Daniel 5:3
in Daniel 5Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
KJV
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
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This verse in Daniel 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
held a great feast
on Daniel 5:1-4
Belshazzar's feast follows Nebuchadnezzar's humbling, and the king sends for the vessels “that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem”. The feast “for a thousand of his nobles” drinks from vessels, which verse 23 counts as exalting himself against the Lord of heaven.
This site's exposition
the house of God in Jerusalem
Jerome observed that while these vessels sat in a temple in Babylon, God did not act, for they were still kept for worship there. Albert Barnes added that they had likely never been brought to a feast before. The king drank wine from holy vessels.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
"Under the influence of wine, he commanded that they bring the vessels" from the sanctuary and did not hesitate in showing them to his lords and concubines and other guests, as he intended to use them for a profane symposium. His father had taken those …
In other words, intoxication confused his thinking, and intemperance gave rise to this insane action against God: the vessels consecrated to the worship of God, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had seized when God surrendered them but had honored in the way he thought fit and …
Therefore I summon you before God and Jesus Christ and his elect angels to guard that which you have received, not readily exposing to the public gaze the vessels of the Lord's temple.… Unchaste eyes see nothing correctly. They fail to appreciate the beauty of the soul and only value that of the body. Hezekiah showed God's treasure to the Assyrians, who ought never to have seen what they were sure to covet. The consequence was that Judea was torn by continual wars and that the very first things carried away to Babylon were these vessels of the Lord. We find Belshazzar at his feast and among his concubines (vice always glories in defiling what is noble) drinking out of these sacred cups.
While they were drunk, the king, being puffed up, commanded that the golden and silver vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar his father had brought out from the Temple which was in Jerusalem, to be brought forth, that the magistrate and his mistresses may drink from them. Those vessels, which were dedicated to God for his glory and honor by other kings, they took with defiled hands, and made a drink offering in them and praised the lifeless and motionless idols.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The words "at the taste of the wine, [Belshazzar] said," that is, after he became drunk and unreasonable as a consequence of tasting wine.
3 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
The third kind of relative worship we give to objects dedicated to God, such as the holy Gospel and other books, for they have been written for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Obviously, patens, chalices, censers, candlesticks and altars should all receive respect. Remember how Belshazzar made his people serve wine in sacred vessels and how God brought his kingdom to an end.
[God] showed that His true servants and friends are those who walk before Him in fear and reverence and do His will, since virtuous deeds and purity of conscience are things holy [and beloved] of God. But when people repudiate His paths, the Lord repudiates …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem,....
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֵּאדַ֗יִן | bedayin | <in> then | H116 → | 57 times |
| הַיְתִיו֙ | haytiv | they brought | H858 → | 16 times |
| מָאנֵ֣י | manei | [the] vessels of | H3984 → | 7 times |
| דַהֲבָ֔א | dahava' | <the> gold | H1722 → | 23 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| הַנְפִּ֗קוּ | hanpiku | they had brought out | H5312 → | 11 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4481 → | 109 times |
| הֵֽיכְלָ֛א | heikhla' | temple the | H1965 → | 13 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| בֵ֥ית | veit | [was] [the] house of | H1005 → | 44 times |
| אֱלָהָ֖א | ʾelaha' | <the> God | H426 → | 95 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| בִירֽוּשְׁלֶ֑ם | virushelem | [was] in Jerusalem | H3390 → | 26 times |
| וְאִשְׁתִּ֣יו | veishtiv | and they drank | H8355 → | 5 times |
| בְּה֗וֹן | behon | with <the> them | ||
| מַלְכָּא֙ | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| וְרַבְרְבָנ֔וֹהִי | veravrevanohi | and nobles his | H7261 → | 8 times |
| שֵׁגְלָתֵ֖הּ | shegelateh | wives his | H7695 → | 3 times |
| וּלְחֵנָתֵֽהּ׃ | ulechenateh | and concubines his | H3904 → | 3 times |
בֵּאדַ֗יִן<in> then
bedayinH116 →57 times
הַיְתִיו֙they brought
haytivH858 →16 times
מָאנֵ֣י[the] vessels of
maneiH3984 →7 times
דַהֲבָ֔א<the> gold
dahava'H1722 →23 times
דִּ֣יwhich
diH1768 →345 times
הַנְפִּ֗קוּthey had brought out
hanpikuH5312 →11 times
מִן־from
min-H4481 →109 times
הֵֽיכְלָ֛אtemple the
heikhla'H1965 →13 times
דִּֽי־which
di-H1768 →345 times
בֵ֥ית[was] [the] house of
veitH1005 →44 times
אֱלָהָ֖א<the> God
ʾelaha'H426 →95 times
דִּ֣יwhich
diH1768 →345 times
בִירֽוּשְׁלֶ֑ם[was] in Jerusalem
virushelemH3390 →26 times
וְאִשְׁתִּ֣יוand they drank
veishtivH8355 →5 times
בְּה֗וֹןwith <the> them
behon
מַלְכָּא֙king the
malka'H4430 →180 times
וְרַבְרְבָנ֔וֹהִיand nobles his
veravrevanohiH7261 →8 times
שֵׁגְלָתֵ֖הּwives his
shegelatehH7695 →3 times
וּלְחֵנָתֵֽהּ׃and concubines his
ulechenatehH3904 →3 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 5:1; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.14.4; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 10; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 5:2; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER FIVE; Jerome, LETTER 22.23; John Damascene, ON DIVINE IMAGES 3:35; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 5:2.