Belshazzar is the third generation after Nebuchadnezzar and is responsible for the defeat of the Chaldeans by the Medes and Persians. Babylon had been safe and its people protected by its walls until Belshazzar provoked God by desecrating the sacred vessels of the Israelites (which had been captured) by using them in feasting.
Belshazzar boasts of the power of his armies, saying that they are more powerful than the God of the Israelites. Suddenly, an angel causes a hand to appear in the hall, writing unknown writings [Mene, Tekel, Pares are not mentioned by the poet].
The king is frightened, and no one can interpret the writing until Daniel the prophet comes. He interprets the writing on the wall to mean that God is angry about the improper use of the sacred vessels and the arrogance of Belshazzar.
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