Daniel 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 5 Belshazzar king of Babylon seeth an handwriting on the wall. 8 The soothsayers called of the king, cannot expound the writing. 25 Daniel readeth it, and interpreteth it also. 30 The king is slain. 31 Darius enjoyeth the kingdom.
1 King [a]Belshazzar made a great feast to a thousand of his princes, and drank wine [b]before the thousand.
2 And Belshazzar [c]while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring him the golden and silver vessels, which his [d]father Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the Temple in Jerusalem, that the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines might drink therein.
3 Then were brought the golden vessels, that were taken out of the Temple of the Lord’s house at Jerusalem, and the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines drank in them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the [e]gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 At the same hour appeared fingers of a man’s hand, which wrote over [f]against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his [g]knees smote one against the other.
7 Wherefore the king cried loud, that they should bring [h]the astrologians, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babel, Whosoever can read this writing, and declare me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and shall have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
8 Then came all the king’s wise men, but they could neither read the writing, nor show the king the interpretation.
9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his princes were astonied.
10 Now the [i]Queen by reason of the talk of the King and his princes, came into the banquet house, and the Queen spake, and said, O king, live forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.
11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him: whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made chief of the [j]enchanters, astrologians, Chaldeans, and soothsayers,
12 Because a more excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding (for he did expound dreams, and declare hard sentences, and dissolved doubts) were found in him, even in Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will declare the interpretation.
13 ¶ Then was Daniel brought before the king, and the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom my father the king brought out of Jewry?
14 Now I have heard of thee, that [k]the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and that light and understanding, and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
15 Now therefore wise men and Astrologians have been brought before me, that they should read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof: but they could not declare the interpretation of the thing.
16 Then heard I of thee, that thou couldest show interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shall have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, Keep thy rewards to thyself, and give thy gifts to another: yet I will read the writing unto the king, and show him the interpretation.
18 O king, hear thou, The most high God gave unto [l]Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and honor, and glory.
19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled, and feared before him: he put to death whom he would: he smote whom he would: whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down.
20 But when his heart was puffed up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his honor from him.
21 And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the heaven, till he knew that the most high God bare rule over the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it, whomsoever he pleaseth.
22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all these things,
23 But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his House before thee, and thou and thy princes, thy wives and thy concubines have drunk wine in them, and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone, which neither see, neither hear, nor understand: and the God in whose hand thy breath is and all thy ways, him hast thou not glorified.
24 [m]Then was the palm of the hand sent from him, and hath written this writing.
25 And this is the writing that he hath written, [n]MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing, MENE, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.
27 TEKEL, thou art weighed in the balance, and art found [o]too light.
28 PERES, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then at the commandment of Belshazzar they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 The same night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain.
31 And Darius [p]of the Medes took the kingdom, being threescore and two years old.
Footnotes
- Daniel 5:1 Daniel reciteth this history of king Belshazzar, Evil-merodach’s son, to show God’s judgments against the wicked for the deliverance of his Church: and how the prophecy of Jeremiah was true, that they should be delivered after seventy years.
- Daniel 5:1 The kings of the East parts then used to sit alone commonly, and disdained that any should sit in their company: and now to show his power, and how little he set by his enemy, which then besieged Babylon, he made a solemn banquet, and used excess in their company, which is meant here by drinking wine: thus the wicked are most dissolute and negligent, when their destruction is at hand.
- Daniel 5:2 Or, overcome with wine.
- Daniel 5:2 Meaning, his grandfather.
- Daniel 5:4 In contempt of the true God, they praise their idols, not that they thought that the gold or silver were gods, but that there was a certain virtue and power in them to do them good, which is also the opinion of all idolaters.
- Daniel 5:5 That it might the better be seen.
- Daniel 5:6 So he that before contemned God, was moved by this sight to tremble for fear of God’s judgments.
- Daniel 5:7 Thus the wicked in their troubles seek many means, who draw them from God, because they seek not to him who is the only comfort in all afflictions.
- Daniel 5:10 To wit, his grandmother Nebuchadnezzar’s wife, which for her age was not before at the feast, but came thither when she heard of these strange news.
- Daniel 5:11 Read Dan. 4:6, and this declareth that both this name was odious unto him, and also he did not use these vile practices, because he was not among them when all were called.
- Daniel 5:14 For the idolaters thought that the Angels had power as God, and therefore had them in like estimation, as they had God, thinking that the spirit of prophecy and understanding came of them.
- Daniel 5:18 Before he read the writing, he declareth to the king his great ingratitude toward God, who could not be moved to give him the glory, considering his wonderful work toward his grandfather, and so showeth that he doth not sin of ignorance but of malice.
- Daniel 5:24 After that God had so long time deferred his anger, and patiently waited for thine amendment.
- Daniel 5:25 This word is twice written for the certainty of the thing: showing that God had most surely counted: signifying also that God hath appointed a term for all kingdoms, and that a miserable end shall come on all that raise themselves against him.
- Daniel 5:27 Or, wanting.
- Daniel 5:31 Cyrus his son-in-law gave him this title of honor, although Cyrus in effect had the dominion.
Daniel 5
English Standard Version
The Handwriting on the Wall
5 (A)King Belshazzar (B)made a great feast for a thousand of his (C)lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.
2 (D)Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that (E)the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father[a] had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in (F)the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and (G)praised the (H)gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 (I)Immediately (J)the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw (K)the hand as it wrote. 6 (L)Then the king's color changed, (M)and his thoughts alarmed him; (N)his limbs gave way, and (O)his knees knocked together. 7 (P)The king called loudly to bring in (Q)the enchanters, the (R)Chaldeans, and (S)the astrologers. The king declared[b] to the wise men of Babylon, (T)“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and (U)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but (V)they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly (W)alarmed, and his (X)color changed, and his (Y)lords were perplexed.
10 The queen,[c] because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, (Z)“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you (AA)or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom (AB)in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.[d] In the days of your father, (AC)light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—(AD)made him chief of the magicians, (AE)enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 (AF)because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and (AG)understanding (AH)to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and (AI)solve problems were found in this Daniel, (AJ)whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of (AK)the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that (AL)the spirit of the gods[e] is in you, and that (AM)light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now (AN)the wise men, the (AO)enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but (AP)they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 (AQ)But I have heard that you can give interpretations and (AR)solve problems. (AS)Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, (AT)you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and (AU)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, (AV)“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the (AW)Most High God (AX)gave (AY)Nebuchadnezzar your father (AZ)kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, (BA)all peoples, nations, and languages (BB)trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But (BC)when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, (BD)he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 (BE)He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, (BF)until he knew that the (BG)Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son,[f] (BH)Belshazzar, (BI)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against (BJ)the Lord of heaven. And (BK)the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. (BL)And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, (BM)but the God in whose hand is your breath, and (BN)whose are all your ways, (BO)you have not honored.
24 “Then from his presence (BP)the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered[g] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, (BQ)you have been weighed[h] in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to (BR)the Medes and (BS)Persians.”[i]
29 Then (BT)Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel (BU)was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 (BV)That very night (BW)Belshazzar the (BX)Chaldean king was killed. 31 [j] And (BY)Darius (BZ)the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Footnotes
- Daniel 5:2 Or predecessor; also verses 11, 13, 18
- Daniel 5:7 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 10
- Daniel 5:10 Or queen mother; twice in this verse
- Daniel 5:11 Or Spirit of the holy God
- Daniel 5:14 Or Spirit of God
- Daniel 5:22 Or successor
- Daniel 5:26 Mene sounds like the Aramaic for numbered
- Daniel 5:27 Tekel sounds like the Aramaic for weighed
- Daniel 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) sounds like the Aramaic for divided and for Persia
- Daniel 5:31 Ch 6:1 in Aramaic
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