Belshazzar

Babylon's king paid

The price for screwing the Jews.

Writing's on the wall.

It seems like there are multiple versions of the story of Babylonian king Belshazzar, or Balthazar, as we might call him today. In the version that Johnny Cash recorded and Bob Dylan and The Band covered in Saugerties in 1967, we hear the versions from the Bible, the Talmud and the Midrash. Belshazzar had a big feast, and being short on glassware, they used the golden cups and other vessels from the Jewish temple. While Belshazzar probably did plenty of things to offend God, this seems to have presented an occasion for the big man to show up at the party. At this point, a hand writes on the wall, "Mene mene tekel upharsin." Daniel, as in the fellow from the Old Testament, is brought in to explain what this could mean, as Belshazzar at this point feels the cold breath of eternity on his neck. Johnny explains:

Well the Bible tells about a man Who ruled Babylon and all it's land Around the city he built a wall And declared that Babylon would never fall He had concubines and wives He called his Babylon "Paradise" Upon his throne he drank and ate But for Belshazzar it was getting late For he was weighed in the balance and found wanting His kingdom was divided, couldn't stand He was weighed in the balance and found wanting His houses were built upon the sand Well the people feast and drank their wine And praised the false gods of his time All holy things were scorned and mocked Suddenly all their mocking stopped On the wall there appeared a hand Nothing else, there was no man In blood the hand began to write And Belshazzar couldn't hide his fright For he was weighed in the balance and found wanting His kingdom was divided, couldn't stand He was weighed in the balance and found wanting His houses were built upon the sand Well no one around could understand What was written by the mystic hand Belshazzar tried but couldn't find A man who could give him piece of mind Daniel the prophet, a man of God, He saw the writing on the wall in blood Belshazzar asked him what it said And Daniel turned to the wall and read "My friend, you're weighed in the balance and found wanting Your kingdom is divided, it can't stand You are weighed in the balance and found wanting Your houses are built upon the sand"