Daniel 5:4

Daniel 5:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
• New International Version (NIV)As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

Context of Daniel 5:4

2While under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father had confiscated from the temple in Jerusalem – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. 3So they brought the gold and silver vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them. As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. The king was watching the back of the hand that was writing. 6Then all the color drained from the king’s face and he became alarmed. The joints of his hips gave way, and his knees began knocking together.

Daniel 5:4 word by word

אִשְׁתִּ֖יו חַמְרָ֑א וְ֠שַׁבַּחוּ לֵֽאלָהֵ֞י דַּהֲבָ֧א וְכַסְפָּ֛א נְחָשָׁ֥א פַרְזְלָ֖א אָעָ֥א וְאַבְנָֽא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They drankשְׁתָהshethâh · to drinkH8355
• wineחֲמַרchămar · wineH2562
• and praisedשְׁבַחshebach · to praiseH7624
• the godsאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
• of goldדְּהַבdehab · goldH1722
• and of silverכְּסַףkesaph · silverH3702
• of brassנְחָשׁnechâsh · bronzeH5174
• of ironפַּרְזֶלparzel · ironH6523
• of woodאָע'â‛ · woodH636
• and of stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH69

Cross-references for Daniel 5:4

• Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways!
• Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all his deeds are right and his ways are just. He is able to bring down those who live in pride.
• Judges 16:23The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.”
• Isaiah 42:8I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols.
• Hosea 2:8Yet until now she has refused to acknowledge that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and that it was I who lavished on her the silver and gold – which they used in worshiping Baal!
• Revelation 9:20The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.
• Daniel 3:1King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue made. It was ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
• Psalms 115:4Their idols are made of silver and gold – they are man-made.
• Psalms 135:15The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.
• Isaiah 40:19A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
• Isaiah 42:17Those who trust in idols will turn back and be utterly humiliated, those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”
• Isaiah 46:6Those who empty out gold from a purse and weigh out silver on the scale hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god. They then bow down and worship it.
• Jeremiah 10:4He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over.
• Habakkuk 2:19The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead – he who says to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.
• Acts 17:29So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination.
• Acts 19:24For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought a great deal of business to the craftsmen.

Commentaries on Daniel 5:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And praised the gods of gold - They had gods of all sorts, and of all metals; with wooden gods, and stone gods, beside!Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-4The gold and silver cups from the temple in Jerusalem were taken along with the people (Daniel 1:2), but earlier Babylonian kings did not misuse them. They were eventually returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7–11). father: Belshazzar was Nabonidus's oldest son; his connection to Nebuchadnezzar is unclear. As they drank the wine, they praised their gods: If Belshazzar ever knew about the respect Nebuchadnezzar showed the Most High God decades earlier (Daniuel…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. praised--sang and shouted praises to "gods," which being of gold, "are their own witnesses" (Is 44:9), confuting the folly of those who fancy such to be gods.Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 5:4

• Belshazzar
• Brass
• Drunkenness
• Feasts
• Idolatry
• Iron
• King
• Wicked (People)
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Gift
• Light
• Loose
• Wine
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Baruch, Book of
• Bible, the
• Daniel, Book of
• Gods
• Iron (1)

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