Daniel 5:19

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, TREMBLED AND FEARED BEFORE HIM - a purely absolute monarchy ()....

18-31 Daniel reads Belshazzar's doom. He had not taken warning by the judgments upon Nebuchadnezzar. And he had insulted God. Sinners are pleased with gods that neither see, nor hear, nor know; but they will be judged by One to whom all things are open. Daniel reads the sentence written on the wall. All this may well be applied to the doom of every sinner. At death, the sinner's days are numbered and finished; after death is the judgment, when he will be weighed in the balance, and found wanting; and after judgment the sinner will be cut asunder, and given as a prey to the devil and his angels. While these things were passing in the palace, it is considered that the army of Cyrus entered the city; and when Belshazzar was slain, a general submission followed. Soon will every impenitent sinner find the writing of God's word brought to pass upon him, whether he is weighed in the balance of...

Verse 19. _WHOM HE WOULD HE SLEW_] The genuine character of a _despot_, whose _will_ is the only _rule_ of his conduct....

AND, FOR THE MAJESTY THAT HE GAVE HIM - That is, on account of his greatness, referring to the talents which God had conferred on him, and the power which he had put in his hands. It was so great that all people and nations trembled before him. ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND LANGUAGES TREMBLED AND FEARED BEFORE HIM - Stood in awe of him. On the extent of his empire, see the note at Daniel 3:4; Daniel 4:1, Daniel 4:22. WHOM HE WOULD HE SLEW ... - That is, he was an arbitrary - an absolute sovereign. This is exactly descriptive of the power which Oriental despotic monarchs have. Whom he wou

EXPOSITION DANIEL 5:1 BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST. In regard to this chapter the peculiar state of the Septuagint text has to be noted. At the beginning of the chapter there are three verses which seem to be either variant versions of the Septuagint text, or versions of a text which was different from that from which the Septuagint has been drawn. Throughout the chapter, further, there are traces of doublets. Most of these variations occur in the Syriac of Paulus Tellensis. DANIEL 5:1 BELSHAZZAR THE KING MADE A GREAT FEAST TO A THOUSAND OF HIS LORDS, AND DRANK WINE BEFORE THE THOUSAND. AS WE have just indicated, there are two versions in the Septuagint of several verses in this chapte

AND FOR THE MAJESTY THAT HE GAVE HIM,.... The greatness of his power, the largeness of his dominions, and the vast armies he had at his command: ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS, AND LANGUAGES, TREMBLED AND FEARED BEFORE HIM; not only those that were subject to him, but those that had only heard of him: who dreaded his approach unto them, and their falling into his victorious hands, and being made vassals to him: WHOM HE WOULD HE SLEW; AND WHOM HE WOULD HE KEPT ALIVE; he ruled in an arbitrary and despotic manner, and kept the power of life and death in his own hands; whom he would he put to death, though ever so innocent; and whom he would he preserved from death, though ever so deserving of it; he had no regard to justice, but acted according to his own will and pleasure. Jacchiades renders the last clause, "whom he would he smote": but both the punctuation of the word, and the antithesis in the t...

CHAPTER 5 BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST _ 1. Belshazzar's licentious feast (Daniel 5:1)_ 2. The writing on the wall (Daniel 5:5) 3. Forgotten Daniel (Daniel 5:10) 4. The message of Daniel (Daniel 5:17) Daniel 5:1. This feast of wickedness and blasphemy needs no further annotations. But it shows the great decline morally in the great Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, no doubt, had handled the golden vessels of the house of the Lord most carefully. He had stored them away, fearing to misuse them. The grandson sent for these vessels to drink

DANIEL 5. Belshazzar, who is represented as king of Babylon, makes a great feast, using the vessels which his father had brought to Babylon from the Temple at Jerusalem. During the feast the fingers of a man's hand are seen, writing on the wall. _Daniel_ explains the handwriting and tells the king that his days are numbered and that his kingdom is to be given to the Medes and Persians. That night the king is murdered and Darius the Mede assumes the throne. The motive of the chapter is again quite plain. Nebuchadnezzar's act of sacrilege has its parallel in the profanation of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes; and the fate of Belshazzar is depicted as an encouragement to the persecuted Jews of the Maccabean age. The chapter raises some very serious historical difficulties (see notes on Daniel 5:1 and Daniel 5:31

PEOPLE. peoples. WHOM HE WOULD, &C See note on "inferior" (Daniel 2:39)....

Before interpreting the writing Daniel reads the king a lesson. Nebuchadnezzar's pride, combined with his refusal to recognize the sovereignty of the true God, had brought upon him a bitter humiliation: Belshazzar has exhibited the same faults yet more conspicuously: and the present sign has been sent in order to warn him of the impending punishment. 18 THE _kingdom, and_ GREATNESS, _and glory, and_ MAJESTY] Cf. Daniel 4:22; Daniel 4:36....