Belshazzar, who was Nebuchadnezzar’s son, was in his palace in Babylon. He stared glaringly at the captivating ziggurats bigger than even the tallest pyramid. Compassionately he glazed at the Hanging Gardens his father fashioned for his wife. Then he brought his eyes over to the Ishtar Gate it was between the amazing Euphrates and Tigris rivers. It was all his. He felt like he was the greatest king ever.
One day a messenger rushed nervously to the palace loudly calling, “King Cyrus and the Persians are attacking the empire. Please help us.”
“Let them try to destroy us,” bravely Belshazzar bellowed boldly. “We are safe inside these sturdy great walls. I am the courageous king. Our gods, who are powerful, will protect us.”
Foolishly, instead of preparing the armies, he decided to have a great banquet. He invited all the important people to it. Everyone was eating and drinking greatly and having a wonderful time not caring at all about the Persians.
“Bring me the gold and silver vessels my father took from the temple in Jerusalem,” Belshazzar commanded his servant. “Let us toast our gods with them!”
Everyone raised the holy vessels.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a man’s hand, which was horrifying, appeared and depict a message on the wall in an indefinite language the king did not know. The king was scared. So he hurriedly called for his wise men. “What does this mean?” he asked.
The wise men could not figure out what it meant. The king got even more nervous.
Then the queen suggested, “There is a man named Daniel, who is a Israelite, with much wisdom. Send for him.”
When Daniel arrived, he looked at the writing on the wall and boldly exclaimed, “Because you honored yourself instead of the true mighty God, God sent this message. It claims God will divide your kingdom to the Medes and Persians.”
That night Cyrus and his armies marched into the city. Belshazzar was slain and his kingdom was taken, just as the writing claimed.
