Daniel5
New King James Version
1Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.
2While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
3Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
7The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
8Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.
9Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
10The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change.
11There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
12Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
13Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?
14I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
15Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing.
16And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor.
19And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
20But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
21Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22“But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.
23And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
24Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
25“And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
27TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
28PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
31And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Daniel 5.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Belshazzar's impious feast; the hand-writing on the wall. (1-9). Daniel is sent for to interpret it. (10-17). Daniel warns the king of his destruction. (18-31).
vv1-9
Belshazzar bade defiance to the judgments of God. Most historians consider that Cyrus then besieged Babylon. Security and sensuality are sad proofs of approaching ruin. That mirth is sinful indeed, which profanes sacred things; and what are many of the songs used at modern feasts better than the praises sung by the heathens to their gods! See how God struck terror upon Belshazzar and his lords. God's written word is enough to put the proudest, boldest sinner in a fright. What we see of God, the part of the hand that writes in the book of the creatures, and in the book of the Scriptures, should fill us with awful thoughts concerning that part which we do not see. If this be the finger of God, what is his arm when made bare? And what is He? The king's guilty conscience told him that he had no reason to expect any good news from heaven. God can, in a moment, make the heart of the stoutest sinner to tremble; and there needs no more than to let loose his own thoughts upon him; they will give him trouble enough. No bodily pain can equal the inward agony which sometimes seizes the sinner in the midst of mirth, carnal pleasures, and worldly pomp. Sometimes terrors cause a man to flee to Christ for pardon and peace; but many cry out for fear of wrath, who are not humbled for their sins, and who seek relief by lying vanities. The ignorance and uncertainty concerning the Holy Scriptures, shown by many who call themselves wise, only tend to drive sinners to despair, as the ignorance of these wise men did.
vv10-17
Daniel was forgotten at court; he lived privately, and was then ninety years of age. Many consult servants of God on curious questions, or to explain difficult subjects, but without asking the way of salvation, or the path of duty. Daniel slighted the offer of reward. He spoke to Belshazzar as to a condemned criminal. We should despise all the gifts and rewards this world can give, did we see, as we may by faith, its end hastening on; but let us do our duty in the world, and do it all the real service we can.
vv18-31
Daniel reads Belshazzar's doom. He had not taken warning by the judgments upon Nebuchadnezzar. And he had insulted God. Sinners are pleased with gods that neither see, nor hear, nor know; but they will be judged by One to whom all things are open. Daniel reads the sentence written on the wall. All this may well be applied to the doom of every sinner. At death, the sinner's days are numbered and finished; after death is the judgment, when he will be weighed in the balance, and found wanting; and after judgment the sinner will be cut asunder, and given as a prey to the devil and his angels. While these things were passing in the palace, it is considered that the army of Cyrus entered the city; and when Belshazzar was slain, a general submission followed. Soon will every impenitent sinner find the writing of God's word brought to pass upon him, whether he is weighed in the balance of the law as a self-righteous Pharisee, or in that of the gospel as a painted hypocrite.
Key Words
מֶלֶךְ: a king
בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר: {Belshatstsar, a Babylonian king}
עֲבַד: to do, make, prepare, keep, etc.
רַב: {abundant}
לְחֶם: {(for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)}
אֲלַף: {hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand}
רַבְרְבָן: a magnate
שְׁתָה: {to imbibe (literally or figuratively)}
חֲמַר: wine
קְבֵל: (adverbially) in front of; usually (with other particles) on account of, so as, since, hence
Cross References
Daniel 5Prophetic description of the sudden terror and physical trembling of Babylon's king during a feast.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Jeremiah foretells that nations would serve Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson (Belshazzar).
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Establishes the origin of the temple vessels that Belshazzar sacrilegiously abuses.
Supported by John Calvin
Prophetic rebuke of Babylon's secure, careless pleasure-seeking and false sense of safety.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Prophecy that Babylon's princes and rulers would be made drunk and sleep a perpetual sleep.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Traces the ultimate return of these same temple vessels back to Jerusalem.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prophecy that God would loose the loins of kings before Cyrus, fulfilled in Belshazzar's terror.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Historical precedent of a divine voice removing the kingdom from proud Nebuchadnezzar.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Exposes the folly of praising lifeless idols of wood and stone over the living God.
Supported by JFB
Identifies Daniel's status and previous service under Belshazzar's predecessor.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Nebuchadnezzar's warning that God is able to abase those who walk in pride.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Wisdom principle linking pride directly to destruction and a haughty spirit to a fall.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The exact judgment predicted and fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar that Belshazzar ignored.
Supported by John Calvin
Daniel explicitly bases Belshazzar's guilt on his failure to learn from his father's history.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast between Nebuchadnezzar's ultimate acknowledgment of God and Belshazzar's defiance.
Supported by John Calvin