Belshazzar was probably Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson or grandson-in-law. There seems to have been quite a mix up as to who got the throne after Nebuchadnezzar died. We know that Belshazzar’s father did not like to rule, but preferred to play archeologist. He was off digging in the dirt, leaving Belshazzar in charge.
1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
2 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.
The Bible uses the term “father” to refer to either the direct male parent or grandparent, or occasionally any male ancestor. If the man identifies more with his wife’s family than his own, it can mean “father-in-law.”
3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
It sounds like they just decided to have a party here. The truth is that the city is under siege at this moment. This party was probably intended to be a morale booster or to show defiance to the enemy.
Babylon was surrounded by a huge wall with two gates in it to allow part of the Euphrates River to flow through the middle of town. Heavy iron gates were lowered into the river every night to keep enemy boats from sailing into town and conquering them (they were opened during the day so merchants could sail their wares into the city easily). Because of this water supply, a siege would actually be very unsuccessful. Yet the Medo-Persian army is outside the gates of the city at this moment, hoping to find a way in to conquer their overlords.
5 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 the part of the hand that wrote.
A disembodied hand floating in the air, writing on the wall.
6 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.
He was scared.
7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Since his father was technically the first ruler and Belshazzar the second, the highest rank available to promote anyone to was third ruler.
8 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.
10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, “O king, live forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
This was probably the king’s mother or grandmother; a woman who had seen Daniel in action in her youth.
11 “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
12 “Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, “Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
14 “I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
15 “And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing:
16 “And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 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 unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Daniel was not interested in material rewards.
We get the idea he didn’t really like Belshazzar, though it sounded earlier like he was quite fond of Nebuchadnezzar.
18 “O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor:
“Everything your ancestor had came from God.”
19 “And for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
20 “But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
21 “And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomsoever he will.
Daniel reminds Belshazzar of Nebuchadnezzar’s lesson from God in humility.
22 “And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knew all this;
Belshazzar chose to ignore his own history. He chose to be prideful.
23 “But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
24 “Then was the part of the hand sent from Him; and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 “This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
“Mene” means “to number.”
“Your kingdom has a limit of the number of days it will last, and that limit has been reached.”
27 “TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
“Tekel” means “to weigh.”
“God has judged you and you have come up short.”
28 “PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
“Peres” means “to divide.”
“You lose”
(The U in upharsin simply means “and”)
29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Belshazzar kept his word, even though Daniel gave him a negative interpretation.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
The priests of the city were tired of Belshazzar’s irreligious behavior. He evidently frequently insulted all the “gods,” not just the True God. While Belshazzar was partying, the priests snuck out and opened the gates to the river.
Meanwhile, the Medo- Persian army had diverted the part of the river that ran under the wall. The whole army simply marched into the city and took it. This was prophesied in Isaiah 45:1:
“Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;”
Isaiah prophesied around 675BC. Babylon was conquered in 459BC.
31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years (62) old.
Cyrus the Great’s mother and wife were both Median princesses. We know from Greek histories that Cyrus’s Uncle Father-in-Law (he married his cousin) was the king of Mede, and co-ruled with Cyrus over a combined empire; Medo-Persia. When he died (shortly after the conquest of Babylon) Cyrus inherited the Mede throne.
Some evidence says Cyrus was elsewhere fighting a different war when Babylon fell and his uncle was the general who was actually in charge of the attack, though the evidence is not yet clear since it comes from a couple of different sources that don’t agree. So it is likely “Darius the Mede” was King Darius of Mede, brother to Cyrus the Great’s mom, and daddy to his wife.
Anyway, Babylon is now dead.