Daniel 5:1-16
THE FEAST AND THE HANDWRITING.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FEAST AND THE HANDWRITING.... [ Continue Reading ]
Belshazzar, the king, the son of Nabonidus, either natural or adopted, and coregent with him, apparently the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, MADE A GREAT FEAST TO A THOUSAND OF HIS LORDS AND DRANK WINE BEFORE THE THOUSAND, the banquet becoming a drunken orgy. He was in command of the capital at that tim... [ Continue Reading ]
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, sitting before them on a platform or dais, when he had just gotten under the influence of the wine's intoxicating power, COMMANDED TO BRING THE GOLDEN AND SILVER VESSELS WHICH HIS FATHER, or grandfather, NEBUCHADNEZZAR HAD TAKEN OUT OF THE TEMPLE WHICH WAS IN J... [ Continue Reading ]
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the house of God, out of the Sanctuary proper, WHICH WAS AT JERUSALEM; AND THE KING AND HIS PRINCES, HIS WIVES AND HIS CONCUBINES, DRANK IN THEM. This act can in no wise be excused or condoned, not even as an act of religion,... [ Continue Reading ]
They drank wine and, in their intoxicated condition, PRAISED THE GODS OF GOLD AND OF SILVER, OF BRASS, OF IRON, OF WOOD, AND OF STONE. It was thus essentially an exaltation of their idols above Jehovah, of whom they thought that they had conquered Him in battle; but the prophet indicates the vanity... [ Continue Reading ]
In the same hour, suddenly, while they were still in the midst of their drunken revelry, CAME FORTH FINGERS OF A MAN'S HAND AND WROTE, or were writing, OVER AGAINST THE CANDLESTICK UPON THE PLASTER OF THE WALL OF THE KING'S PALACE, which had no paneling or tapestry; AND THE KING SAW THE PART OF THE... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the king's countenance was changed, literally, "Then the king, his color was changed unto him," AND HIS THOUGHTS TROUBLED HIM, as his guilty conscience filled him with terror, SO THAT THE JOINTS OF HIS LOINS WERE LOOSED, they no longer possessed the strength to hold the body together firmly, AN... [ Continue Reading ]
The king cried aloud, his terror causing him to raise his voice with might, TO BRING IN THE ASTROLOGERS, THE CHALDEANS, AND THE SOOTHSAYERS, that is, all the wisest men of the realm. AND THE KING SPAKE AND SAID TO THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON, as many as followed his summons at once, WHOSOEVER SHALL READ... [ Continue Reading ]
Then came in all the king's wise men, one after the other appearing in agreement with his summons; BUT THEY COULD NOT READ THE WRITING NOR MAKE KNOWN TO THE KING THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF. In other words, they had to confess their complete failure.... [ Continue Reading ]
Then, on account of the utter inability of the wise men to give him the desired information, WAS KING BELSHAZZAR GREATLY TROUBLED, he was filled with deepest apprehension and trepidation, AND HIS COUNTENANCE WAS CHANGED IN HIM, AND HIS LORDS WERE ASTONIED, not only being filled with alarm, but also... [ Continue Reading ]
Now the queen, the queen mother, or dowager, very likely the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, BY REASON OF THE WORDS OF THE KING AND HIS LORDS, the sound of which, as they raised their voices in their excitement, penetrated to her apartments, CAME INTO THE BANQUET HOUSE; AND THE QUEEN SPAKE AND SAID, O KING,... [ Continue Reading ]
There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, the queen-mother thus repeating the very language of Nebuchadnezzar, 4:8; 9:18; AND IN THE DAYS OF THY FATHER, or grandfather, LIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING AND WISDOM, LIKE THE WISDOM OF THE GODS, WAS FOUND IN HIM; WHOM THE KING NEBUCH... [ Continue Reading ]
forasmuch as an excellent spirit, a most extraordinary talent, AND KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING, INTERPRETING OF DREAMS AND SHOWING OF HARD SENTENCES, giving the explanation of riddles and conundrums, AND DISSOLVING OF DOUBTS, literally, "untying knots," that is, finding the solutions of the most int... [ Continue Reading ]
Then was Daniel brought in before the king; summoned to appear without delay. 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, or grandfather, BROUGHT OUT OF JEWRY? The question was intended merely to fix the... [ Continue Reading ]
I have even heard of thee that the spirit of the gods is in thee, the king omitting the adjective "holy" which the queen-mother had used, AND THAT LIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING AND EXCELLENT WISDOM IS FOUND IN THEE.... [ Continue Reading ]
And, now, the wise men, the astrologers, the soothsayers only being mentioned as representing the entire class of wise men of the kingdom, HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN BEFORE ME THAT THEY SHOULD READ THIS WRITING AND MAKE KNOWN UNTO ME THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF; BUT THEY COULD NOT SHOW THE INTERPRETATION O... [ Continue Reading ]
and I have heard of thee that thou canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts, untie the hardest knots. NOW, IF THOU CANST READ THE WRITING AND MAKE KNOWN TO ME THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF, THOU SHALT BE CLOTHED WITH SCARLET AND HAVE A CHAIN OF GOLD ABOUT THY NECK AND SHALT BE THE THIRD RULER IN... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards, the presents which he intended as a fee to Daniel, TO ANOTHER, the prophet of Jehovah rejecting everything which might afterwards be construed as having influenced him in his message; YET I WILL READ TH... [ Continue Reading ]
THE INTERPRETATION AND THE FULFILMENT... [ Continue Reading ]
O thou king, the formal and solemn address bringing out the importance of the message from the outset and placing its entire import into direct relation to the king, THE MOST HIGH GOD GAVE NEBUCHADNEZZAR, THY FATHER, A KINGDOM, AND MAJESTY, AND GLORY, AND HONOR, far above that enjoyed by Belshazzar;... [ Continue Reading ]
and for the majesty that He gave him, the imperial authority and supremacy which he enjoyed, ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND LANGUAGES TREMBLED AND FEARED BEFORE HIM, were in a constant state of fear and trepidation lest they incur his displeasure; WHOM HE WOULD HE SLEW, AND WHOM HE WOULD HE KEPT ALIVE, be... [ Continue Reading ]
But, that is, in spite of this unexampled position of power, WHEN HIS HEART WAS LIFTED UP AND HIS MIND HARDENED IN PRIDE, so that he thought he could deal proudly, with an utter disregard of the will of the Lord, HE WAS DEPOSED FROM HIS KINGLY THRONE, AND THEY TOOK HIS GLORY FROM HIM, as related in... [ Continue Reading ]
and he was driven from the sons of men, excluded from their society, AND HIS HEART WAS MADE LIKE THE BEASTS, AND HIS DWELLING WAS WITH THE WILD ASSES, this picturesque item being added for the sake of further embellishment of the narrative; THEY FED HIM WITH GRASS LIKE OXEN, AND HIS BODY WAS WET WIT... [ Continue Reading ]
And thou, his son, or grandson, O BELSHAZZAR, HAST NOT HUMBLED THINE HEART, not having profited by the example of his relative, THOUGH THOU KNEWEST ALL THIS,... [ Continue Reading ]
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, in blasphemous pride; AND THEY HAVE BROUGHT THE VESSELS OF HIS HOUSE, of the Temple of Jehovah, the one true God, BEFORE THEE, AND THOU AND THY LORDS, THY WIVES AND THY CONCUBINES, HAVE DRUNK WINE IN THEM; AND THOU HAST PRAISED THE GODS OF SILVE... [ Continue Reading ]
Then was the part of the hand, the outstretched fingers of the writing hand, SENT FROM HIM, AND THIS WRITING WAS WRITTEN, to announce the doom which was now inevitable.... [ Continue Reading ]
And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, literally, "numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided. ... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the interpretation of the thing, of the writing on the wall: MENE, GOD HATH NUMBERED THY KINGDOM AND FINISHED IT, that is, the duration of Belshazzar's kingship, of his reign, was now determined, brought to the end assigned to it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Tekel: Thou art weighed in the balances, namely, in those of God's righteousness and justice, his character analyzed according to the demands of God's holiness, AND ART FOUND WANTING, below weight in moral worth and capacity.... [ Continue Reading ]
Peres: Thy kingdom is divided, severed, cut into two pieces, AND GIVEN TO THE MEDES AND PERSIANS, the Lord Himself making the division.... [ Continue Reading ]
Then commanded Belshazzar, in accordance with his promise, AND THEY CLOTHED DANIEL WITH SCARLET, with royal purple, 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, next in power to Nabonidus and Belshazzar. Even if this... [ Continue Reading ]
In that night was Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, slain, namely, when his city was taken by the victorious armies of the enemy, who took the city as the result of a ruse.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Darius, the Median, took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. We have evidence from secular sources also that Darius, the Mede, whose other name was Gobryas, received from Cyrus, his overlord, the kingdom of Belshazzar, the Chaldean, which constituted a small part of the empire... [ Continue Reading ]