Daniel 5:1-31

The Men who were Loyal to God

Daniel

Robert Bryce

Chapter 5

v1 King Belshazzar had a big party. He invited a thousand important people and he drank wine with them. v2 As Belshazzar drank wine, he demanded the gold and silver cups. Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken these cups from God’s house in Jerusalem. Belshazzar wanted his guests, his wives and his other women to drink their wine from these cups. v3 So his servants brought the gold cups that had come from God’s house in Jerusalem. Then the king, his wives, his other women and all the important people drank wine out of those cups. v4 And as they drank the wine, they also gave honour to their gods. Their gods were images that people had made out of gold, silver, *bronze, iron and stone.

Verses 1-4 Nebuchadnezzar had died. Belshazzar was the king. The writer says that Nebuchadnezzar was the father of Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar may have been the grandfather of Belshazzar. Sometimes they used the word father in this way.

Belshazzar had a party with more than 1000 guests. This was a strange thing to do. The army from Media and Persia was surrounding the city (Daniel 5:30) and they were trying to attack it. The city had thick walls and a river round it. So perhaps Belshazzar thought that he was safe.

Belshazzar and his guests got very drunk. Then Belshazzar did a foolish thing. He decided to drink from the gold and silver cups that belonged to God. Nebuchadnezzar had brought these cups from God’s house in Jerusalem (Daniel 1:2). He had kept them safe, but Belshazzar wanted to use them for his party. He did not care about the real God. He and his guests drank wine from God’s special cups. Then they gave honour to false gods.

v5 Suddenly, the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and the fingers wrote on the wall of the king’s palace. They wrote near the king’s lamp. So the king saw the hand as it wrote. v6 The king’s face became pale and he was afraid. His knees started to tremble and his legs became weak.

Verse 5-6 What the king did made God very angry. Belshazzar had never given honour to the real God. Now he showed what he really believed. He gave honour to false gods while he used the real God’s cups. So God did a strange thing.

The king saw the fingers of a hand. There was no arm or body. The fingers wrote on the wall. This happened near the light, so the king could see clearly. He did not know what the words meant. But he was very afraid. He knew that only a real God could do this. Gods made out of gold and silver do not write on walls. He knew that he had done things to make God angry. So he knew that these words must be bad news from God.

v7 The king shouted for his wise men: the *enchanters, *astrologers and *diviners. When they came, the king spoke to them. He said, ‘Who can read these words? Who can tell me what they mean? I will put purple clothes on that person and he will have a gold chain round his neck. And I will make him the third ruler in the *kingdom.’ v8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the words. They could not tell the king what they meant. v9 So King Belshazzar became very anxious and his face became even more pale. His officials did not know what to do.

Verses 7-9 Belshazzar had wise men to advise him, as Nebuchadnezzar had. So he called for them. He wanted them to tell him what the words meant. He promised to reward anyone who could tell him. He would give them purple clothes. Purple was the royal colour. He would give them a gold chain and they would be the third most important person in the *kingdom. This is probably because Belshazzar himself was only the second most important person. He ruled along with his father Nabonidas.

Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men could not tell him what his dreams meant (Daniel 4:7). Belshazzar’s wise men could not understand what the fingers had written on the wall. There were only three words but the fingers had written one of them twice (Daniel 5:25). They could see the words. But they did not understand what they meant. They also knew that Belshazzar had made God angry. So the message must be bad news. This made Belshazzar even more afraid.

v10 The queen heard the words of the king and his officials. So she came into the hall. Then she spoke to the king. ‘I want the king to live for all time’, she said. ‘Do not be anxious. Do not be so pale. v11 There is a man in your *kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In your father’s time, he showed wisdom and knowledge. He was wise like the gods. Your father, Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of all the *magicians, *astrologers, *enchanters and *diviners. v12 His mind was clever and he had great knowledge. He could tell what dreams mean. He could explain mysteries and solve problems. His name was Daniel, but the king called him Belteshazzar. Call for Daniel. He will tell you what the words mean.’

Verses 10-12 The queen heard what Belshazzar and his guests said. This queen was not the king’s wife. All the king’s wives were already at the party (Daniel 5:2). This queen was probably Belshazzar’s mother. The king had not invited her to the party. But she could go and see him. The queen remembered that Daniel had explained Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. He could tell Belshazzar what the words on the wall meant. So she advised the king to call for Daniel.

v13 Then people brought Daniel to the king. The king said to Daniel, ‘Are you Daniel? Are you one of the men that my father the king brought from Judah? v14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. You have knowledge and great wisdom. v15 I called the wise men and *enchanters to read these words. I asked them to tell me what the words mean. But they could not explain them to me. v16 I have heard that you can understand dreams. And I have heard that you can solve problems. So, can you read these words? And can you tell me what they mean? If you can do this, then I will put purple clothes on you. You will have a gold chain round your neck. And you will be the third ruler in the *kingdom.’

Verses 13-16 Daniel came to see the king. It seems that the king did not know about Daniel. But that is not true. Daniel was an old man and he may have retired. So Belshazzar may not have seen him for many years. But Daniel reminded the king about what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He knew that the king knew about that (Daniel 5:22). Like Nebuchadnezzar, he should have called for Daniel first, but he was afraid to hear the truth.

The king told Daniel that his wise men could not explain the words on the wall. He asked Daniel if he could explain the words. He promised him the same things that he had promised to the other wise men.

v17 Then Daniel answered the king. ‘You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can give your rewards to someone else. But I will read the words for the king. And I will tell him what they mean. v18 The great and real God made your father Nebuchadnezzar king. God made him great and God gave him honour. v19 Because God made him so great, the people in every country were afraid of him. The people who spoke every language were afraid of him. He killed anyone whom he wanted to kill. And if he wanted someone to live, he let him live. He made people important if he wanted to. And if he wanted to make someone less important, he made that person less important. v20 He became very proud. He thought that he could do anything. Then God took away his *kingdom and his honour. v21 People chased him away because he had an animal’s mind. So he lived with the wild horses. People fed him with grass that cows eat. *Dew from the sky made his body wet. This situation lasted until he changed his attitudes. But then he recognised that the great and real God rules the *kingdoms of men. He gives authority over them to anyone that he wants to give it to.

Verses 17-21 Daniel did not want the king’s rewards. He would explain the words on the wall, but not for the king’s rewards. He knew that God wanted him to explain the words. They were God’s message to Belshazzar. He knew that the rewards would not last very long, because the king would die soon (Daniel 5:30).

Daniel did not tell the king immediately what the words meant. He reminded him about Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was a great and powerful king. God had made him great. He could do whatever he wanted to do. But later God also made him humble. God made him to live like an animal. Then Nebuchadnezzar knew that the real God rules over kings.

v22 You, Belshazzar, are Nebuchadnezzar’s son and you knew all this. v23 You think that you are more important than the *Lord of heaven. You demanded the cups from his house. And you, your wives, your other women and your important guests drank wine from them. Then you gave honour to gods that people had made from silver, gold, *bronze, iron, wood and stone. These gods cannot see or hear. And they cannot understand. But you gave honour to them and you did not give honour to the real God. He controls your breath. He has power over everything that you do. v24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote these words. v25 And these are the words:

Mene, Mene, Tekel and Peres.

v26 This is what the words mean:

Mene means that God has counted the days of your *kingdom. Now these days are complete and he has finished your *kingdom.

v27 Tekel means that God has tested you. He has tested you as a merchant checks a weight. But you have failed God’s test.

v28 Peres means that God has divided your *kingdom. He has given it to the people from Media and Persia.’

Verses 22-28 The king knew what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He knew that God had made Nebuchadnezzar humble. But Belshazzar was proud. He thought that he did not need God. He thought that he could do whatever he wanted to do. He even thought that he was more important than God. Daniel told Belshazzar that he had been foolish. He should not have used the cups from God’s house. He should not have given honour to false gods. These gods could not do anything, but the real God had given Belshazzar his life. But Belshazzar did not give honour to the real God.

Daniel told Belshazzar that the real God had sent the hand. The words were God’s message to Belshazzar. Then Daniel told Belshazzar what the message from God meant.

Mene means number. God had counted the days of Belshazzar’s *kingdom. He intended Belshazzar’s rule to end.

Tekel means weigh. It was as if God had weighed Belshazzar. He knew that Belshazzar was not a good king. In that way Belshazzar had ‘failed God’s test’.

Peres means divide. God would soon finish Belshazzar’s *kingdom and give it to someone else. The soldiers from Media and Persia would soon defeat the *Babylonians.

v29 Then Belshazzar ordered his servants to put purple clothes on Daniel. They put a gold chain round his neck. Then the king declared that Daniel was the third ruler in the *kingdom. v30 That same night someone killed Belshazzar, king of Babylon. v31 And Darius from Media became king. He was 62 years old.

Verses 29-30 The king gave Daniel what he had promised. He dressed Daniel like a king. He made him the third most important person in the *kingdom. But these rewards did not have much value. That night God ended the *kingdom. The army from Media and Persia defeated the *Babylonians. They killed Belshazzar. Then Darius, who was from a country called Media, became the king. The message was a true message from God.

bronze ~ a bright, hard metal, which is a usually a mixture of yellow metal and tin; it is less precious than gold or silver.
enchanter ~ a kind of magician.
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.
astrologer ~ astrologers looked at the stars; then they tried to say what would happen in the future.
diviner ~ a diviner tried to find out things by magic (see magician).
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.
kingdom ~ the place or territory or land where a king rules.
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.
dew ~ the water drops that appear on the plants and on the ground in the morning when the air is cool.
Lord ~ Lord is a special kind of name, and a title, for God. The Jewish people often use this title for God. It shows that he is over all. Or it may mean that he is always God.
lord ~ when this title does not mean God, it just means someone very important.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe. It is also a name for people from Judah and Israel.
Babylonian ~ someone or something from a place called Babylon.