When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’— this is the LORD’s declaration—‘ the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, and I will make it a ruin forever.

七十年满了以后，我必刑罚巴比伦王和那国民，并迦勒底人之地，因他们的罪孽使那地永远荒凉。这是耶和华说的。

七十年满了以后，我必惩罚巴比伦王和那国，并迦勒底人之地，因他们的罪孽使那地永远荒凉。这是耶和华说的。

七十年满了以后，我必惩罚巴比伦王和那国，并迦勒底人之地，因他们的罪孽使那地永远荒凉。这是耶和华说的。

七十年后，我要报应巴比伦王和他国民迦勒底人的罪，使他们的土地永远荒凉。这是耶和华说的。

“七十年满了以后，我要按着他们的罪孽惩罚巴比伦王和那国，就是迦勒底人之地，使它永远荒凉。”这是耶和华的宣告。

七十年滿了以後，我必刑罰巴比倫王和那國民，並迦勒底人之地，因他們的罪孽使那地永遠荒涼。這是耶和華說的。

七十年滿了以後，我必懲罰巴比倫王和那國，並迦勒底人之地，因他們的罪孽使那地永遠荒涼。這是耶和華說的。

七十年滿了以後，我必懲罰巴比倫王和那國，並迦勒底人之地，因他們的罪孽使那地永遠荒涼。這是耶和華說的。

七十年後，我要報應巴比倫王和他國民迦勒底人的罪，使他們的土地永遠荒涼。這是耶和華說的。

“七十年滿了以後，我要按著他們的罪孽懲罰巴比倫王和那國，就是迦勒底人之地，使它永遠荒涼。”這是耶和華的宣告。

『七十年滿了以後，永恆主發神諭說，我必察罰巴比倫王以及那國，我必鑒察他們的罪孽，察罰迦勒底人之地，使它永遠荒涼。

七十年既竟、我必罰巴比倫王與其國、及迦勒底人之地、使之永久荒蕪、以治其罪、耶和華言之矣、

耶和華又曰、七十年之期既屆、我降罰於巴比倫之君民、治其罪戾、使迦勒底土地荒蕪、歷久若此。

七十年之期既畢、我降罰於巴比倫王與迦勒底民、治其罪戾、使迦勒底土地永為荒蕪、此乃主所言、

“ But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord,“ and will make it desolate forever.

“‘ But I will punish that king and his nation because they are guilty. I will do this when the 70 years are over,’ announces the Lord.‘ I will make that land a desert forever.

Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.

“ Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord.“ I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever.

‘ Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord,‘ for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.

‘ Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord;‘ and I will make it a perpetual desolation.

And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate for ever.

When the 70 years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’— this is the Lord’s declaration—‘ the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, and I will make it a ruin forever.

And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished,[ that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

“‘ But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon an everlasting ruin. I, the LORD, affirm it!

“ It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh,“ for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans desolate forever.

And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah that the number of years for the desolation of Jerusalem would be seventy.

For this is what the LORD says:“ When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place.

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:“ The LORD, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.

Say,‘ LORD, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it— people or animals. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.’When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.Then say,‘ In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.’” The words of Jeremiah end here.

This is the word the LORD spoke about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah:Announce to the nations; proclaim and raise up a signal flag; proclaim, and hide nothing. Say,“ Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is terrified.” Her idols are put to shame; her false gods, devastated.For a nation from the north will attack her; it will make her land desolate. No one will be living in it— both people and animals will escape.In those days and at that time— this is the LORD’s declaration— the Israelites and Judeans will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.They will ask about Zion, turning their faces to this road. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in a permanent covenant that will never be forgotten.My people were lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray, guiding them the wrong way in the mountains. They wandered from mountain to hill; they forgot their resting place.Whoever found them devoured them. Their adversaries said,“ We’re not guilty; instead, they have sinned against the LORD, their righteous grazing land, the hope of their ancestors, the LORD.”Escape from Babylon; depart from the Chaldeans’ land. Be like the rams that lead the flock.For I will soon stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country. They will line up in battle formation against her; from there she will be captured. Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.The Chaldeans will become plunder; all Babylon’s plunderers will be fully satisfied. This is the LORD’s declaration.Because you rejoice, because you celebrate— you who plundered my inheritance— because you frolic like a young cow treading grain and neigh like stallions,your mother will be utterly humiliated; she who bore you will be put to shame. Look! She will lag behind all the nations— an arid wilderness, a desert.Because of the LORD’s wrath, she will not be inhabited; she will become a desolation, every bit of her. Everyone who passes through Babylon will be appalled and scoff because of all her wounds.Line up in battle formation around Babylon, all you archers! Shoot at her! Do not spare an arrow, for she has sinned against the LORD.Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her defense towers have fallen; her walls are demolished. Since this is the LORD’s vengeance, take your vengeance on her; as she has done, do the same to her.Cut off the sower from Babylon as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time. Because of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions. The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria; the last who crushed his bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.Therefore, this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.I will return Israel to his grazing land, and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan; he will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and of Gilead.In those days and at that time— this is the LORD’s declaration— one will search for Israel’s iniquity, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found, for I will forgive those I leave as a remnant.Attack the land of Merathaim, and those living in Pekod. Put them to the sword; completely destroy them— this is the LORD’s declaration— do everything I have commanded you.The sound of war is in the land— a crushing blow!How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and smashed! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught, but you did not even know it. You were found and captured because you pitted yourself against the LORD.The LORD opened his armory and brought out his weapons of wrath, because it is a task of the Lord GOD of Armies in the land of the Chaldeans.Come against her from the most distant places. Open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain and completely destroy her. Leave her no survivors.Put all her young bulls to the sword; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them because their day has come, the time of their punishment.There is a voice of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon. The voice announces in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for his temple.Summon the archers to Babylon, all who string the bow; camp all around her; let none escape. Repay her according to her deeds; just as she has done, do the same to her, for she has acted arrogantly against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares; all the warriors will perish in that day. This is the LORD’s declaration.Look, I am against you, you arrogant one— this is the declaration of the Lord GOD of Armies— for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.The arrogant will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. I will set fire to his cities, and it will consume everything around him.This is what the LORD of Armies says: Israelites and Judeans alike have been oppressed. All their captors hold them fast; they refuse to release them.Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Armies is his name. He will fervently champion their cause so that he might bring rest to the earth but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.A sword is over the Chaldeans— this is the LORD’s declaration— against those who live in Babylon, against her officials, and against her sages.A sword is against the diviners, and they will act foolishly. A sword is against her heroic warriors, and they will be terrified.A sword is against his horses and chariots and against all the foreigners among them, and they will be like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered.A drought will come on her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of carved images, and they go mad because of terrifying things.Therefore, desert creatures will live with hyenas, and ostriches will also live in her. It will never again be inhabited or lived in through all generations.Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns— this is the LORD’s declaration— so no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily as a temporary resident.Look! A people comes from the north. A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the remote regions of the earth.They grasp bow and javelin. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, lined up like men in battle formation against you, Daughter Babylon.The king of Babylon has heard about them; his hands have become weak. Distress has seized him— pain, like a woman in labor.“ Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Babylon away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me? Who will issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?”Therefore, hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock’s little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them.At the sound of Babylon’s conquest the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.

“ I will make her a swampland and a region for herons, and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.

Vengeance and retribution belong to me. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”The LORD will indeed vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants when he sees that their strength is gone and no one is left— slave or free.He will say,“ Where are their gods, the‘ rock’ they found refuge in?Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be a shelter for you.See now that I alone am he; there is no God but me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal. No one can rescue anyone from my power.I raise my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,when I sharpen my flashing sword, and my hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.I will make my arrows drunk with blood while my sword devours flesh— the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”

For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’”

I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.The LORD answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it.For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.Moreover, wine betrays; an arrogant man is never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself; he collects all the peoples for himself.Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say,“ Woe to him who amasses what is not his— how much longer?— and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.”Won’t your creditors suddenly arise, and those who disturb you wake up? Then you will become spoil for them.Since you have plundered many nations, all the peoples who remain will plunder you— because of human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them.Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape the grasp of disaster!You have planned shame for your house by wiping out many peoples and sinning against your own self.For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will answer them from the woodwork.Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with injustice!Is it not from the LORD of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD’s glory, as the water covers the sea.Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink, pouring out your wrath and even making them drunk, in order to look at their nakedness!You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory. You also— drink, and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory.For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you; the destruction of animals will terrify you because of your human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them.What use is a carved idol after its craftsman carves it? It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies. For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it and makes worthless idols that cannot speak.Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up! or to mute stone: Come alive! Can it teach? Look! It may be plated with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.But the LORD is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence.

A pronouncement concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:Lift up a banner on a barren mountain. Call out to them. Signal with your hand, and they will go through the gates of the nobles.I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my warriors, who celebrate my triumph, to execute my wrath.Listen, a commotion on the mountains, like that of a mighty people! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations being gathered together! The LORD of Armies is mobilizing an army for war.They are coming from a distant land, from the farthest horizon— the LORD and the weapons of his wrath— to destroy the whole country.Wail! For the day of the LORD is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty.Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak, and every man will lose heart.They will be horrified; pain and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look at each other, their faces flushed with fear.Look, the day of the LORD is coming— cruel, with fury and burning anger— to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners.Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.I will punish the world for its evil, and wicked people for their iniquities. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.I will make a human more scarce than fine gold, and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will shake from its foundations at the wrath of the LORD of Armies, on the day of his burning anger.Like wandering gazelles and like sheep without a shepherd, each one will turn to his own people, each one will flee to his own land.

The Waters of Nimrim are desolate; the grass is withered, the foliage is gone, and the vegetation has vanished.

“ Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.” This is the LORD’s declaration.Look, I am against you, devastating mountain. This is the LORD’s declaration. You devastate the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you down from the cliffs, and turn you into a charred mountain.No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will become desolate forever. This is the LORD’s declaration.

Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Idols depicting them are consigned to beasts and cattle. The images you carry are loaded, as a burden for the weary animal.The gods cower; they crouch together; they are not able to rescue the burden, but they themselves go into captivity.“ Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you.“ To whom will you compare me or make me equal? Who will you measure me with, so that we should be like each other?Those who pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales— they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god. Then they kneel and bow down to it.They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands; it does not budge from its place. They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer; it saves no one from his trouble.“ Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me.I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.I call a bird of prey from the east, a man for my purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it.Listen to me, you hardhearted, far removed from justice:I am bringing my justice near; it is not far away, and my salvation will not delay. I will put salvation in Zion, my splendor in Israel.“ Go down and sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, Daughter Chaldea! For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.

After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.He called out in a mighty voice: It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen! She has become a home for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, and a haunt for every unclean and despicable beast.For all the nations have drunk the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath. The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her sensuality and excess.Then I heard another voice from heaven: Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues.For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.Pay her back the way she also paid, and double it according to her works. In the cup in which she mixed, mix a double portion for her.As much as she glorified herself and indulged her sensual and excessive ways, give her that much torment and grief. For she says in her heart,“ I sit as a queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief.”For this reason her plagues will come in just one day— death and grief and famine. She will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is mighty.The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and shared her sensual and excessive ways will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning.They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in a single hour your judgment has come.The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer—cargo of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass, iron, and marble;cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves— human lives.The fruit you craved has left you. All your splendid and glamorous things are gone; they will never find them again.The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,saying, Woe, woe, the great city, dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;for in a single hour such fabulous wealth was destroyed! And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far offas they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out,“ Who was like the great city?”They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning, Woe, woe, the great city, where all those who have ships on the sea became rich from her wealth; for in a single hour she was destroyed.Rejoice over her, heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has pronounced on her the judgment she passed on you!Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, In this way, Babylon the great city will be thrown down violently and never be found again.The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; no craftsman of any trade will ever be found in you again; the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again;the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of a groom and bride will never be heard in you again. All this will happen because your merchants were the nobility of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all those slaughtered on the earth.

I will make you a perpetual desolation; your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

In the year that the chief commander, sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—during that time the LORD had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying,“ Go, take off your sackcloth from your waist and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did that, going stripped and barefoot—the LORD said,“ As my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,so the king of Assyria will lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, stripped and barefoot, with bared buttocks— to Egypt’s shame.Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day,‘ Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape?’”A pronouncement concerning the desert by the sea: Like storms that pass over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.A troubling vision is declared to me:“ The treacherous one acts treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning.”Therefore I am filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. I am too perplexed to hear, too dismayed to see.My heart staggers; horror terrifies me. He has turned my last glimmer of hope into sheer terror.Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet! Eat and drink! Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!For the Lord has said to me,“ Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees.When he sees riders— pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels— he must pay close attention.”Then the lookout reported,“ Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night.Look, riders come— horsemen in pairs.” And he answered, saying,“ Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the images of her gods have been shattered on the ground.”My people who have been crushed on the threshing floor, I have declared to you what I have heard from the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel.A pronouncement concerning Dumah: One calls to me from Seir,“ Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”The watchman said,“ Morning has come, and also night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again.”A pronouncement concerning Arabia: In the desert brush you will camp for the night, you caravans of Dedanites.Bring water for the thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema meet the refugees with food.For they have fled from swords, from the drawn sword, from the bow that is strung, and from the stress of battle.For the Lord said this to me:“ Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.

“ Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend my people: You have scattered my flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts”— this is the LORD’s declaration.

During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him.

King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine in their presence.Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them.So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them.They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.At that moment the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king’s palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the hand that was writing,his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that he soiled himself and his knees knocked together.The king shouted to bring in the mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. He said to these wise men of Babylon,“ Whoever reads this inscription and gives me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around his neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”So all the king’s wise men came in, but none could read the inscription or make its interpretation known to him.Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face turned pale, and his nobles were bewildered.Because of the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen came to the banquet hall.“ May the king live forever,” she said.“ Don’t let your thoughts terrify you or your face be pale.There is a man in your kingdom who has a spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. Your own predecessor, the king,did this because Daniel, the one the king named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and intelligence, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems. Therefore, summon Daniel, and he will give the interpretation.”Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him,“ Are you Daniel, one of the Judean exiles that my predecessor the king brought from Judah?I’ve heard that you have a spirit of the gods in you, and that insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom are found in you.Now the wise men and mediums were brought before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not give its interpretation.However, I have heard about you that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around your neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”Then Daniel answered the king,“ You may keep your gifts and give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him.Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, greatness, glory, and majesty to your predecessor Nebuchadnezzar.Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted.But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken from him.He was driven away from people, his mind was like an animal’s, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms and sets anyone he wants over them.“ But you his successor, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.Therefore, he sent the hand, and this writing was inscribed.“ This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.This is the interpretation of the message:‘ Mene’ means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.‘ Tekel’ means that you have been weighed on the balance and found deficient.‘ Peres’ means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”Then Belshazzar gave an order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed,and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.