Add parallel Print Page Options

As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared[a] and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand.[b] The king was watching the back[c] of the hand that was writing. Then all the color drained from the king’s face[d] and he became alarmed.[e] The joints of his hips gave way,[f] and his knees began knocking together.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:5 tn Aram “came forth.”
  2. Daniel 5:5 sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.
  3. Daniel 5:5 tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.
  4. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”
  5. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”
  6. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “his loins went slack.”

They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.(A)

The Handwriting on the Wall

At that moment the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king’s palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the hand[a] that was writing, his face turned pale,[b] and his thoughts so terrified him that he soiled himself[c] and his knees knocked together.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 5:5 Lit part of the hand
  2. 5:5–6 Lit writing, the king’s brightness changed
  3. 5:6 Or that the joints of his hips gave way; lit that the knots of his loins were untied