3 So the gold equipment that had been carried out of the temple, God’s house in Jerusalem, was brought in; and the king, his princes, his consorts, and his secondary wives drank out of it.
4 They drank a lot of wine; and they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 Right then the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the king’s palace wall in the light of the lamp. The king saw the hand that wrote.
6 The king’s mood changed immediately, and he was deeply disturbed. He felt weak, and his knees were shaking.
7 The king yelled, calling for the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners.The king told these sages of Babylon: "Anyone who can read this writing and tell me its meaning will wear royal robes, will have a gold chain around his neck, and will rule the kingdom as third in command."
8 Then all the king’s sages arrived, but they couldn’t read the writing or interpret it for the king.
9 At that point King Belshazzar was really frightened. All the color drained from his face, and his princes were also very worried.