Daniel 5:14
in Daniel 5I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee.
KJV
I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
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This verse in Daniel 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd lest any one should perhaps think that, as the Scripture says, "God raised up the Holy Spirit of a young youth," the spirit in him was that of a person, not the Holy Spirit, let him read farther on, and he will find that Daniel received the Holy Spirit and therefore prophesied. Lastly, too, the king advanced him because he had the grace of the Spirit. For he speaks thus: "Daniel, you are able, forasmuch as the Holy Spirit of God is in you." And farther on it is written: "And Daniel was set over them, because an excellent Spirit was in him."
This site's exposition
one of the exiles
on Daniel 5:13-16
Belshazzar names Daniel by his exile, and knows him by report: “I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you”. His offer repeats verse 7 word for word, purple, “a gold chain,” and “the third highest ruler in the kingdom”.
This site's exposition
the spirit of the gods
Belshazzar repeats the queen's praise almost word for word. John Gill thought he had often heard of Daniel but had chosen not to honour him as his grandfather had. Ambrose of Milan read the phrase as testimony that Daniel prophesied by the Holy Spirit.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then accordingly after the king heard the things concerning him he commanded Daniel to be brought and he said to him, "Are you Daniel who is from the sons of the captivity of Judea, whom my father Nebuchadnezzar brought? I have heard concerning you that you are able to interpret questions. And so now if you are able to read this writing and to make known its interpretation to me you shall be clothed in purple and a golden necklace shall be upon your neck and you shall be the third position in my kingdom." [Daniel 5:13-16]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), that the spirit of the gods was in him; and he had sent for him to try whether he deserved so high a character or no. He acknowledges that all the wise men of Babylon were baffled; they could not read this writing, nor show the interpretation,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
I have even heard of thee,.... Very probably he had heard often of him, though he did not think fit to honour him, and use him with that familiarity his grandfather had; or however he had now just heard of him by the queen, whose encomiums of him he recites in her own words: that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee; which are the express words of his mother, Dan 5:11.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I have even heard of thee ... - Dan 5:11.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשִׁמְעֵ֣ת | veshimet | and I have heard | H8086 → | 9 times |
| עֲלָ֔ךְ | alayikh | concerning you | H5922 → | 104 times |
| דִּ֛י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| ר֥וּחַ | ruach | a spirit of | H7308 → | 11 times |
| אֱלָהִ֖ין | ʾelahin | gods | H426 → | 95 times |
| בָּ֑ךְ | bakh | [is] in you | ||
| וְנַהִיר֧וּ | venahiru | and illumination | H5094 → | 3 times |
| וְשָׂכְלְתָנ֛וּ | vesakheletanu | and insight | H7924 → | 3 times |
| וְחָכְמָ֥ה | vechakhemah | and wisdom | H2452 → | 8 times |
| יַתִּירָ֖ה | yatirah | extraordinary | H3493 → | 8 times |
| הִשְׁתְּכַ֥חַת | hishtekhachat | it was found | H7912 → | 18 times |
| בָּֽךְ׃ | bakh | in you |
וְשִׁמְעֵ֣תand I have heard
veshimetH8086 →9 times
עֲלָ֔ךְconcerning you
alayikhH5922 →104 times
דִּ֛יthat
diH1768 →345 times
ר֥וּחַa spirit of
ruachH7308 →11 times
אֱלָהִ֖יןgods
ʾelahinH426 →95 times
בָּ֑ךְ[is] in you
bakh
וְנַהִיר֧וּand illumination
venahiruH5094 →3 times
וְשָׂכְלְתָנ֛וּand insight
vesakheletanuH7924 →3 times
וְחָכְמָ֥הand wisdom
vechakhemahH2452 →8 times
יַתִּירָ֖הextraordinary
yatirahH3493 →8 times
הִשְׁתְּכַ֥חַתit was found
hishtekhachatH7912 →18 times
בָּֽךְ׃in you
bakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit 3.6.43; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.17.1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.