Daniel Chapter 5
Annotated Commentary with Links
Chapter 5 occurs in 539 BC, at the end of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar has died and his descendant, Belshazzar, rules as regent in Babylon. Nabonidus, a usurper of the throne, rules the kingdom, but has relocated to Arabia. He has left his son, Belshazzar, in charge of the province of Babylon. Daniel has been pushed into obscurity at the Babylonian court and Persian forces, under Cyrus, are advancing on Babylon. The Persian army recently defeated the forces of Nabonidus and have surrounded Babylon. Belshazzar responds by holding a drunken feast.
| 1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. | Belshazzar is ruling as regent in the province of Babylon. His father, Nabonidus, is the ruler of the kingdom but lives in Arabia. |
| 2Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the kings and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. | For many years, there was no archeological record of Belshazzar, and critics pointed to this as a possible historical error, and evidence of the Late Date of Daniel. In 1854, four clay cylinders were excavated in the city of Ur. Know as the Nabonidus cylinders, they contained the inscription, “Belshazzar, the eldest son – my offspring.” |
| 3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at 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 of silver, or brass, or iron, of wood, and of stone. | |
| 5In the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. | |
| 6Then the king’s face was changed in him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against the another. | |
| 7The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” | The offer to make the interpreter the third ruler in the kingdom is perhaps a reference to the fact that Belshazzar, as regent of the province of Babylon, is the second ruler, and his father, Nabonidus, as the ruler of the Babylonian Kingdom, is the first ruler. |
| 8Then came in all the king’s wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. | |
| 9Then the king Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his face was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed. | |
| 10The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house. The queen spoke and said, “O king, live forever; don’t let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed. | |
| 11There 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, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; | In this verse, Nebuchadnezzar is named as Belshazzar’s father, but we know from the archeological record that Nabonidus was Belshazzar’s father. A possible explanation is Hebrew has no name for grandfather, and instead, uses abba, or father for all male ancestors. We know Nabonidus was not descended from Nebuchadnezzar, but is has been proposed that he married a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar in order to solidify his claim on the throne, making Nebuchadnezzar the grandfather of Belshazzar. |
| 12because an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king names Belshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. | |
| 13Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel, who are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? | |
| 14I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. | |
| 15Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before, that they should read this writing, and make known to me its interpretation; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. | |
| 16But I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations, and dissolve doubts. 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 about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” | |
| 17Then Daniel answered before the king, “Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. | Daniel tells Belshazzar to save his gifts for someone else. |
| 18“You, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. | Daniel then begins his interpretation by retelling the story of Nebuchadnezzar, Baleshazzar’s ancestor. |
| 19Because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed who he wanted to, and he kept alive who he wanted to. He raised up who he wanted to, and he put down who he wanted to. | |
| 20But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. | |
| 21He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the animals’, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky; until he knew the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. | |
| 22“You his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, | |
| 23but have lifted 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 from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which don’t see, nor hear, nor know; and you have not glorified God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways. | |
| 24Then the part of the hand was sent before him, and this writing was inscribed. | |
| 25“This is the writing that was inscribed: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’ | |
| 26“This is the interpretation of the thing” | |
| 27TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. | |
| 28PERES: your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” | |
| 29The Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. | |
| 30In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain. | |
| 31Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. |
