New International Version
Daniel 5:4
4As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Context of Daniel 5:4
2While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. 5Suddenly 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. 6His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.
Read all of Daniel 5Daniel 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 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.
- Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
- Judges 16:23Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
- Isaiah 42:8“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
- Hosea 2:8She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold— which they used for Baal.
- Revelation 9:20The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.
- Daniel 3:1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
- Psalms 115:4But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
- Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.
- Isaiah 40:19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
- Isaiah 42:17But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.
- Isaiah 46:6Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it.
- Jeremiah 10:4They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.
- Habakkuk 2:19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”
- Acts 17:29“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
- Acts 19:24A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.
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
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries