New English Translation
Daniel 5:5
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.
Daniel 5:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
- New International Version (NIV)Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Context of Daniel 5:5
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. 4As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. At 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. 7The king called out loudly to summon the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple and have a golden collar placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.
Read all of Daniel 5Daniel 5:5 word by word
בַּהּ־שַׁעֲתָ֗ה נְפַ֙קָה֙ אֶצְבְּעָן֙ דִּ֣י יַד־אֱנָ֔שׁ וְכָֽתְבָן֙ לָקֳבֵ֣ל נֶבְרַשְׁתָּ֔א עַל־גִּירָ֕א דִּֽי־כְתַ֥ל הֵיכְלָ֖א דִּ֣י מַלְכָּ֑א וּמַלְכָּ֣א חָזֵ֔ה פַּ֥ס יְדָ֖ה דִּ֥י כָתְבָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- In the same hourשָׁעָהshâ‛âh · momentH8160
- came forthנְפַקnephaq · to go outH5312
- fingersאֶצְבַּע'etsba‛ · digitH677
- of a man’sאֱנָשׁ'ĕnâsh 'ĕnash · manH606
- handיַדyad · handH3028
- and wroteכְּתַבkethab · to writeH3790
- over againstקֳבֵלqebêl qŏbêl · beforeH6903
- the candlestickנֶבְרַשְׁתָּאnebreshâ' · lampstandH5043
- uponעַל‛al · uponH5922
- the plaisterגִּירgîyr · plasterH1528
- of the wallכְּתַלkethal · wallH3797
- of the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- palaceהֵיכַלhêykal · temple: palaceH1965
- sawחֲזָהchăzâ' chăzâh · to seeH2370
- the partפַּסpas · palmH6447
Cross-references for Daniel 5:5
- Daniel 4:31While these words were still on the king’s lips, a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!
- Job 20:5that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
- Psalms 78:30They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths,
- Proverbs 29:1The one who stiffens his neck after numerous rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy.
- Luke 12:19And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night.
- Daniel 5:8So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the king.
- Colossians 2:14He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
- Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.
Commentaries on Daniel 5:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Fingers of a man's hand - The fingers were collected about the style or pen as in the act of writing.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The supernatural hand shocked and terrified the people at the feast. Yet Belshazzar still did not repent (Daniel 5:29; compare Jeremiah 38:19–24; Acts 24:25).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. In the same hour--that the cause of God's visitation might be palpable, namely, the profanation of His vessels and His holy name. fingers of ... hand--God admonishes him, not by a dream (as Nebuchadnezzar had been warned), or by a voice, but by "fingers coming forth," the invisibility of Him who moved them heightening the awful impressiveness of the scene, the hand of the Unseen One attesting his doom before the eyes of himself and his guilty fellow…Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 5:5
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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Commentaries