Daniel 5:23

You have considered yourself to be greater than God, the Lord of heaven. So you have commanded your servants to bring to you these sacred cups, which were dedicated to the Supreme God, and which were taken from his temple in Jerusalem. You and your officials and your wives and your ◄concubines/slave wives► have been drinking wine from these cups, while you have been praising your own gods—gods which are made of gold and silver and bronze and iron and wood and stone. Those are gods that cannot see, that cannot hear, and that do not know anything! You have not honored the God who gives you breath and who controls everything that happens to you.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

In Context

22Now, Belshazzar, you have become the king. You also knew all those things, but you have not made yourself humble.

24So God sent that hand to write a message for you.

Read all of Daniel 5

Cross References

Genesis 2:7Then Yahweh God took some soil and formed a man. He breathed into the man’s nostrils his own breath that gives life, and as a result the man became a living person.

Judges 16:23Several months later the Philistine leaders celebrated a big festival. During the festival they offered sacrifices to their god Dagon. They praised him, saying, “Our god has enabled us to defeat our great enemy Samson!”

1 Samuel 17:26David talked to some of the men who were standing near him. He said, “What will be given to whoever kills this Philistine and frees us Israelis from this shame/disgrace? And who does this heathen Philistine think he is, defying/ridiculing the army that serves the all-powerful God?”

2 Kings 14:10The meaning of what I am saying is that your army has defeated the army of Edom, so now you have become very proud. But you should be content with defeating the people of Edom, and allow your soldiers to stay at home. If you cause trouble by fighting against us, you will surely [RHQ] cause a disaster to happen to you and to your people.”

Job 31:4God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do, so why is he causing me to suffer? It is as though he counts every step that I take.

Psalms 104:29But if you refuse to give food to them, they become terrified. And when you cause them to stop breathing, they die; their bodies decay and become soil again.

Matthew Henry on Daniel 5:11-30

Daniel Brought before Belshazzar. ( b. c. 538.) 10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Daniel 5:23