Daniel & The Writing on The Wall

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People... The tree, great king, is you. 00:00:07 Speaker 2: What? 00:00:08 Speaker 3: Don't act surprised. Fanged ignorance is unbecoming of you. 00:00:14 Speaker 2: Then my fate is that of the tree to be stripped away? 00:00:20 Speaker 3: Your greatness has grown. It reaches the heavens and your dominion to the end of the earth. 00:00:28 Speaker 2: As is my destiny! I am the king of Babylon. 00:00:32 Speaker 3: You are too great in your own eyes and in the eyes of men. 00:00:38 Speaker 2: Who else matters? 00:00:40 Speaker 3: The Lord matters, and he has seen you for what you are. 00:00:44 Speaker 4: And what am I? 00:00:47 Speaker 5: A beast. 00:00:48 Speaker 2: What is happening? 00:00:53 Speaker 1: He tore the robe from his body. He belonged more to the beasts than to men. 00:01:02 Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar, your sentence is almost served. The God who judged you is also the God who restores. Lift your eyes to heaven. 00:01:12 Speaker 4: O king. 00:01:12 Speaker 1: The beast king, crawling on all fours, stood on his hind legs and turned his cheek toward the sunlight peeking through the clouds. 00:01:24 Speaker 2: Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, Praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways just. And those who walk in pride, he is able to humble. 00:01:53 Speaker 1: The palace reeked of wine and sweat. Music swelled from the banquet hall, not in elegant courtly strains, but in a pounding, frenzied beat meant to drive the blood faster. The air was moist with a heavy incense, cloying and meant to mask the scent of too many bodies pressed together. silks were strewn across the floor, goblets overturned, roasted meats torn apart and left half-eaten where they fell. On the central dais, sprawled across cushions, King Belshazzar held court like a man determined to defecate on his father's legacy. He raised his cup, belched and laughed. 00:02:45 Speaker 5: More wine! 00:02:48 Speaker 4: If the Persians are camped at our gates, let them hear our laughter over their war drums! 00:02:57 Speaker 1: The guests roared approval. He leaned in toward a pair of young women reclining beside him, whispering something that made them cover their mouths and giggle. Their bracelets clinked as they draped themselves over his shoulders. Belshazzar's gaze swept the hall. He gestured to them all. The satraps with their perfumed beards. The generals who laughed a little too hard at his jokes. The priests of Marduk, fat with his father's gold. 00:03:35 Speaker 4: Let us. 00:03:38 Speaker 4: To my late father, the great and feared Nebuchadnezzar. Excuse me. May he rest in the arms of, well, whatever god he happened to be groveling before at the time. 00:03:55 Speaker 1: King Belshazzar was nothing like his father. He was indulgent, out of control, and too spoiled to see how fragile his fortunes were. Even with the threat of Persia and King Darius howling from the north, King Belshazzar wouldn't cease his dancing. He drowned every conviction and sense of duty to his country with another gulp of wine. He forced a servant girl onto his lap and played with her hair. Ignorant to the look of disgust on her face. 00:04:35 Speaker 4: You know, my father paid homage to a foreign god right before he died. 00:04:41 Speaker 2: The same god that damned him to the forest. 00:04:48 Speaker 3: Can you believe that? 00:04:50 Speaker 2: You know what? I think we. 00:04:52 Speaker 4: Still have some chalices and other fine treasures from that god's temple. Shall we have a look-see? Oh. 00:05:01 Speaker 4: Bring me the treasures my father sent from Jerusalem. 00:05:05 Speaker 1: A ripple passed through the hall, part thrill, part unease. Servants exchanged glances, hesitating, until his voice cracked like a whip. 00:05:18 Speaker 2: Now! 00:05:19 Speaker 1: They went, and soon returned bearing gold and silver vessels, the sacred cups taken by Nebuchadnezzar from the temple of Yahweh decades before. Their surfaces gleamed, chased with Hebrew inscriptions. Belshazzar seized one, turning it in his hands as though examining an exotic toy. 00:05:41 Speaker 4: Oh, look at the work. 00:05:46 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so fine. It's fit for a god. 00:05:52 Speaker 3: Well, tonight that god will serve me. 00:06:00 Speaker 1: He poured wine into the cup until it spilled over, running down his arms, staining the hem of his robe. Then he raised it high. 00:06:10 Speaker 5: To Bel! To Marduk! 00:06:12 Speaker 2: To Ishtar! 00:06:14 Speaker 4: To the gods who feast and take their fill! 00:06:18 Speaker 2: Not the ones who hide in scrolls and scold kings! 00:06:22 Speaker 3: Ha ha ha! 00:06:24 Speaker 1: Laughter, cheers. Guests snatched the temple vessels from the servants' hands, slopped wine into them, and passed them from mouth to mouth. The gold, once used for sacrifice, now caught the sheen of grease from roasted meat and the glisten of wine-wet lips. A naked priestess rose from the crowd, swaying to the music. She took a gulp from one of the cups and let the wine run down her chest. dripping to the marble floor. The crowd howled. Belshazzar reclined deeper into his cushions, satisfied, until he noticed the torches. The flames were shrinking. No, not shrinking. 00:07:12 Speaker 5: Bleeding. 00:07:13 Speaker 1: As though heavy, the fire began to fall onto the floor. The red flames slid across the great hall until they arrived at a singular bare wall. The laughter faltered. Then, all went dark. Belshazzar pushed himself up, his eyes narrowing toward the wall. Something was emerging out of the dark, cold wall. 00:07:39 Speaker 2: A hand. 00:07:41 Speaker 1: Pale, sharp, ghastly. It had no body, just the hand. Long fingers, the skin unnaturally smooth, the movement slowly and deliberately moving. The first fingertip touched the plaster. Black lines bloomed under it, each stroke burning like hot iron into the wall. The musicians stopped. The priestess froze mid-step. 00:08:13 Speaker 2: What is happening? 00:08:15 Speaker 1: The hand was writing something. The letters formed in a language he did not know. Yet something in them felt like a verdict. The had finished. Lingered as though savouring the silence. 00:08:30 Speaker 2: Gone. 00:08:30 Speaker 1: Only the words remained. Glowing faintly. 00:08:34 Speaker 2: Mene. 00:08:34 Speaker 3: Mene. 00:08:34 Speaker 2: Mene. 00:08:34 Speaker 4: Mene. 00:08:34 Speaker 2: Mene. 00:08:45 Speaker 1: The silence in the banquet hall was suffocating. The guests stared at the blackened words on the plaster as if expecting them to shift under their gaze. Belshazzar stood rigid, gripping the edge of the dais, his knuckles white against the gold. 00:09:24 Speaker 4: Whoever can tell me what this means, shall we clothe them purple? Yes, I'll make them important. I'll give them a gold chain around his neck and make him a third ruler in this kingdom. 00:09:39 Speaker 1: That declaration was like a steaming pile of dung to the flies of Babylon. Slimy politicians all brought their own personal sorcerers. Priests and priestesses of Bel, Marduk and Ishtar did incantations and dances before the writing. But to no avail. None could interpret the strange carvings. All the while, King Belshazzar was growing more pale with anxiety. All the colour had drained from his face, and as the night drew on, he became like a ghost of anxiety and fear. Then came the sound of sandals echoing from the corridor beyond the great doors. The Queen Mother entered without ceremony, her attendants trailing behind like shadows. She did not rush, she did not bow. The music had stopped, but her eyes swept the hall as though she was surveying the aftermath of a battlefield. Goblets overturned, grease smeared on sacred vessels, half-dressed revelers clinging to cushions. Her lip curled into a snarl. What have you done? Belshazzar straightened, trying to pull his robe over his bare chest. 00:11:07 Speaker 4: Mother! 00:11:08 Speaker 2: Mother! 00:11:08 Speaker 5: Do not call me that here. Speaking to me like a toddler when you sit on your father's throne. I swear you have no idea how to rule. 00:11:18 Speaker 1: Her gaze moved to the gold vessels in the guest's hands and then to the wall where the writing glowed faintly. 00:11:27 Speaker 5: He stood beside your father when he commanded armies and built this entire empire from the bones of nations. 00:11:34 Speaker 2: Yes, of course. 00:11:35 Speaker 4: Father was grand. He was a monolith in his own right, I know. 00:11:40 Speaker 5: Do you now? If you know, then you certainly don't show it. Your father knew how to rule, but he also knew when to yield. I saw him kneel when the God of Israel tore his mind from him and made him crawl like a beast. And you, you think you can mock that God and escape judgment? Foolish boy. 00:12:07 Speaker 1: Belshazzar opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a raised hand. 00:12:12 Speaker 5: Look at you, drunk, when the Persians prepare their battering rams on the yards away from our gates. You shame this throne. You shame the house of your father. 00:12:24 Speaker 1: Her voice was carrying now, slicing through the air. The guests lowered their eyes. 00:12:31 Speaker 5: And look at this! 00:12:33 Speaker 1: She gestured to the chalices of the Lord's temple, the ones he defiled moments before the hand appeared. 00:12:40 Speaker 5: You dare to drink from the vessels of the God who humbled the greatest king this world has ever known? You are a child-playing king. No wonder Persia is going to sack this place and place your head on a pike. 00:12:55 Speaker 2: Now that's enough! 00:12:56 Speaker 3: I'm king, and you'll mind how you speak to me! 00:12:59 Speaker 5: Or what? You'll imprison me? I'll be better off there than being dragged out of my chambers by King Darius. 00:13:08 Speaker 1: Belshazzar's throat strained to answer, but nothing came out. The Queen Mother took a step closer to the dais, her shadow falling over him. She locked eyes with her son, then pointed to the words behind her. 00:13:24 Speaker 5: You want answers to this ghastly warning written in stone? Don't look at these fools in your court. A third of them are as drunk as you are. The other two-thirds are either scared of you or hoping you'll make them rich. They won't tell you the truth. 00:13:43 Speaker 4: And who shall I call upon? 00:13:45 Speaker 1: There is a. 00:13:46 Speaker 5: Man, an exile from Judah. Your father called for him when his own gods were silent. He told your father things no magus, no diviner, no priest dared to speak. He walks with a spirit not of this world. 00:14:01 Speaker 1: She glanced at the wall again, then back at her son. 00:14:06 Speaker 5: If there is a man alive who can tell you what those words mean, it is Daniel of Judah. Your father named him Belshazzar. He saw Daniel as a shield from the wrath of the god you've angered. And if you have any hope, any hope, you will send for him. 00:14:24 Speaker 1: Belshazzar swallowed hard. his eyes darting from the Queen Mother to the writing, then to the silent, watchful guests. 00:14:35 Speaker 4: Bring him. 00:14:36 Speaker 1: The Queen Mother stepped back, her expression unreadable, and turned on her heel to leave. 00:14:44 Speaker 5: I won't be around to greet him. I have a carriage awaiting me to take me to the farmlands. Best of luck with the Persians. 00:14:58 Speaker 1: The closer Daniel walked toward the King's Hall, the more the air changed. Gone was the cool, dry stillness of the archives. Here, the corridors reeked of wine, sweat, and the cloying, disgusting ripeness of debauchery. Two guards swung the bronze-plated doors wide. Daniel stepped in. The smell hit first. a heady, sour blend of spilled drink and overripe fruit. Then the sight. The once gleaming hall was littered with overturned cups and broken platters. Draped on couches and leaning against pillars, the king's companions, princes, concubines, satraps, stared wide-eyed at the far wall, their faces pale and slack. At the centre... Half slumped on his throne was Belshazzar. His crown sat crooked, his tunic half loosened, his eyes wide and glassy with terror. He was staring at the wall opposite him, staring at the words, Mene, mene, tekel ufarsin. They blazed faintly as though written in fresh lamp oil. Each letter scored deep into the stone. Daniel took in the scene slowly, his gaze resting briefly on the golden vessels strewn across the floor, the sacred vessels from the temple in Jerusalem, now stained with Babylonian wine offered to idols. Daniel felt a slow, cold anger beneath his ribs, and yet, when his eyes came back to Belshazzar, pity surfaced. The king's lips worked soundlessly for a moment before his voice broke free, hoarse and ragged. 00:17:01 Speaker 3: You're the one they call Belteshazzar? 00:17:05 Speaker 4: Daniel? 00:17:07 Speaker 1: One of the exiles? 00:17:10 Speaker 4: I've heard the spirit of the gods is in you. 00:17:15 Speaker 5: Tell me you can give interpretations, solve mysteries? 00:17:19 Speaker 2: I can. 00:17:21 Speaker 1: I can. 00:17:22 Speaker 3: But tell me, great king, why do these words disturb you so? What are a few runes to the man who owns the world? 00:17:31 Speaker 1: Belshazzar swallowed hard, his eyes flicking toward the glowing letters. 00:17:37 Speaker 4: Because, because there was a hand, a hand of a ghost who was here. It wrote those words right before my eyes. 00:17:47 Speaker 5: I can't read it. None of my magi, none of the encharters, no one could. 00:17:55 Speaker 1: Daniel's gaze drifted again to the wall, then back to the king. He stepped forward slowly until they were close enough to speak without the whole court hearing. 00:18:07 Speaker 3: Great king, the most high god gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty, greatness, glory, and splendor. All nations trembled before him, but when his heart grew proud, He was brought low. He lived with the wild donkeys until he acknowledged that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. 00:18:31 Speaker 1: Belshazzar's jaw worked. Daniel could tell he was expecting a rebuke. But Daniel saw the scared boy underneath the crown and fine robes. 00:18:43 Speaker 3: You knew all this about your father and the god that I serve, and yet you still did this? 00:18:50 Speaker 2: Why? 00:18:50 Speaker 1: Why? I. 00:18:53 Speaker 5: I. 00:18:57 Speaker 2: The Persians knock at our door. 00:18:59 Speaker 4: I feel powerless. And your God, he defeated my father. 00:19:09 Speaker 1: The king looked away, but Daniel leaned in just slightly, his tone almost fatherly now. 00:19:16 Speaker 3: And you thought you would grasp at power by shaming the God who shamed your fathers? 00:19:20 Speaker 2: Yes. 00:19:22 Speaker 1: Belshazzar's breathing was shallow. He gestured to the wall. 00:19:26 Speaker 5: Tell me, Daniel. 00:19:29 Speaker 4: Tell me what the words say. 00:19:30 Speaker 1: Daniel turned to the wall, the glowing words casting faint shadows across his lined face. He read them aloud, each syllable crisp as a chisel's strike. 00:19:44 Speaker 3: Babylon burns so much of our scrolls. The true wisdom is found in the heart of our God. It cannot be consumed by flame. Your father learned that the hard way. 00:19:57 Speaker 1: Daniel pressed his palm against the wall and traced his fingers against the carvings. He expected them to be hot to the touch, but instead they were ice cold. 00:20:09 Speaker 5: Many. 00:20:10 Speaker 3: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it. 00:20:14 Speaker 1: To an end. The first hammer struck Belshazzar's chest. 00:20:19 Speaker 3: Tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 00:20:26 Speaker 1: Daniel sighed, lingering on the last word. 00:20:30 Speaker 3: Heras, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. 00:20:37 Speaker 1: The final word hung in the air like a drawn blade. Belshazzar's mouth opened, but no sound came. His eyes darted to the letters, then to Daniel's face, as if searching for some reprieve. But Daniel's gaze held steady, not in cruelty, but in the sorrow of a man who knows the sentence is already passed. Somewhere, far off, A faint tremor passed through the floor. It could have been the tread of soldiers, or the shifting of walls, or the first distant rumble of an empire's fall.