Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 5:17-29

The value of a good man. The value to a community of a wise and good man is not to be measured by rubies. The safety, welfare, and happiness of society hang upon him. I. THE GOOD MAN 'S GENEROSITY OF MIND . Daniel does not refuse to come when sent for in haste by the king He might have taken occasion, teem the fright of the king, to remind him of past neglect. He might have accused the king of selfish inconsistency, in that he had dishonoured Daniel in the days of kingly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 5:17-31

At the bar of God. "The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified" ( Daniel 5:23 ). In this tremendous scene Daniel may be regarded as counsel for the crown—for the everlasting crown, for the throne of eternal righteousness, against the unhappy prisoner placed by these awful events at the bar. As such he is the representative of all earnest preachers of righteousness. He was marked by zeal for the right of the crown; fidelity to the position; ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Daniel 5:18

O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom ... - This reference to Nebuchadnezzar is evidently designed to show to Belshazzar the wickedness of his own course, and the reason which he had to apprehend the Divine vengeance, because he had not learned to avoid the sins which brought so great calamities upon his predecessor. As he was acquainted with what had occurred to Nebuchadnezzar; as he had doubtless seen the proclamation which he had made on his recovery from... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Daniel 5:19

And, for the majesty that he gave him - That is, on account of his greatness, referring to the talents which God had conferred on him, and the power which he had put in his hands. It was so great that all people and nations trembled before him.All people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him - Stood in awe of him. On the extent of his empire, see the note at Daniel 3:4; Daniel 4:1, Daniel 4:22.Whom he would he slew ... - That is, he was an arbitrary - an absolute sovereign.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Daniel 5:20

But when his heart was lifted up - See Daniel 4:30.And his mind hardened in pride - Margin, “to deal proudly.” The state of mind indicated here is that in which there is no sense of dependence, but where one feels that he has all resources in himself, and need only look to himself.He was deposed from his kingly throne - Margin, “made to come down.” That is, he was so deposed by the providence of God, not by the acts of his own subjects. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Daniel 5:18-19

Daniel 5:18-19. O thou king Before Daniel reads the writing, he judges it proper to remind the king of God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, his progenitor, and of those remarkable instances of divine providence, both in mercy and in judgment, which were intended to be an instructive lesson, as to all princes that should hear of them, so especially to all the descendants of that great monarch. He also, with great fidelity and seriousness, sets Belshazzar’s profane conduct before him, that he... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Daniel 5:20-23

Daniel 5:20-23. But when his heart was lifted up The expressions here have a peculiar force, in marking the haughty insolence of King Nebuchadnezzar. His authority, as mentioned in the last verse, had been raised to the highest pitch; and on that account we find here that his mind was elated, and his spirit grown obdurate in pride and arrogance; instead of his ascribing all his honours and advantages to the real giver of them, the true God, whom he had been brought to acknowledge, and to... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Daniel 5:1-31

Belshazzar’s feast (5:1-31)The events of this chapter took place in 539 BC. If Daniel was about fifteen years of age when taken captive to Babylon in 605 BC, he would now be over eighty. Nebuchadnezzar had long been dead. The present king, Nabonidus, was absent in distant territories for much of his reign, and the rule of the country was largely in the hands of his son Belshazzar. The queen who appears in the story (v. 10) was probably the queen mother, wife of Nabonidus. Nebuchadnezzar is... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Daniel 5:19

people = peoples. whom he would, &c See note on "inferior" (Daniel 2:39 ). read more

Group of Brands