The Writing on the Wall

King Belshazzar throws a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. Heated by wine, he orders that the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in; they drink from them while praising the gods of gold, silver, wood, and stone. Suddenly, the fingers of a man’s hand write on the plaster of the wall. The king turns pale, and his knees knock together. None of the wise men can read the inscription. Then the queen remembers Daniel. Refusing the gifts promised to him, Daniel reminds the king how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar’s pride: Belshazzar, for his part, has not humbled himself and has desecrated the vessels of God’s house. Then he reads: “Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided.” God has numbered his reign and brought it to an end; he has been weighed in the balance and found wanting; his kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians. That very night, Belshazzar is killed.