Atlas Biblica

    Daniel · 31 verses

    Daniel 5

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    Belshazzar receives the purple robe and gold chain after being told that his kingdom is ending; before the night is out, he is dead.

    The hand at the feastvv. 1–9

    Belshazzar turns the vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem into drinking cups for a thousand nobles, with wives and concubines joining the performance. The company praises gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—an impressive catalogue, though none of them can interrupt the supper. Then fingers of a human hand write on the plaster, and the king’s hips give way while his knees knock together. His wise men cannot read it, which makes the promised purple and gold chain rather difficult to earn.

    Daniel declines the feevv. 10–23

    The queen remembers Daniel, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed over the kingdom’s interpreters. Daniel is brought in, and Belshazzar offers him the usual royal package: purple, gold, and the third position in the kingdom. Daniel declines the gifts before doing the work. He then recalls Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness, his pride, his strange life among wild donkeys, and the lesson that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind. Belshazzar knew all this and nevertheless drank from the vessels, praised the mute gods, and failed to glorify the God who held his breath in his hand.

    The reward arrives on schedulevv. 24–31

    Daniel reads the inscription: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. The repetition is left standing there, admirably unexplained, while MENE receives its meaning, TEKEL weighs the king, and PERES divides the kingdom between the Medes and Persians. Belshazzar still gives Daniel the promised robe, chain, and rank. That very night Belshazzar is slain, and Darius the Mede receives the kingdom at sixty-two. The reward was not rescinded; it simply had a remarkably short reign.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Dan 5:1Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.

    2. Dan 5:2Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar 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 could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

    3. Dan 5:3Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

    4. Dan 5:4As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

    5. Dan 5:5At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,

    6. Dan 5:6his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.

    7. Dan 5:7The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    8. Dan 5:8So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.

    9. Dan 5:9Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were bewildered.

    10. Dan 5:10Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.

    11. Dan 5:11There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,

    12. Dan 5:12did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.”

    13. Dan 5:13So Daniel was brought before the king, who asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

    14. Dan 5:14I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.

    15. Dan 5:15Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation.

    16. Dan 5:16But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give 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. Dan 5:17In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him.

    18. Dan 5:18As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.

    19. Dan 5:19Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished.

    20. Dan 5:20But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.

    21. Dan 5:21He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes.

    22. Dan 5:22But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.

    23. Dan 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

    24. Dan 5:24Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

    25. Dan 5:25Now this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

    26. Dan 5:26And this is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

    27. Dan 5:27TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.

    28. Dan 5:28PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

    29. Dan 5:29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

    30. Dan 5:30That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain,

    31. Dan 5:31and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 323 passages were voted onto 29 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 23Job 12:10The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.
    • 27Job 31:6let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.
    • 2Daniel 1:2And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
    • 271 Corinthians 3:13his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
    • 27Psalms 62:9Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
    • 4Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
    • 5Daniel 4:31While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.
    • 7Daniel 5:29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
    • 7Daniel 5:16But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give 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.”
    • 12Daniel 6:3Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
    • 12Daniel 5:14I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
    • 1Esther 1:3In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.
    • 4Habakkuk 2:19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
    • 5Daniel 5:24–28Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
    • 8Daniel 2:27Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
    • 9Daniel 5:6his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.

    Onward

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