Daniel 5
The full text of Daniel 5 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew and Aramaic. Free to read.
1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine in their presence.
2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
3 So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.
6 His face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His legs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
7 The king called out for the enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners to be brought in. Then he said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."
8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king its interpretation.
9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
10 The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. "May the king live forever!" she said. "Don't be alarmed! Don't let your face be pale!
11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar—your father the king—appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners.
12 This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and understanding, as well as the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you the interpretation."
13 So Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?
14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
15 The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they could not explain it.
16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now, if you can read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."
17 Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and make the interpretation known to him.
18 "Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty, greatness, glory, and majesty.
19 Because of the greatness he gave him, all the nations, peoples, and languages trembled and feared before him. Those he wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.
20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys; he ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.
22 "But you, Belshazzar, his successor, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this.
23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But the God who holds your very breath in his hand and owns all your ways—him you have not honored.
24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote this inscription.
25 "This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 Here is what these words mean: MENE—God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27 TEKEL—You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28 PERES—Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed,
31 and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.
Translation notes (7)
- Daniel 5:1a Belshazzar was a co-ruler with his father Nabonidus, who was the last Babylonian king. This explains why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the 'third' rank (verse 29), because Belshazzar himself was already second in command.
- Daniel 5:2a The Aramaic word for 'Father' here, *ab*, can mean an ancestor or a predecessor. Belshazzar was likely a grandson or a political successor, not a biological son.
- Daniel 5:6a This phrase literally means 'the knots of his loins were loosened,' which is a vivid idiom describing a loss of bodily control caused by terror.
- Daniel 5:10a This 'queen' is likely the queen mother, such as Nitocris, because the king's wives are already mentioned as present in verse 3. She remembers the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.
- Daniel 5:25a This passage uses Aramaic monetary terms: *mina*, *mina*, *shekel*, and *half-shekels*. It also uses verbal roots that mean 'numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.' This creates a triple wordplay.
- Daniel 5:28a *PERES* is the singular form of *PHARSIN*. This creates a triple wordplay: (1) *peras* means 'divided,' (2) *paras* refers to 'Persia,' and (3) *peres* is a half-mina coin. The sound, meaning, and reference all come together.
- Daniel 5:31a The identity of 'Darius the Mede' is debated. Proposed identities include: (1) Gubaru or Gobryas, the general who captured Babylon; (2) Cyrus himself, using a throne name; (3) Cambyses; or (4) a combination of figures. There is no confirmation of this figure outside of the Bible.
About this translation
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