New English Translation
Daniel 5:6
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 5:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
- New International Version (NIV)His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
Context of Daniel 5:6
4As 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. Then 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. 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.
Read all of Daniel 5Daniel 5:6 word by word
אֱדַ֤יִן מַלְכָּא֙ זִיוֹ֣הִי שְׁנ֔וֹהִי וְרַעיֹנֹ֖הִי יְבַהֲלוּנֵּ֑הּ וְקִטְרֵ֤י חַרְצֵהּ֙ מִשְׁתָּרַ֔יִן וְאַ֨רְכֻבָּתֵ֔הּ דָּ֥א לְדָ֖א נָֽקְשָֽׁן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thenאֱדַ֫יִן'ĕdayin · thenH116
- the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- countenanceזִיוzîyv · splendorH2122
- was changedשְׁנָאshenâ' · to changeH8133
- and his thoughtsרַעְיוֹןra‛yôn · thoughtH7476
- troubledבְּהַלbehal · to dismayH927
- him, so that the jointsקְטַרqeţar · jointH7001
- of his loinsחֲרַץchărats · loinH2783
- were loosedשְׁרָאsherê' · to looseH8271
- and his kneesאַרְכֻבָּה'arkûbâh · kneeH755
- smoteנְקַשׁneqash · to knockH5368
- oneדָּאdâ' · thisH1668
Cross-references for Daniel 5:6
- Daniel 5:9Then King Belshazzar was very terrified, and he was visibly shaken. His nobles were completely dumbfounded.
- Daniel 2:1In the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. His mind was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia.
- Daniel 3:19Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.
- Job 15:20All his days the wicked man suffers torment, throughout the number of the years that are stored up for the tyrant.
- Job 20:19For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build.
- Psalms 73:18Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.
- Isaiah 21:2I have received a distressing message: “The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys. Attack, you Elamites! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning!”
- Daniel 5:10Due to the noise caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother then entered the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!
- Daniel 4:5I saw a dream that frightened me badly. The things I imagined while lying on my bed – these visions of my mind – were terrifying me.
- Daniel 7:28“This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. But I kept the matter to myself.”
- Psalms 69:23May their eyes be blinded! Make them shake violently!
- Isaiah 13:7For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage.
- Isaiah 21:3For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.
- Isaiah 5:27None tire or stumble, they don’t stop to nap or sleep. They don’t loosen their belts, or unstrap their sandals to rest.
- Isaiah 35:3Strengthen the hands that have gone limp, steady the knees that shake!
- Ezekiel 7:17All of their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine.
Commentaries on Daniel 5:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The king's countenance was changed - Here is a very natural description of fear and terror. The face grows pale; The mind becomes greatly agitated; Pains seize on the lower part of the back and kidneys; A universal tremor takes place, so that the knees smite against each other; 5. And lastly, either a syncope takes place, or the cry of distress is uttered, Daniel 5:7; : "The king cried."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. 66. countenance--literally, "brightness," that is, his bright look. joints of his loins--"the vertebræ of his back" [Gesenius].Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 5:6
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