# Daniel 05 đź“–: The Writing on the Wall
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall
[[#Verse 01.]] King Belshazzar prepared a great banquet for 1,000 of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of them all.
[[#Verse 02.]] While under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels—the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father had confiscated from the temple in Jerusalem—so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] So they brought the gold and silver vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them.Â
[[#Verse 04.]]Â As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
[[#Verse 05.]] At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. The king was watching the back of the hand that was writing.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] Then all the color drained from the king’s face and he became alarmed. The joints of his hips gave way, and his knees began knocking together.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] The king called out loudly to summon the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple and have a golden collar placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.
[[#Verse 08.]] So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the king.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] Then King Belshazzar was very terrified, and he was visibly shaken. His nobles were completely dumbfounded.
[[#Verse 10.]] Due to the noise caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother then entered the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!Â
[[#Verse 11.]] There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have insight, discernment, and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Now summon Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”
[[#Verse 13.]] So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?Â
[[#Verse 14.]] I have heard about you, how there is a spirit of the gods in you, and how you have insight, discernment, and extraordinary wisdom.Â
[[#Verse 15.]] Now the wise men and astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] However, I have heard that you are able to provide interpretations and to solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.”
### Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall
[[#Verse 17.]] But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its interpretation.Â
[[#Verse 18.]]Â As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished.Â
[[#Verse 20.]]0 And when his mind became arrogant and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] He was driven from human society; his mind was changed to that of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.
[[#Verse 22.]] “But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, although you knew all this.Â
[[#Verse 23.]] Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend. But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways!Â
[[#Verse 24.]]Â Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.
[[#Verse 25.]] “This is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, teqel, and pharsin.Â
[[#Verse 26.]] This is the interpretation of the words: As for _Mene_—God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end.Â
[[#Verse 27.]] As for _Teqel_—you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking.Â
[[#Verse 28.]] As for _Peres_—your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
[[#Verse 29.]] Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.Â
[[#Verse 30.]] And that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.Â
[[#Verse 31.]]Â (6:1)Â So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, and ruled in Babylon while his father was away.
2. Some historians once doubted Belshazzar existed because ancient Greek writers did not mention him. Babylonian texts later confirmed him.
3. Daniel was offered the position of "third ruler" in the kingdom (5:7, 16, 29), likely because Belshazzar himself was second to Nabonidus.
4. Nebuchadnezzar is called Belshazzar's "father" (5:2, 11), which in ancient usage could mean predecessor or ancestor.
5. Belshazzar held a feast for a thousand of his nobles (5:1).
6. He drank from the gold and silver vessels taken from the Jerusalem temple (5:2-4).
7. The words "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN" (5:25) are names of weights, and Daniel reads them as "numbered," "weighed," and "divided."
8. The word *peres* (5:28) also sounds like the word for Persia.
9. Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians that very night (5:30), in October 539 BC.
10. The Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon both say Babylon was taken while the city was celebrating a festival.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who saves us when we are weighed and found lacking. Belshazzar was weighed on the scales and found deficient (5:27), but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Belshazzar knew what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar but did not humble himself (5:22). Why do we often fail to learn from the past?
2. Belshazzar used holy vessels from God's temple for a drunken party (5:2-4). How do people treat sacred things casually today?
3. Daniel refused the king's gifts but still told the truth (5:17). How can we speak truth without seeking reward?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 5: The fingers of a human hand appear and write on the wall.
- đź“– verse 23: You praised gods that cannot see or hear, but did not honor the God who holds your life in His hand.
- đź“– verse 27: You have been weighed on the scales and found lacking.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Romans 08#Verse 01.|Romans 8:1]] - No condemnation in Christ Jesus.
- đź”— [[Jeremiah 51#Verse 39.|Jeremiah 51:39]] - Babylon's feast turns to everlasting sleep.
- đź”— [[Isaiah 21#Verse 09.|Isaiah 21:9]] - Babylon has fallen.
- đź”— [[Galatians 06#Verse 07.|Galatians 6:7]] - God is not mocked.
- đź”— [[Hebrews 04#Verse 13.|Hebrews 4:13]] - Everything is laid bare before Him.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Daniel 05 - SOAP|Let Honor Come From the Lord]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes