“Wherefore God hath sent the fingers of the hand to write, and this is the writing, and this is the interpretation thereof: Mane: God hath numbered[1] thy kingdom, and hath finished it. Tkecel: Thou art weighed[2] in the balance and found wanting. Pkares: Thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians.” That very night Baltassar was slain[3] and the prophecy of Daniel was thus fulfilled. Some time after, the army of the Medes and Persians, under Darius, their great leader, took the city of Babylon, and divided [4] the kingdom.
But Cyrus (Fig. 57), king of Persia, and successor of Darius, soon took possession of all the Assyrian empire, of which Babylon was the capital.
He treated Daniel with marked respect, and made him sit down at his own table. At this time the god Bel was worshipped in Babylon as the supreme deity. There were spent upon him every day twelve large measures of flour, forty sheep and sixty vessels of wine.
The king went every day to adore this god Bel. But Daniel adored the true God. Then the king asked him why he did not adore Bel. Daniel replied that he adored the true and living God, who created earth and heaven, and whose power
- ↑ Hath numbered. The days of your rule have come to an end.
- ↑ Weighed. You are found unworthy either to live or reign any longer.
- ↑ Was slain. By his brother-in-law.
- ↑ Divided. The northern part fell to the share of the Medes, and the southern part was possessed by the Persians. When, soon after, the king of the Medes died, leaving no children, both Babylon and Media fell into the hands of the Persian king Cyrus.
