Daniel 5:15
in Daniel 5Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing.
KJV
And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:
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This verse in Daniel 5
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis 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 wise men and enchanters
The king admits to Daniel what his court has shown. Matthew Henry saw God's hand in the silence of Babylon's experts and compared it to the pagan oracles falling dumb at Christ's birth. Hippolytus of Rome held that only those trained from childhood in God's law could read God's writing.
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 Awakening1 voice
And now the wise men; the astrologers, have been brought in before me,....
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּכְעַ֞ן | ukhean | and now | H3705 → | 13 times |
| הֻעַ֣לּוּ | hualu | they have been brought | H5954 → | 14 times |
| קָֽדָמַ֗י | kadamai | before me | H6925 → | 42 times |
| חַכִּֽימַיָּא֙ | chakimaiya' | wise men the | H2445 → | 14 times |
| אָֽשְׁפַיָּ֔א | ʾashefaiya' | conjurers the | H826 → | 6 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| כְתָבָ֤ה | khetavah' | writing the | H3792 → | 12 times |
| דְנָה֙ | denah | this | H1836 → | 58 times |
| יִקְר֔וֹן | yikron | they will read aloud | H7123 → | 11 times |
| וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ | ufishreh | and interpretation its | H6591 → | 31 times |
| לְהוֹדָעֻתַ֑נִי | lehodautani | to make known to me | H3046 → | 47 times |
| וְלָֽא־ | vela'- | and not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| כָהֲלִ֥ין | khahalin | [they were] able | H3546 → | 4 times |
| פְּשַֽׁר־ | peshar- | [the] interpretation of | H6591 → | 31 times |
| מִלְּתָ֖א | mileta' | matter the | H4406 → | 24 times |
| לְהַחֲוָיָֽה׃ | lehachavayah | to declare | H2324 → | 14 times |
וּכְעַ֞ןand now
ukheanH3705 →13 times
הֻעַ֣לּוּthey have been brought
hualuH5954 →14 times
קָֽדָמַ֗יbefore me
kadamaiH6925 →42 times
חַכִּֽימַיָּא֙wise men the
chakimaiya'H2445 →14 times
אָֽשְׁפַיָּ֔אconjurers the
ʾashefaiya'H826 →6 times
דִּֽי־that
di-H1768 →345 times
כְתָבָ֤הwriting the
khetavah'H3792 →12 times
דְנָה֙this
denahH1836 →58 times
יִקְר֔וֹןthey will read aloud
yikronH7123 →11 times
וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּand interpretation its
ufishrehH6591 →31 times
לְהוֹדָעֻתַ֑נִיto make known to me
lehodautaniH3046 →47 times
וְלָֽא־and not
vela'-H3809 →82 times
כָהֲלִ֥ין[they were] able
khahalinH3546 →4 times
פְּשַֽׁר־[the] interpretation of
peshar-H6591 →31 times
מִלְּתָ֖אmatter the
mileta'H4406 →24 times
לְהַחֲוָיָֽה׃to declare
lehachavayahH2324 →14 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 47:12So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
it leads to
- Acts 13:8–12
But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
- Nahum 3:4
because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.
- Isaiah 47:9–10
These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the…
- Jeremiah 2:28
But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O…
- Isaiah 19:3
Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and…
- Acts 13:8–12
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel

This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.15.1; 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.
