EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Daniel 5:23
23You thought that you were greater than the Lord of heaven. So you told your servants to bring the valuable cups that belong to God's temple. You yourself, your wives, your other women and your important friends drank wine from those cups. You praised your gods that were made from silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Those are idols that cannot see or hear. They cannot understand anything. But you worshipped them instead of the true God. He is the God who gives life to you. He has power over everything that you do.
Daniel 5:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
- New International Version (NIV)Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
Context of Daniel 5:23
21They chased him away from his home. His mind became like an animal's mind. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cows do. Dew from the sky made his body wet. He lived in that way until he understood that the powerful God above rules over human kingdoms. God gives authority to rule to anyone that he chooses. 22King Belshazzar, you are Nebuchadnezzar's son, and you knew all that. But you did not become humble. You thought that you were greater than the Lord of heaven. So you told your servants to bring the valuable cups that belong to God's temple. You yourself, your wives, your other women and your important friends drank wine from those cups. You praised your gods that were made from silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Those are idols that cannot see or hear. They cannot understand anything. But you worshipped them instead of the true God. He is the God who gives life to you. He has power over everything that you do. 24Because of that, God sent the hand that wrote this message. 25These are the words: Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.
Read all of Daniel 5Daniel 5:23 word by word
וְעַ֣ל מָרֵֽא־שְׁמַיָּ֣א׀ הִתְרוֹמַ֡מְתָּ וּלְמָֽאנַיָּ֨א דִֽי־בַיְתֵ֜הּ הַיְתִ֣יו קָֽדָמָ֗ךְ וְאַ֨נְתְּ וְרַבְרְבָנָ֜ךְ שֵֽׁגְלָתָ֣ךְ וּלְחֵנָתָךְ֮ חַמְרָא֮ שָׁתַ֣יִן בְּהוֹן֒ וְלֵֽאלָהֵ֣י כַסְפָּֽא־וְ֠דַהֲבָא נְחָשָׁ֨א פַרְזְלָ֜א אָעָ֣א וְאַבְנָ֗א דִּ֠י לָֽא־חָזַ֧יִן וְלָא־שָׁמְעִ֛ין וְלָ֥א יָדְעִ֖ין שַׁבַּ֑חְתָּ וְלֵֽאלָהָ֞א דִּֽי־נִשְׁמְתָ֥ךְ בִּידֵ֛הּ וְכָל־אֹרְחָתָ֥ךְ לֵ֖הּ לָ֥א הַדַּֽרְתָּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But hast lifted upרוּםrûm · to riseH7313
- thyself againstעַל‛al · uponH5922
- the Lordמָרֵאmârê' · lordH4756
- of heavenשָׁמַ֫יִןshâmayin · heavenH8065
- and they have broughtאֲתָה'âthâh 'âthâ' · to comeH858
- the vesselsמָאןmâ'n · utensilH3984
- of his houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · houseH1005
- beforeקֳדָםqŏdâm qedâm · beforeH6925
- thee, and thouאַנְתָּה'antâh · youH607
- and thy lordsרַבְרְבָןrabrebân · nobleH7261
- thy wivesשֵׁגָלshêgâl · consortH7695
- and thy concubinesלְחֵנָהlechênâh · concubineH3904
- have drunkשְׁתָהshethâh · to drinkH8355
- wineחֲמַרchămar · wineH2562
- in them; and thou hast praisedשְׁבַחshebach · to praiseH7624
- the godsאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
- of silverכְּסַףkesaph · silverH3702
- and goldדְּהַבdehab · goldH1722
- of brassנְחָשׁnechâsh · bronzeH5174
- ironפַּרְזֶלparzel · ironH6523
- woodאָע'â‛ · woodH636
- and stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH69
- which seeחֲזָהchăzâ' chăzâh · to seeH2370
- notלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
- hearשְׁמַעshema‛ · to hearH8086
- knowיְדַעyeda‛ · to knowH3046
- in whose handיַדyad · handH3028
- thy breathנִשְׁמָאnishmâ' · breathH5396
- allכֹּלkôl · allH3606
- thy waysאֹ֫רַח'ôrach · wayH735
- glorifiedהֲדַרhădar · to honorH1922
Cross-references for Daniel 5:23
- Daniel 5:3So his servants brought the gold and silver cups that had come from God's temple in Jerusalem. Then the king, his wives, his other women and all the important people drank wine from those cups.
- 2 Kings 14:10Yes! You have won the fight against Edom. But do not boast about your power! You may be very happy, but stay at home! Do not try to fight against us. If you do that, you will cause trouble that destroys both you and your kingdom, Judah.’
- Isaiah 2:12Yes! The Lord Almighty will choose his great day. On that day, he will judge all the proud people who think that they are great. He will bring them all down very low.
- Isaiah 33:10The Lord says, ‘Now I will stand up to do something. I will show that I am great and powerful.
- Isaiah 37:23Who do you think it is that you have insulted? Who have you shouted at? Who have you looked at so proudly? The answer is the Holy God of Israel!
- Jeremiah 50:29‘Bring all the soldiers with bows and arrows to attack Babylon. They must make their camp all around the city. Do not let anyone escape. Punish the people for the things that they have done. Do the same thing to them that they have done to others. Those people have insulted me, Israel's holy God.
- Ezekiel 28:2‘Son of man, say this to the ruler of Tyre. “This is what the Almighty Lord says: You are a very proud man. You say, ‘I am a god and Tyre is my throne. I rule over all the seas around me.’ But, whatever you think, you are only a man. You are not a god.
- Ezekiel 31:10So this is what the Almighty Lord says: That great tree, Assyria, was very tall. Its top reached up to the clouds. It was very proud because it was so great.
- Habakkuk 2:4Look now! The enemy is very proud. They do not want to do what is right. But righteous people will live because of their faith in God.
- 1 Timothy 3:6A leader of the church must not be someone who has believed in Christ for only a short time. Someone like that might boast that he is great and important. Then he would receive punishment, as the Devil did.
- Revelation 13:5The wild animal received authority to rule people for 42 months. It could speak proud words and insult God.
- Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise the King of heaven as a great God. He always does what is right and fair. When people are proud, he can cause them to become humble.
- Genesis 14:19He blessed Abram. He said, ‘I pray that the Most High God who made heaven and earth will bless Abram.
- Psalms 115:16The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to us people.
- Daniel 5:2When he had drunk a lot of wine, he spoke to his servants. He commanded them to bring the valuable gold and silver cups, so that the people could drink from them. His father, King Nebuchadnezzar, had taken those cups from God's temple in Jerusalem. King Belshazzar wanted to drink from them, as well as his important friends, his wives and his other women.
- 1 Samuel 5:1When the Philistines took God's Covenant Box, they took it from Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod.
Commentaries on Daniel 5:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord - And the highest evidence of this rebellion was, the profaning the sacred vessels of the Lord's house.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-31Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-30All earthly kingdoms eventually end. Nebuchadnezzar's dream suggested that Babylon would fall and a new kingdom would rise (Daniel 2:39). After Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC, violence and corruption grew in Babylon's palaces. During Belshazzar's feast in 539 BC, they even defiled God's holy vessels. God's judgment came quickly that night (Daniel 5:30), and the next kingdom took over (see 2:32, 39; 5:31).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. whose are all thy ways--(Jr 10:23).Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 5:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Daniel 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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