Daniel 5:1-12 ▼

1 King Balthasar made a great feast to a thousand of his princes, and dranke wine before the thousande.

2 And Balthasar when he had tasted the wine, commaunded to bring hym the golden and siluer vessels, whiche his father Nabuchodonozor had brought from the temple in Hierusalem, that the king and his princes, and his wyues, and his concubines, might drinke therin.

3 So were brought the golde vessels that they had taken out of the temple of the Lordes house at Hierusalem: and the king, and his princes, his wyues, and his concubines drunke in them.

4 They drunke wine, & praysed the gods of golde, siluer, brasse, iron, wood, and stone.

5 In the very same houre there appeared fingers of a mans hande wryting right ouer against the candlesticke vpon the plaster of the wall of the kinges palace, and the king sawe the knockles of the hande that wrote.

6 Then chaunged the king his countenaunce, & his thoughtes troubled hym, so that the ioyntes of his loynes were loosed, and his knees smote one against the other.

7 Wherfore the king cryed mightyly, that they should bring the soothsayers, Chaldees, & wysardes: the king spake also to the wise men of Babylon, & said, Who so can reade this wryting, & shewe me the interpretation thereof, shalbe clothed with purple, and haue a cheyne of golde about his necke, and shalbe the third ruler in the kingdome.

8 Upon this came al the kinges wise men, but they coulde neither reade the wryting, nor shewe the king the interpretation.

9 Then was king Balthasar greatly troubled, and his countenaunce was chaunged in him, and his princes were astonied.

10 Now the queene by reason of the talke of the king & his princes, came into the banket house: and the queene spake, and sayde, O king, lyue for euer: let not thy thoughtes trouble thee, and let not thy countenaunce be chaunged.

11 There is a man in thy kingdome that hath the spirite of the holy Gods within him: & in the dayes of thy father, light, and vnderstanding, & wysdome, like the wysedome of the gods, was founde in hym, whom the king Nabuchodonozor thy father, the king I say thy father made chiefe of the wyse men, soothsayers, Chaldeans, and wysardes.

12 Because that such an aboundaunt spirite, knowledge, and vnderstanding, to expound dreames, to open secretes, & to declare harde doubtes, was founde in him, yea euen in Daniel, whom the king named Baltassar: let Daniel be called, and he shal declare the interpretation.