World English Bible · Babylon and the exile
Daniel 5
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the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank before the thousand. , while he tasted the , commanded that the golden and silver vessels which his had taken out of which was in be brought to him, that the king and his lords, his wives and his , might drink from them. 3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of of house which was at ; and the king and his lords, his wives and his , drank from them. They drank , and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour, the fingers of a man's hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's was changed in him, and his troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the , and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to men of , "Whoever reads this writing and shows me its shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in ." Then all the king's men came in; but they could not read the writing, and couldn't make known to the king the . Then King was greatly troubled, and was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed. The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house. The queen spoke and said, "O king, live ; don't let your trouble you, nor let your be changed. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is of the gods; and in the days of your , and understanding and , like the of the gods, were found in him. The king, , your —yes, the king, your —made him master of the magicians, enchanters, , and soothsayers, because an excellent , knowledge, understanding, interpreting of , showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts were found in the same , whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let be called, and he will show the ." Then was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to , "Are you that of the children of of Judah, whom the king brought out of Judah? I have heard of you, that of the gods is in you and that , understanding, and excellent are found in you. Now men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me its ; but they could not show the of the thing. But I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its , you shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in ." Then answered before the king, "Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the . "To you, king, gave your , and greatness, and , and majesty. Because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and trembled and feared before him. He killed whom he wanted to, and he kept alive whom he wanted to. He up whom he wanted to, and he put down whom he wanted to. But when was lifted up, and his was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly , and they took his from him. He was driven from the sons of men, and was made like the animals', and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the of , until he knew that rules in of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. "You, his son, , have not humbled , though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against of ; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your , have drunk from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don't see, or hear, or know; and you have not glorified the in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. 25"This is the writing that was inscribed: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' "This is the of the thing: MENE: has counted your kingdom, and brought it to an end. TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES: your kingdom is divided, and given to the and ." Then commanded, and they clothed with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in . In that night the King was slain. received , being about sixty-two years old.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Babylon and the exile, 612 BC to 539 BC ›
Babylon replaces Assyria, Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed in 586 BC, and the leadership of Judah lives in Mesopotamia without a king, a temple, or a country.
- Babylon
- Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilds the city on a scale meant to be seen from a distance: the Ishtar Gate in glazed blue brick, the processional way, the ziggurat, and gardens later counted among the wonders of the world. Babylonian tablets record rations issued to the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah by name, which is one of the tidier points of contact between the Bible and the archives.
- Egypt
- Briefly resurgent. Pharaoh Neco marches north, kills King Josiah at Megiddo, and installs and deposes kings in Jerusalem, until Babylon beats him decisively at Carchemish in 605 BC. Jeremiah spends his career saying that betting on Egypt is suicide, and is proved right.
- Judah
- Deported in stages, then destroyed. The temple is burned, the walls broken, and the leadership marched to Mesopotamia. What happens next is one of the strangest survivals in history: a people keeps its identity without land, king, or sanctuary, and comes out of it with its scriptures more central than before.
- Further afield
- An extraordinary century for ideas everywhere at once. Thales and the first Greek philosophers, Solon's reforms at Athens, the Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao Tzu in China, and Zoroaster in Persia all fall within a few generations of the exile.