American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Daniel 5
1
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Reference
People
2
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
Reference
3
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Reference
5
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 4:31
Daniel 5:8
Parallel theme
Colossians 2:14
Job 20:5
Proverbs 29:1
Daniel 5:15
Daniel 4:33
6
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 4:19
Parallel theme
Nahum 2:10
Ezekiel 7:17
Daniel 7:28
Psalm 69:23
Ezekiel 21:7
Daniel 4:5
7
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 5:29
Daniel 5:16
Daniel 2:48
Daniel 2:2
Parallel theme
Daniel 2:6
Isaiah 47:13
Ezekiel 16:11
8
Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
Reference
9
Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.
Reference
10
Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spoke and said, O king, live for ever: let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance be changed:
Reference
11
There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
Reference
12
For as much as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 6:3
Daniel 5:16
Parallel theme
Daniel 1:7
Proverbs 12:26
Psalm 16:3
Spirit
Daniel 5:14
Daniel 4:8
Proverbs 17:27
13
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said to Daniel, Are you that Daniel, which are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
Reference
14
I have even heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in you.
15
And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing:
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 47:12
16
And I have heard of you, that you can make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, you shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Reference
17
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Reference
18
O you king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor:
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 4:17
19
And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
Reference
20
But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 13:18
2 Chronicles 36:13
Parallel theme
Hebrews 3:13
Exodus 9:17
2 Kings 17:14
Proverbs 16:18
Proverbs 16:5
Jeremiah 19:15
Luke 18:14
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 heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomsoever he will.
Reference
23
But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified:
Reference
Parallel theme
Job 12:10
Isaiah 37:23
Job 31:4
Hebrews 4:13
References God
Isaiah 37:19
References Lord
Isaiah 2:12
Jeremiah 10:23
Proverbs 20:24
Jeremiah 50:29
Resurrection
Daniel 4:37
24
Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 5:5
25
And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it.
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 27:7
29
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, 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.
Reference
Summary of Daniel 5
Daniel 5 describes the final night of Babylon's power, when Belshazzar holds a lavish feast while the city is facing an approaching enemy, arrogantly drinks from the sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem's temple, praises lifeless gods of gold and silver, and then watches in terror as a mysterious hand writes a divine message on the palace wall, a message that Daniel alone can interpret as a declaration that Belshazzar's kingdom has been numbered, weighed, found deficient, and given to the Medes and Persians.
The chapter deliberately connects Belshazzar's behavior with the earlier experience of Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar had already learned through his humiliation that the Most High God controls human kingdoms, but Belshazzar knows this history and nevertheless chooses to repeat the same fundamental sin of pride.
His failure is therefore presented as particularly serious because he had the opportunity to learn from what happened to the previous ruler but deliberately refused to humble himself.
The use of the Jerusalem temple vessels makes the feast even more significant because Belshazzar is not simply celebrating with ordinary royal cups; he is deliberately using objects that had been dedicated to the worship of God while praising Babylon's own gods.
At the height of this celebration, a supernatural hand appears and writes on the palace wall.
The Babylonian wise men cannot understand the message, but Daniel is eventually brought before the king because of his reputation for wisdom and divine insight.
Daniel refuses the king's promised rewards before giving the interpretation, making clear that he is not motivated by wealth or political advancement.
Instead, he first confronts Belshazzar with the history of Nebuchadnezzar and reminds him that the former king learned through painful experience that God alone controls the rise and fall of human rulers.
Daniel then explains that Belshazzar has failed to learn the same lesson.
The mysterious words Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin are interpreted as a divine announcement that Babylon's time has ended.
The message describes God's judgment in three connected ideas: the kingdom has been numbered, the king has been weighed and found deficient, and the kingdom has been divided and transferred to the Medes and Persians.
The remarkable feature of the story is how quickly the warning becomes reality.
Belshazzar still honors Daniel publicly and gives him the promised position, but that same night Belshazzar is killed and Babylon falls.
The chapter therefore creates a dramatic contrast between the appearance of Babylonian permanence and the reality of God's sovereignty.
The palace is filled with wealth, political leaders, fine clothing, music, food, wine, and religious celebration, yet the empire that appears secure is already approaching its final moment.
The central message is that Daniel 5 demonstrates that human power can appear magnificent and secure while standing under God's judgment, because Belshazzar possesses wealth, authority, political status, and the legacy of one of the ancient world's greatest empires, yet he fails to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation and instead deliberately exalts himself against the God who controls his life and kingdom, making the mysterious writing on the wall a final warning that his opportunity has ended, his character has been weighed and found deficient, and his kingdom has been transferred to another power, while the fact that Babylon falls on the very night Daniel announces the judgment demonstrates that God's authority does not depend upon the apparent strength of human empires, and that pride becomes especially dangerous when people already possess enough knowledge of God's power to recognize the truth but nevertheless choose to exalt themselves rather than humble themselves before Him.
The chapter deliberately connects Belshazzar's behavior with the earlier experience of Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar had already learned through his humiliation that the Most High God controls human kingdoms, but Belshazzar knows this history and nevertheless chooses to repeat the same fundamental sin of pride.
His failure is therefore presented as particularly serious because he had the opportunity to learn from what happened to the previous ruler but deliberately refused to humble himself.
The use of the Jerusalem temple vessels makes the feast even more significant because Belshazzar is not simply celebrating with ordinary royal cups; he is deliberately using objects that had been dedicated to the worship of God while praising Babylon's own gods.
At the height of this celebration, a supernatural hand appears and writes on the palace wall.
The Babylonian wise men cannot understand the message, but Daniel is eventually brought before the king because of his reputation for wisdom and divine insight.
Daniel refuses the king's promised rewards before giving the interpretation, making clear that he is not motivated by wealth or political advancement.
Instead, he first confronts Belshazzar with the history of Nebuchadnezzar and reminds him that the former king learned through painful experience that God alone controls the rise and fall of human rulers.
Daniel then explains that Belshazzar has failed to learn the same lesson.
The mysterious words Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin are interpreted as a divine announcement that Babylon's time has ended.
The message describes God's judgment in three connected ideas: the kingdom has been numbered, the king has been weighed and found deficient, and the kingdom has been divided and transferred to the Medes and Persians.
The remarkable feature of the story is how quickly the warning becomes reality.
Belshazzar still honors Daniel publicly and gives him the promised position, but that same night Belshazzar is killed and Babylon falls.
The chapter therefore creates a dramatic contrast between the appearance of Babylonian permanence and the reality of God's sovereignty.
The palace is filled with wealth, political leaders, fine clothing, music, food, wine, and religious celebration, yet the empire that appears secure is already approaching its final moment.
The central message is that Daniel 5 demonstrates that human power can appear magnificent and secure while standing under God's judgment, because Belshazzar possesses wealth, authority, political status, and the legacy of one of the ancient world's greatest empires, yet he fails to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation and instead deliberately exalts himself against the God who controls his life and kingdom, making the mysterious writing on the wall a final warning that his opportunity has ended, his character has been weighed and found deficient, and his kingdom has been transferred to another power, while the fact that Babylon falls on the very night Daniel announces the judgment demonstrates that God's authority does not depend upon the apparent strength of human empires, and that pride becomes especially dangerous when people already possess enough knowledge of God's power to recognize the truth but nevertheless choose to exalt themselves rather than humble themselves before Him.