Belshazzar gives a great banquet for a thousand nobles and drinks wine with them.

He orders that gold and silver vessels taken from the Jerusalem temple be brought in so that the guests can drink from them. As they drink, they praise gods made of precious metals, wood, and stone.

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appear and write on the plaster wall of the palace.

The king turns pale and is terrified. His wise men cannot explain the inscription.

Daniel is summoned because of his reputation for insight during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.

Daniel refuses to be impressed by the promised rewards. He reminds Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar was humbled when he became proud.

Belshazzar, Daniel says, knew this history but did not humble himself. Instead he exalted himself against the Lord of heaven and profaned the temple vessels.

Daniel interprets the writing as announcing that Belshazzar’s reign has been numbered, weighed, found wanting, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Belshazzar honors Daniel as promised, but the judgment is not reversed. That very night Belshazzar is killed, and Babylonian rule gives way to a new power.