The Babylonian Exile

because that an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of enigmas, and loosing of knots was found in him, in Daniel, whose name the king made Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and the interpretation he doth show.'

Then Daniel hath been caused to come up before the king; answered hath the king, and said to Daniel, `Thou art that Daniel who art of the sons of the Removed of Judah, whom the king my father brought in out of Judah?

And I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and light, and understanding, and excellent wisdom have been found in thee.

`And now, caused to come up before me have been the wise men, the enchanters, that this writing they may read, and its interpretation to cause me to know: and they are not able to shew the interpretation of the thing:

and I--I have heard of thee, that thou art able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, lo--thou art able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know--purple thou dost put on, and a bracelet of gold is on thy neck, and third in the kingdom thou dost rule.'

Then hath Daniel answered and said before the king, `Thy gifts be to thyself, and thy fee to another give; nevertheless, the writing I do read to the king, and the interpretation I cause him to know;

thou, O king, God Most High, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour, gave to Nebuchadnezzar thy father:

and because of the greatness that He gave to him, all peoples, nations, and languages were trembling and fearing before him: whom he willed he was slaying, and whom he willed he was keeping alive, and whom he willed he was raising up, and whom he willed he was making low;

and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he hath been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him,

and from the sons of men he is driven, and his heart with the beasts hath been like, and with the wild asses is his dwelling; the herb like oxen they cause him to eat, and by the dew of the heavens is his body wet, till that he hath known that God Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and whom He willeth He raiseth up over it.

`And thou, his son, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though all this thou hast known;

and against the Lord of the heavens thou hast lifted up thyself; and the vessels of His house they have brought in before thee, and thou, and thy great men, thy wives, and thy concubines, are drinking wine with them, and gods of silver, and of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that are not seeing, nor hearing, nor knowing, thou hast praised: and the God in whose hand is thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.

`Then from before Him sent is the extremity of the hand, and the writing is noted down;

and this is the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.

This is the interpretation of the thing: Numbered--God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.

Weighed--Thou art weighed in the balances, and hast been found lacking.

Divided--Divided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.'

Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.

In that night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans is slain,

and Darius the Mede hath received the kingdom, when a son of sixty and two years.

It hath been good before Darius, and he hath established over the kingdom satraps--a hundred and twenty--that they may be throughout the whole kingdom,

and higher than they three presidents, of whom Daniel is first, that these satraps may give to them an account, and the king have no loss.

Then this Daniel hath been overseer over the presidents and satraps, because that an excellent spirit is in him, and the king hath thought to establish him over the whole kingdom.

Then the presidents and satraps have been seeking to find a cause of complaint against Daniel concerning the kingdom, and any cause of complaint and corruption they are not able to find, because that he is faithful, and any error and corruption have not been found in him.

Then these men are saying, `We do not find against this Daniel any cause of complaint, except we have found it against him in the law of his God.'