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Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Daniel 5:8-9

The writing appears to have been in the Aramaic language. Therefore it seems that the wise men’s difficulty in understanding it may have been due to its interpretation, rather than just the meaning of the words (cf. Daniel 5:14-16; Daniel 5:25). read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 5:1-31

Belshazzar’s FeastBelshazzar, king of Babylon, holds a great feast, at which he profanely uses the sacred vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple at Jerusalem (Daniel 5:1-4). He is terrified at seeing part of a human hand writing mysterious words on the wall of the banqueting room, and vainly offers great rewards to the wise men of Babylon if they can read and explain the writing (Daniel 5:5-9). The queen tells him of Daniel, and of his fame for wisdom, acquired in Nebuchadnezzar’s... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Daniel 5:9

(9) The terror of Belshazzar and his lords is caused by the impression that the inability of the wise men to read the inscription is the portent of some terrible calamity. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Daniel 5:1-31

Daniel 5 : i Pomp, in our apprehension, was an idea of two categories; the pompous might be spurious, but it might also be genuine. It is well to love the simple we love it; nor is there any opposition at all between that and the very glory of pomp. But, as we once put the case to Lamb, if, as a musician, as the leader of a mighty orchestra, you had this theme offered to you 'Belshazzar the king gave a great feast to a thousand of his lords' ... surely no man would deny that, in such a case,... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Daniel 5:1-31

THE FIERY INSCRIPTIONIN this chapter again we have another magnificent fresco-picture, intended, as was the last-but under circumstances of aggravated guilt and more terrible menace-to teach the lesson that "verily there is a God that judgeth the earth."The truest way to enjoy the chapter, and to grasp the lessons which it is meant to inculcate in their proper force and vividness, is to consider it wholly apart from the difficulties as to its literal truth. To read it aright, and duly estimate... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Daniel 5:1-31

CHAPTER 5 Belshazzar’s Feast 1. Belshazzar’s licentious feast (Daniel 5:1-4 ) 2. The writing on the wall (Daniel 5:5-9 ) 3. Forgotten Daniel (Daniel 5:10-16 ) 4. The message of Daniel (Daniel 5:17-31 ) Daniel 5:1-4 . This feast of wickedness and blasphemy needs no further annotations. But it shows the great decline morally in the great Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, no doubt, had handled the golden vessels of the house of the Lord most carefully. He had stored them away, fearing to... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Daniel 5:1-31

FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR TO CYRUS The effect of the interpretation of his dream on Nebuchadnezzar is the inflation of his pride. To be sure, he was grateful to Daniel (Daniel 2:46-49 ), to whom he offered worship, although the latter rejected it no doubt, as did Paul later (Acts 14:11-18 ). His apprehension of Daniel’s God, however, is yet only as one amongst the national or tribal gods, although greater than they. This is clear from what follows in Daniel 3:1-7 , which is an attempt “to unify... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Daniel 5:1-31

The Hand At the Feast Daniel 5:0 This reads like a torrent king, and feast, and great feast, and lords a thousand strong, and wine-drinking worthy of the occasion. That is the beginning. If it were a piece of music the last note would be as the first; whether it be another note, we must wait a while to know: it will be a grand note, whether harmonious and sympathetic with the beginning we shall see. There was no harm in making a great feast to a thousand lords. Many persons are content to stop... read more

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