In the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylonia, I had a dream and saw a vision in the night. I wrote the dream down, and this is the record

I was trying to understand what the vision meant, when suddenly someone was standing in front of me.

The visions I saw alarmed me, and I was deeply disturbed.

This is the end of the account. I was so frightened that I turned pale, and I kept everything to myself.

In the first year of his reign I was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah.

At that time I was mourning for three weeks.

I was the only one who saw the vision. Those who were with me did not see anything, but they were terrified and ran and hid.

But at the height of his power his empire will break up and be divided into four parts. Kings not descended from him will rule in his place, but they will not have the power that he had.