Daniel 5
New Catholic Bible
Belshazzar’s Banquet[a]
Chapter 5
The Writing on the Wall. 1 King Belshazzar hosted a magnificent banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in their presence. 2 Under the influence of the wine, he gave orders that the gold and silver vessels that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem were to be brought in so that the king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
3 Therefore, the gold and silver vessels that had been removed from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, were brought in, and the king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank their wine and praised their gods of gold and silver, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone.
5 Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began to write on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace next to the lampstand, and the king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His legs grew limp, and his knees began to knock.
7 Then the king shouted aloud, ordering the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers to be brought in. When they entered, he addressed the wise men of Babylon and said, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around his neck, and rank third in the government of the kingdom.”
8 However, none of the king’s wise men could either read the writing or explain to the king what it meant. 9 Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified. His face grew even more pale, and his lords were in a state of confusion.
10 When the queen heard the commotion made by the king and his lords, she came into the banqueting hall and said, “May Your Majesty live forever. Do not let your thoughts terrify you. Why should you look so pale? 11 In your kingdom there is a man who has within him the Spirit of the holy God. During your father’s lifetime this man was renowned for his enlightenment, insight, and godlike wisdom, and to such a degree that King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, appointed him as chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners.
12 “Therefore, since this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has a keen mind, and is endowed with knowledge and understanding and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems, summon him. He will be able to give you the interpretation you seek.”
13 Then Daniel was brought into the king’s presence. The king said to him, “Are you the Daniel who was one of the Jewish exiles that my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have been told that the Spirit of God is in you, and that you are renowned for your knowledge, understanding, and exceptional wisdom.
15 “Now the wise men and the enchanters have been brought in to me to read this writing and reveal its meaning to me, but they have been unable to interpret it. 16 Yet I have been told that you can give interpretations and solve problems. If you are able to read this writing and make known its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the government of the kingdom.”
17 Daniel Explains the Writing. Then Daniel replied to the king, “Your Majesty, keep the gifts for yourself or give them to someone else. However, I will read the writing to Your Majesty and make known to you its interpretation.
18 “O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom with power, glory, and majesty. 19 He made him so powerful that the nations and peoples of every language trembled with fear before him. He killed those whom he wished to kill; he spared those whom he wished to spare; he honored those whom he wished to honor, and he degraded those whom he wished to degrade.
20 “However, when his heart became filled with pride and his spirit became hardened with arrogance, he was deposed from his kingly throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was banished from human society, and his mind became like that of an animal. He was forced to live with the wild asses, he fed on grass like oxen, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of men and appoints whomever he wishes to rule it.
22 “Even though you, Belshazzar, his son, were aware of all this, you did not humble your heart. 23 You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the vessels of his temple to be brought to you, and you, your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have drunk your wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze and iron, of wood and stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor have intelligence. But you have not glorified the God in whose hands are your breath of life and the entire course of your life.
24 “That is why he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. 25 The words inscribed are Mene, Tekel, and Peres.[b] This is what the words mean:
26 “Mene: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
27 “Tekel: you have been weighed on the scales and been found wanting.
28 “Peres: your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then, at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, with a gold chain around his neck, and a proclamation was made declaring that Daniel would rank third in the government of the kingdom.
30 On that very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
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- Daniel 5:1 If there was a historical Belshazzar, he was the son of Nabonidus, not of Nebuchadnezzar; in any case, he was not given an opportunity to ascend the throne, but simply substituted for his father until Babylon fell in 539 B.C. under the blows of Cyrus the Persian, who had first subdued the Medes. The text speaks of Darius the Mede (6:1), but the only Dariuses known to history were all Persians. It is not a matter of concern that the author mixes up overly vague historical memories. His purpose is a different one: to denounce once more the human pride that claims the right to laugh at God. On the figure of Belshazzar are imposed the characteristics of Antiochus IV, who sacked temples, profaned things holy, and had himself worshiped as a god, while haughtily controlling the destiny of human beings (see 1 Mac 1:16-64; 6:1-5; 2 Mac 3:1-40; 5:11-20; 9:2).
- Daniel 5:25 The words of the inscription are names of weights or monies, allowing the play on words in the interpretation.
Daniel 7:1
New Catholic Bible
Apocalypse: Visions of Daniel concerning the Future[a]
The Visions of the Beasts and the Son of Man[b]
Chapter 7
Four Great Beasts Come Up from the Sea.[c] 1 In the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and experienced visions in his mind as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down his account of the dream as follows:
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- Daniel 7:1 Up to this point we have been edified by events in the life of a hero. Now he, himself, speaks in the chiaroscuro language of the apocalypses. The narrative transports the reader beyond the passing scene: the great empires that come and are swallowed up are simply preparations for the events that will mark the end of time. The prophet will also proclaim the mysterious coming of a “son of man” and the resurrection of the righteous.
- Daniel 7:1 This is the most important eschatological passage in the Book of Daniel. The immediate explanation is concerned with the time of Antiochus IV. But there are other Antiochuses in the course of human history.
- Daniel 7:1 These fabulous animals, close relatives of the forces of disorder which are often mentioned in the Bible (Ps 74; Isa 51:9) or in the primitive traditions of the peoples, stand here for the empires that controlled the East from the seventh to the second century before our era. If we may judge by the images he uses, the author sees the order of regimes as follows: Babylon, the Medes, the Persians, and then the Greeks, who have recently astonished the world by the conquests of Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C. Alexander’s successors have divided his empire among themselves, and it is this that is presently sowing terror. Horns are always a sign of power; here they symbolize the kings of the Greek dynasty of the Seleucids, who control Syria. The little, destructive horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–163 B.C.), who has rid himself of more than one of his rivals. This entire scenario, then, is intended to fill out the portrait of this persecuting ruler. But Antiochus IV has passed away, and other haughty regimes have arisen that must be identified with the same critical clarity. The Book of Revelation (Rev 13) takes over the image of the horned beast to signify evil in all the forms in which it is directed against the community of those whom Christ has brought together.
Daniel 8:1
New Catholic Bible
Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat[a]
Chapter 8
Vision of the Ram and He-Goat. 1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, I, Daniel, had another vision subsequent to the first vision that I had previously experienced.
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- Daniel 8:1 Daniel has a new vision. First, there is a ram with two horns of unequal length (that is, of unequal power): the Medes and the Persians. Then a goat comes from the West, a king of Greece, to snatch them from their place: Alexander the Great. When the latter dies, in 323 B.C., his successors, or Diadochi, will argue over the empire: the Lagids, the Seleucids, the Antigonids, and later the Attalids. Finally, the beautiful land, Jerusalem, falls into the power of Antiochus (v. 9), who attempts to subdue the soul of Israel by violence (v. 10). He identifies himself with God, suppresses the daily sacrifice (in 167 B.C.), and erects an altar for Zeus over the altar in the temple. But the days of the persecutor are numbered.
