_What the Bible says._
“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and
drank wine before the thousands.
“Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and
silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple
which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his princes, his wives and his
concubines might drink therein.
“They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of
iron, of wood and of stone.
“In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand and wrote over
against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace;
and the king saw part of the hand that wrote.
“Then the king’s countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so
that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against
another.
“The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the
soothsayers.
“Then came the king’s wise men; but they could not read the writing nor
make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
“Then was Daniel brought before the king, and the king said: “If thou
canst read the writing thou shalt be clothed with scarlet and have a chain
of gold about thy neck and shalt be third ruler of the kingdom.”
“Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let thy gifts be to
thyself and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing and
make known unto the king the interpretation.”
“And this is the writing that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”