Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. BELSHAZZAR. Rawlinson, from the Assyrian inscriptions, has explained the seeming discrepancy between Daniel and the pagan historians of Babylon, Berosus and Abydenus, who say the last king (Nabo... [ Continue Reading ]
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. BELSHAZZAR, WHILES HE TASTED THE WINE, C... [ Continue Reading ]
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. THEN THEY BROUGHT THE GOLDEN VESSELS THAT WERE TAKEN OUT OF THE TEMPLE OF THE HOUSE OF GOD WHICH WAS AT... [ Continue Reading ]
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. THEY DRANK WINE, AND PRAISED THE GODS OF GOLD - they sang and shouted praises to "gods," which, being of gold, "are their own witnesses" (), confuting the folly of those who fancy such to be g... [ Continue Reading ]
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. IN THE SAME HOUR - that the cause of God's visitation might be palpable-namely, the profanation of His... [ Continue Reading ]
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. THEN THE KING'S COUNTENANCE WAS CHANGED - "countenance" - literally, brightness, i:e., his bright look. SO THAT THE JOINTS OF HIS LOINS... [ Continue Reading ]
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall... [ Continue Reading ]
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. THEN CAME IN ALL THE KING'S WISE MEN: BUT THEY COULD NOT READ THE WRITING. The words were in such a character as to be illegible to the Chaldees, God reserving this h... [ Continue Reading ]
_THEN WAS KING BELSHAZZAR GREATLY TROUBLED, AND HIS COUNTENANCE WAS CHANGED IN HIM, AND HIS LORDS WERE ASTONIED._ No JFB commentary on this verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: NOW THE QUEEN, BY REASON OF THE WORDS OF THE KING ... CAME INTO THE BANQUET HO... [ Continue Reading ]
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
_FORASMUCH AS AN EXCELLENT SPIRIT, AND KNOWLEDGE, AND UNDERSTANDING, INTERPRETING OF DREAMS, AND SHEWING 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 SHEW THE INTERPRETATION._ No JFB commentary on... [ Continue Reading ]
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? ART THOU THAT DANIEL, WHICH ART OF THE CHILDREN OF THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH - the captive Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
_I HAVE EVEN HEARD OF THEE, THAT THE SPIRIT OF THE GODS IS IN THEE, AND THAT LIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING AND EXCELLENT WISDOM IS FOUND IN THEE._ No JFB commentary on these verses.... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. THEN DANIEL ANSWERED ... LET THY GIFTS BE TO THYSELF, AND GIVE THY REWARDS TO ANOTHER. Not inconsisten... [ Continue Reading ]
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: THE MOST HIGH GOD GAVE NEBUCHADNEZZAR THY FATHER A KINGDOM. It was not his own birth or talents which gave him the vast empire, as he thought. To make him unlearn his proud thought was th... [ Continue Reading ]
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. AND FOR THE MAJESTY THAT HE GAVE HIM, ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND LANGUAGES,... [ Continue Reading ]
_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:_ No JFB commentary on this verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
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 appointeth over it w... [ Continue Reading ]
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; AND THOU HIS SON, O BELSHAZZAR, HAST NOT HUMBLED THINE HEART, THOUGH THOU KNEWEST ALL THIS - thou hast erred, not through ignorance, but through deliberate contempt of God, notwithstanding that thou hadst be... [ Continue Reading ]
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor... [ Continue Reading ]
Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. THEN - when thou liftest thyself against the Lord. THE PART OF THE HAND - the fore part, the fingers. WAS ... SENT FROM HIM - i:e., from God.... [ Continue Reading ]
And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN - literally, numbered, weighed, and dividers.... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. MENE; GOD HATH NUMBERED THY KINGDOM. God hath fixed the number of years of thine empire, and that number is now complete.... [ Continue Reading ]
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. TEKEL; THOU ART WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES. The Egyptians thought that Osiris weighed the actions of the dead in a literal balance. The Babylonians may have had the same notion, which would give a special appropriateness to the image h... [ Continue Reading ]
PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. PERES - the explanation of 'dividers' (), the active participle plural, "Upharsin," there being used for the passive participle singular, 'dividers' for "divided." The word "Peres" alludes to the similar word Persia. THY KINGD... [ Continue Reading ]
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. THEN COMMANDED BELSHAZZAR, AND THEY CLOTHED DANIEL WITH SCARLET. To come from the presence of a prince... [ Continue Reading ]
In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. IN THAT NIGHT WAS BELSHAZZAR ... SLAIN. Herodotus and Xenophon confirm Daniel as to the suddenness of the event. Cyrus diverted the Euphrates into a new channel, and, guided by two deserters, Gobryas and Gadatas, marched by the dry bed... [ Continue Reading ]
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. DARIUS THE MEDIAN TOOK THE KINGDOM - i:e., Cyaxares II, the son and successor of Astyages, B.C. 569-536. Though Koresh, or Cyrus, was leader of the assault, yet all was done in the name of Darius; therefore he alone... [ Continue Reading ]