New International Version
Daniel 5:6
6His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him.
Context of Daniel 5:6
4As 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. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking. 7The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” 8Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.
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 5:9So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
- Daniel 2:1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.
- Daniel 3:19Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual
- Job 15:20All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.
- Job 20:19For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build.
- Psalms 73:18Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
- Isaiah 21:2A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
- Daniel 5:10The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale!
- Daniel 4:5I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me.
- Daniel 7:28“This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
- Psalms 69:23May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
- Isaiah 13:7Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear.
- Isaiah 21:3At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
- Isaiah 5:27Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal strap is broken.
- Isaiah 35:3Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
- Ezekiel 7:17Every hand will go limp; every leg 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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