Weighed In The Balance

When I was a child, I remembr going with my father to the National Gallery in London. One picture we looked at was Rembrandt's amazing "Belshazzar's Feast". The NG only acquired the picture in 1964, and I think it had only recently gone on display when we saw it. The story comes from the book of Daniel Chapter 5. The King has looted the temple in Jerusalem and stolen the sacred vessels. He takes them back to his palace and uses them at a lavish banquet for a thousand guests

During the evening, a ghostly human hand appears and writes words on the wall - which terrify everybody, although nobody can read them. It is Daniel who interprets the four words -Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin 

He tells the King that he has not learned the lessons of the previous monarch, his Dad, Nebuchadnezzar, and the days of his kingdom are numbered.[read the full story here] Daniel says “This is what was written: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin  - Number, number, weight, divisions.’ And this is what it means: number, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; weight, you have been weighed on the scales and found to be too light;  divisions, your kingdom is divided up and given to the Medes and Persians.”

And why am I thinking about it now - well, I learned the King James' Version of the text back then " Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting" - and the more modern version [Good News Translation] "Weighed on the scales and found to be too light" is rather a challenge at the moment. I weigh exactly the same as I did at the start of this covid19 business, and have only varied by a pound or two in either direction for the past 7 months. [I suspect Belshazzar was morally lightweight, rather than physically. He's got chubby fingers and a double chin in the picture] 

But my other problems is the kitchen scales. I have a set of electronic digital scales at Cornerstones, and also my lovely iron & brass balance scales. I have a cheap set of electronic ones here in Dorset and I planned to make the Christmas Cake and Puddings this weekend. But on Wednesday morning, my scales here just died. So frustrating - if it had happened last week, I could have brought back some scales from Norfolk. 

However, my dear friend Jenny has already made her Christmas Cake, so is generously lending me her scales for a few days [thanks, J]

I wonder if Belshazzar had fruitcake at his feast?

I wonder if I ought to abstain from Christmas Cake this year in the hope of losing weight?

I wonder how long the cake will last, if there's only Bob and me to eat it?