The Book of Daniel Page #5

No, it is unseemly

for a king to be baffled...

by a message

in his own hall.

No human hand

has scribed it.

No other tongue

can interpret it.

Tell me what it means,

be of good or ill.

Oh king,

the Most High God...

gave your father,

Nebuchadnezzar,

greatness and glory,

but when his heart

became arrogant...

he was deposed from his throne

and stripped of his glory...

until he acknowledged

that the Most High is sovereign...

over the kingdoms of men.

Even though

you knew all this,

you should have

appealed to him.

Instead, you've set yourself up

against the Lord of heaven.

You had the goblets

of his temple brought to you...

and praised the gods

of bronze and iron,

wood and stone,

instead of him.

These vessels were made for

the service of the Most High,

and you have used them

to pour wine for your harlots.

Would you humble the Almighty

by desecrating his possessions?

Would you bind him

like a captive...

and beat him like a slave?

Would you pluck out his eyes...

and have him beg for scraps

of food beneath your table?

This you would do if you could,

and the Almighty knows it.

This is his answer to you.

The Lord God will

strike you down like an enemy,

for he has bidden his angel

to unsheathe his sword.

These then are the

words he has written.

"Mene," God has numbered

the days of your reign...

and brought it to an end.

"Tekel," you have been

weighed in the scales...

and found wanting.

"Upharsin," your

kingdom is divided...

and given to the Medes

and Persians.

This very night your life

will be demanded of you,

and before the sun rises

your flesh will grow cold.

Thus says the Lord,

"Your line is ended.

Your rule is over.

Your kingship is no more."

ls there nothing

to be done?

No, in your arrogance you

have doomed not only yourself...

but your house, your line,

your inheritance, your city,

and your kingdom.

Choose now where you will

spend your last few hours.

But knowing your fate,

who now will love thee?

Who now will fear you?

Will the least

of your slaves comfort you,

or will they desert you,

seeking to avoid

the fate which is yours?

Let it be

as I have commanded.

Let this man

be clothed in purple,

a chain of gold

placed around his neck,

for I am not dead yet.

All hail, King Darius!

I am King Belshazzar

of the Babylonia. Unhand me!

- Surrender or die!

- Never!

Send word to Cyrus

this city's taken in his name.

As he has commanded,

I shall assume the crown.

Do you know

who stands before you?

You are Darius,

the Mede-Persian,

uncle and father-in-law

to Cyrus...

who has by stratagem

taken this city.

By right of conquest,

you are now the king.

Yes, and you are

an official of Babylon.

Why should I not kill you?

It is true I served Babylon

in the days of Nebuchadnezzar...

whom I served

truly and well,

but her latter kings

I did not serve until tonight.

How is this possible?

It is a reward

for letting Belshazzar know...

that you were

about to take the city.

Who told you?

Have we a traitor

in our ranks?

It was revealed to me

by my God...

who sent his angel to scribe

the writing on that wall.

It is true.

He read the inscription

and revealed the message.

He told the king that

he would die this very night.

Though brought here

as an exile in my youth,

by birth I am a Hebrew

from the kingdom of Judea,

and I serve the God

of my forefathers.

The Most High

reveals to me what he sees fit.

Am I to believe your God

revealed my coming to you?

If I was to lie,

would this be

the lie I would choose?

Who else could have

revealed your deepest secret...

and known ahead of time

that you would succeed...

or known with certainty

that you would slay Belshazzar?

And how could you have done so

if the Lord had not decreed it?

For is it not by the

hand of the Most High...

that both victories

and disasters come?

I would have you put this gift

of divination in my service,

yet how do I know

I can trust you, Hebrew?

I will speak to you

honestly, my king,

and when you

would not hear the truth...

you must ask me nothing.

So be it.

I see by your insignia...

you were made third

in all of Babylon,

but that is not

the Persian way,

for below me I have

three administrators,

all of equal rank.

Yet I shall name you

one of the three.

What of the

other counselors?

Slay them.

If they were loyal to the former

master, they are no good to me.

If they were

disloyal to him,

then they will be

disloyal to me.

Ah, Darius.

He's twice my uncle

by blood and marriage...

and serves me well

as co-counsel to my empire.

As it pleased Darius

to appoint 120 satraps...

to rule throughout the kingdom

with administrators above them,

one of whom was me,

but before long

I so distinguished myself...

that Darius planned to set me

over the whole kingdom.

Which would cause

great envy among the others.

Yes, oh king.

So they called

a meeting in secret...

and planned

for my destruction.

- Are we safe?

- Yes.

- Did anyone see you?

- No.

Why are we meeting

so far from the city?

Do you think

it would be wise...

for this meeting

to be overheard by anyone?

Are you sure

you weren't followed?

Not unless

whatever's following has wings.

We don't have much time.

Daniel being put over us,

if we allow it to stand,

means our demise.

Once he is in charge...

he'll be looking into

everything we do.

Perhaps we

should eliminate him.

How?

- A hunting accident.

- He doesn't hunt.

A sudden illness

or a drowning.

Who would believe it?

Maybe we can

ensnare him.

How? There is no corruption

in him nor any negligence.

He is as diligent

as he is skillful.

There must be some way.

He claims he's so effective

because three times a day...

his heart inclines

to the city of God.

There's a spirit

of excellence in him.

In every test

he has proven faithful.

No one is that honest.

On the contrary,

I had a man

try to bribe him once,

and a very generous

bribe at that.

He would have

no part of it.

Such a man is dangerous.

How long before he learns...

that we've been

generous with ourselves...

and covered the thefts

with false accounts?

We'll never be able to find any

basis for charges against him...

unless it has something

to do with that God of his.

That invisible God of his.

No altars, no shrines, no idols,

laying claim to every good thing...

yet somehow

not responsible for the bad.

I've seen him praying

before his window on his knees...

facing Jerusalem

morning, noon, and night,

always the same.

Then perhaps

we need to make him stop.

He won't do it.

Then perhaps we need

to make sure he continues.

You say there is nothing anyone

can do to stop his prayers.

No, nothing.

What if the penalty for

this devotion of his was death?

If we could forbid

his prayers for an entire month...

under penalty

of immediate execution?

Don't be ridiculous.

He'll just stop praying.

No, he won't.

I know him.

He can't keep himself from

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