king’s wise men came in. But they couldn’t read the writing. They couldn’t tell him what it meant. 9So King Belshazzar became even more terrified. His face grew more pale. And his nobles were bewildered.
10The queen heard the king and his nobles talking. So she came into the dining hall. “King Belshazzar, may you live forever!” she said. “Don’t be afraid! Don’t look so pale! 11I know a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. He has understanding and wisdom and good sense just like the gods. He was chief of those who tried to figure things out by using magic. And he was in charge of those who studied the heavens. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him to that position. 12King Nebuchadnezzar did this because he saw what the man could do. This man’s name is Daniel. Your father called him Belteshazzar. He has a clever mind and knowledge and understanding. He is also able to tell what dreams mean. He can explain riddles and solve hard problems. Send for him. He’ll tell you what the writing means.”
13So Daniel was brought to the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel? Are you one of the prisoners my father the king brought here from Judah? 14I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. I’ve also heard that you have understanding and good sense and special wisdom. 15The wise men and those who practice magic were brought to me. They were asked to read this writing and tell me what it means. But they couldn’t. 16I have heard that you are able to explain things and solve hard problems. I hope you can read this writing and tell me what it means. If you can, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
17Then Daniel answered the king. He said, “You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can give your rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing for you. I’ll tell you what it means.
18“Your Majesty, the Most High God was good to your father Nebuchadnezzar. He gave him authority and greatness and glory and honor. 19God gave him a high position. Then people from every nation became afraid of the king. That was true no matter what language they spoke. The king put to death anyone he wanted to. He spared anyone he wanted to spare. He gave high positions to anyone he wanted to. And he brought down anyone he wanted to bring down. 20But his heart became very stubborn and proud. So he was removed from his royal throne. His glory was stripped away from him. 21He was driven away from people. He was given the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass just as an ox does. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until he recognized that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He puts anyone he wants to in charge of them.
22“But you knew all that, Belshazzar. After all, you are Nebuchadnezzar’s son. In spite of that, you are still proud. 23You have taken your stand against the Lord of heaven. You had your servants bring cups from his temple to you. You and your nobles drank wine from them. So did your wives and concubines. You praised your gods. The statues of those gods are made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood or stone. They can’t see or hear or understand anything. But you didn’t honor God. He holds in his hand your very life and everything you do. 24So he sent the hand that wrote on the wall.
25“Here is what was written.
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
26“And here is what these words mean.
“The word Mene means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.
27“The word Tekel means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven’t measured up to God’s standard.
28“The word Peres means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians.”
29Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was killed. 31His kingdom was given to Darius the Mede. Darius was 62 years old.
A escrita misteriosa na parede
1O rei Belsazar convidou mil dos seus nobres para um grande banquete e o vinho correu a jorros. 2Numa altura em que Belsazar estava a beber, lembrou-se das taças de ouro e prata que tinham sido trazidas, havia já muito tempo, do templo de Jerusalém para a Babilónia, durante o reinado de Nabucodonozor. 3Deu então ordens que essas taças sagradas fossem trazidas ali, para o banquete; depois, beberam por elas os governantes, as suas mulheres e concubinas, 4erguendo-as em sinal de louvor aos seus ídolos feitos de ouro, prata, cobre, ferro, de madeira e de pedra.
5De repente, enquanto bebiam por aquelas taças, viram uns dedos de mão humana escrevendo no estuque da parede que estava em frente do castiçal. O próprio rei viu os dedos a escreverem. 6Ficou lívido de terror, de maneira que até os joelhos lhe começaram a tremer e não se aguentou mais nas pernas.
7“Tragam cá os magos e os astrólogos!”, gritou ele. “Tragam também os adivinhos! Quem for capaz de explicar o significado das palavras que ali estão na parede e de interpretar o sentido daquilo será vestido com roupa de púrpura de dignidade real, ser-lhe-á posto um colar de ouro ao pescoço e tornar-se-á o terceiro na hierarquia dos chefes do reino!”
8Mas quando os homens requeridos se apresentaram, nenhum foi capaz de compreender a frase escrita e de esclarecer o seu sentido. 9O rei estava cada vez mais assustado; o seu rosto refletia todo o terror que sentia; a sua corte estava igualmente extremamente perturbada.
10Quando a rainha-mãe ouviu o que se estava a passar, correu até ao local do banquete e disse a Belsazar: “Acalma-te, ó rei! Não fiques assim tão perturbado e com o rosto alterado. 11Porque há um homem no teu reino que tem nele o espírito dos deuses santos. Quando teu pai vivia, esse homem foi reconhecido como sendo cheio de sabedoria e de inteligência, como se fosse ele próprio um deus. No reinado de Nabucodonozor, teu antecessor, foi nomeado chefe dos magos, dos astrólogos, dos caldeus e dos adivinhos da Babilónia. 12Convoca agora esse homem, Daniel ou Beltessazar, como o rei lhe chamava, porque o seu espírito está cheio de conhecimento e de inteligência superiores. É capaz de interpretar sonhos, explicar enigmas e achar a solução para os problemas mais complexos. Ele dir-te-á qual o significado dessa frase!”
13Daniel foi trazido à presença do soberano que lhe perguntou: “És Daniel, aquele judeu que o rei Nabucodonozor trouxe de Israel como cativo? 14Ouvi dizer que tens o espírito dos deuses em ti e que estás cheio de entendimento e tens uma inteligência iluminada. 15Os meus sábios e os astrólogos tentaram perceber aquele escrito na parede, para me esclarecer sobre o seu sentido, e não foram capazes. 16Também me disseram que sabes explicar toda a espécie de mistérios. Se souberes interpretar aquelas palavras, vestir-te-ei com roupa de púrpura, por-te-ei um colar de ouro ao pescoço e serás o terceiro na hierarquia do poder na Babilónia.”
17Respondeu Daniel: “Não pretendo os teus dons, poderás dá-los a outra pessoa! Contudo, dir-te-ei o sentido daquela frase.
18Ó rei, o Deus altíssimo concedeu a Nabucodonozor, teu pai, um reino cheio de majestade, honra e glória. 19Concedeu-lhe tal majestade que todas as nações do mundo tremiam de medo perante ele. Matava quem lhe desagradava e favorecia aqueles de quem gostava. Conforme ele queria, engrandecia ou abatia. 20Mas quando o seu coração se exaltou e o seu espírito se endureceu de orgulho, Deus removeu-o do trono real e tirou-lhe todo o fausto de que se rodeava. 21Foi expulso do convívio com os seres humanos e mandado para os campos. Os seus pensamentos e sentidos tornaram-se nos de um animal e passou a viver entre jumentos monteses; comia erva como os bois e o seu corpo ficou húmido com o orvalho, até que reconheceu, por fim, que é o Altíssimo quem dirige os governos das nações; é ele quem designa quem quer para governar sobre elas.
22E tu, seu sucessor, ó Belsazar, sabes bem isto tudo, mas não te tornaste humilde. 23Tu ofendeste o Senhor dos céus, quando trouxeste para cá essas taças do seu templo; tu, os teus ministros, as suas mulheres e concubinas beberam vinho por elas, enquanto davam louvores a deuses de ouro, prata, cobre, ferro, madeira e pedra, deuses que nem veem, nem ouvem, nem sabem coisa nenhuma. Não deste louvores ao Deus que te dá a própria vida e controla o teu destino! 24-25Por isso, Deus mandou-te uns dedos que escreveram esta mensagem:
mene, mene, tequel, parsin.
26E é este o significado:
Mene quer dizer contado. Deus já determinou o número limite dos dias do teu reinado, que chegaram ao fim.
27Tequel quer dizer pesado. Foste pesado na balança de Deus e foste achado em falta.
28Parsin significa dividido. O teu reino será repartido e dado aos medos e aos persas.”
29Então Belsazar mandou que Daniel fosse vestido de púrpura, que lhe pusessem um colar de ouro no pescoço e que o proclamassem terceiro na hierarquia real.
30Nessa mesma noite, Belsazar, rei dos caldeus, foi morto; 31Dario, o medo, entrou na cidade e começou a reinar com a idade de 62 anos.
