Daniel 5:25-28
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The inscription uses words that are actually names for ancient weights, like "mina" and "shekel." This brilliant wordplay allows Daniel to connect the literal idea of weighing and measuring with God's judgment of Belshazzar's life and kingdom. The divine message isn't just a sentence but a profound commentary on how God assesses everything.
As King Belshazzar and his nobles carouse, a disembodied hand mysteriously appears and writes a cryptic message on the palace wall, striking terror into everyone present. The king, desperate for an explanation, calls for his wise men, but none can decipher the strange inscription. Daniel is eventually brought in, tasked with not only reading the words but also revealing their ominous meaning.
Why couldn't the wise men of Babylon read this message, even though Daniel could? The answer lies not just in the script, but in the meaning embedded within the words themselves.
The inscription MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN presented a puzzle. Scholars suggest that while the characters might have been unfamiliar to the Babylonians (perhaps an ancient Hebrew script), the deeper challenge was attaching a meaningful interpretation.
Belshazzar celebrated his earthly power, but the wall declared his reign was numbered. What does it mean for our lives to be measured by God?
The interpretation of the inscription reveals God's direct involvement and assessment of Belshazzar's kingship.
Understand the original words
mənē’ · Aramaic Verb/Noun
A measurement or reckoning. Theologically, it implies that God keeps account of human actions and appoints set times or limits for nations and individuals.
təqēl · Aramaic Verb/Noun
To be weighed or balanced. It signifies the divine judgment where human works and hearts are measured against God’s standard of righteousness.
pəras · Aramaic Verb/Noun
Literally 'divisions' or 'divided.' It signifies the fragmentation and end of a kingdom or person's authority due to divine judgment.
menaʾ · Aramaic Verb
The divine sovereign action of determining, counting, or decreeing the duration or limits of something, often used in relation to time, life, or nations. It implies that God holds ultimate control over the boundaries of human history and individual existence.
The verse's message of judgment wasn't delivered in a vacuum but occurred on the very night Babylon fell, highlighting the swift and decisive nature of God's justice against arrogance and idolatry.
c. 605 BC
Nebuchadnezzar's First Deportation
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem, deporting some of the royal family and nobility, including the prophet Daniel, to Babylon.
c. 586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling the remaining population to Babylon, marking the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity.
c. 539 BC
Fall of Babylon to Persia
The Persian Empire, led by Cyrus the Great and his general Gobryas (often identified with Darius the Mede in Daniel), conquered Babylon.
c. 539 BC— this verse
Belshazzar's Feast and Judgment
King Belshazzar hosted a great feast for his nobles, during which a mysterious hand wrote a prophetic message on the wall, foretelling the kingdom's doom.
This passage also describes a divine message written out, with Jeremiah seeing an almond tree branch and a boiling pot, signifying judgment, paralleling the mysterious writing on the wall.
Isaiah 45:1This verse speaks of God anointing Cyrus and giving him authority to conquer nations, directly foreshadowing the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy about the Medes and Persians taking over the kingdom.
Luke 12:20Jesus uses the phrase 'this night your soul is required of you,' echoing the sense of 'numbered' and 'finished' in Daniel's message, highlighting the suddenness of divine judgment on those unprepared.
Proverbs 16:2This proverb states that humans may think their ways are pure, but the Lord weighs their spirits, directly connecting to the theme of being weighed in the balances and found wanting.
Ecclesiastes 10:1This verse warns that dead flies cause even a perfume to decay, illustrating how a small amount of corruption (like sin in a kingdom) can ruin something valuable, similar to how Belshazzar's actions corrupted his reign.
barnesDaniel 5:25: "And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."
And this is the writing that was written - The Babylonians, it would seem, were unacquainted with the "characters" that were used, and of course unable to understand the meaning. See Daniel 5:8 . The first thing, therefore, for Daniel to do was to read the writing, and this he was able to do without difficulty, probably, as already remarked, because it was in the ancient Hebrew character - a character quite fa…
clarkeDaniel 5:25: "And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."
And this is the writing - Had the words been written in the Chaldean character, every wise man there, every one that could read the alphabet of his own language, could have read and interpreted them. Let it be observed, - 1. That the character which we now call Hebrew is the Chaldean character. 2. That the true Hebrew character is that which we call the Samaritan. 3. Daniel could easily read this, for it was t…
The inscription uses words that are actually names for ancient weights, like "mina" and "shekel." This brilliant wordplay allows Daniel to connect the literal idea of weighing and measuring with God's judgment of Belshazzar's life and kingdom. The divine message isn't just a sentence but a profound commentary on how God assesses everything.
As King Belshazzar and his nobles carouse, a disembodied hand mysteriously appears and writes a cryptic message on the palace wall, striking terror into everyone present. The king, desperate for an explanation, calls for his wise men, but none can decipher the strange inscription. Daniel is eventually brought in, tasked with not only reading the words but also revealing their ominous meaning.
As King Belshazzar and his nobles carouse, a disembodied hand mysteriously appears and writes a cryptic message on the palace wall, striking terror into everyone present. The king, desperate for an explanation, calls for his wise men, but none can decipher the strange inscription. Daniel is eventually brought in, tasked with not only reading the words but also revealing their ominous meaning.
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The final word, 'Parsin,' carried a dual meaning that sealed Babylon's fate and heralded a new world order. What does this division signify for us?
The third word, 'Parsin' (or 'Peres' in its singular form), holds a profound and foreboding significance for Belshazzar and his empire.
sĕlam · Aramaic Verb
The state of human history or existence reaching its divinely appointed conclusion or cessation. It signifies the point where divine patience or predetermined temporal limits are exhausted, leading to judgment or transition.
tĕqil · Aramaic Verb/Noun
A divine judicial process where human character, deeds, or morality are measured against God’s standard of holiness and justice. It signifies accountability before the Creator, where human pretensions are revealed as insufficient.
ḥasîr · Aramaic Adjective/Participle
Describes a person or thing that fails to meet the required standard or value when measured against divine righteousness. It denotes a deficiency, moral bankruptcy, or the state of being spiritually insufficient to pass God's test.
pĕras · Aramaic Verb/Noun
Refers to the act of partitioning or breaking apart, frequently used in Scripture for the judgment of nations or kingdoms. It symbolizes the removal of divine favor and the subsequent dissolution of authority or unity.
c. 539 BC
Medo-Persian Conquest of Babylon
Following the writing on the wall, the Medo-Persian forces entered Babylon, and the city fell. Belshazzar was slain, and the Babylonian kingdom ended.
"And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and…" — The inscription uses words that are actually names for ancient weights, like "mina" and "shekel." This brilliant wordplay allows Daniel to connect the literal idea of weighing and measuring with God'…
