23 (A)And you have [a]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the (B)vessels of [b]His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, (C)which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand (D)and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the [c]fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

25 “And this is the inscription that was written:

[d]MENE, MENE, [e]TEKEL, [f]UPHARSIN.

26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL: (E)You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:23 Exalted
  2. Daniel 5:23 The temple
  3. Daniel 5:24 Lit. palm
  4. Daniel 5:25 Lit. a mina (50 shekels) from the verb “to number”
  5. Daniel 5:25 Lit. a shekel from the verb “to weigh”
  6. Daniel 5:25 Lit. and half-shekels from the verb “to divide”; pl. of Peres, v. 28

23 Instead, you have set yourself up against(A) the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives(B) and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.(C) But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life(D) and all your ways.(E) 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25 “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

26 “Here is what these words mean:

Mene[a]: God has numbered the days(F) of your reign and brought it to an end.(G)

27 Tekel[b]: You have been weighed on the scales(H) and found wanting.(I)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:26 Mene can mean numbered or mina (a unit of money).
  2. Daniel 5:27 Tekel can mean weighed or shekel.