Daniel 5 · Verse 5

Daniel 5:5

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Daniel 5:5, King James Version

Daniel 5:5 in other translations

BSBAt that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
WEBIn the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
ASVIn the same hour came forth the fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
YLTIn that hour come forth have fingers of a man's hand, and they are writing over-against the candlestick, on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king is seeing the extremity of the hand that is writing;
DARBYIn the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
BBEIn that very hour the fingers of a man's hand were seen, writing opposite the support for the light on the white wall of the king's house, and the king saw the part of the hand which was writing.
WebsterIn the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

What does Daniel 5:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. In the same hour--that the cause of God's visitation might be palpable, namely, the profanation of His vessels and His holy name. fingers of ... hand--God admonishes him, not by a dream (as Nebuchadnezzar had been warned), or by a voice, but by "fingers coming forth," the invisibility of Him who moved them heightening the awful impressiveness of the scene, the hand of the Unseen One attesting his doom before the eyes of himself and his guilty fellow revellers. against the candlestick--the candelabra; where the mystic characters would be best seen. Barnes makes it the candlestick taken from the temple of Jerusalem, the nearness of the writing to it intimating that the rebuke was directed against the sacrilege. upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace--Written in cuneiform letters on slabs on the walls, and on the very bricks, are found the perpetually recurring recital of titles, victories, and exploits, to remind the spectator at every point of the regal greatness. It is significant, that on the same wall on which the king was accustomed to read the flattering legends of his own magnificence, he beholds the mysterious inscription which foretells his fall (compare Pr 16:18; Ac 12:21-23). part of the hand--the anterior part, namely, the fingers.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 Fingers of a man's hand - The fingers were collected about the style or pen as in the act of writing.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 5:1-9

Belshazzar's impious feast; the hand-writing on the wall. (Dn 5:1-9) Daniel is sent for to interpret it. (Dn 5:10-17) Daniel warns the king of his destruction. (Dn 5:18-31) Verses 1-9 Belshazzar bade defiance to the judgments of God. Most historians consider that Cyrus then besieged Babylon. Security and sensuality are sad proofs of approaching ruin. That mirth is sinful indeed, which profanes sacred things; and…

Read the full comment on Daniel 5:1-9 →

Daniel 5:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בַּהּ\־bah-at it
שַׁעֲתָ֗הsha.'a.Tah'moment theH8160
נְפַ֙קָה֙ne.fa.kuthey went forthH5312
אֶצְבְּעָן֙'etz.be.'AnfingersH677
דִּ֣יdiofH1768
יַד\־yad-a hand ofH3028
אֱנָ֔שׁ'e.Nasha humanH606
וְכָֽתְבָן֙ve.kha.te.Vanand [they were] writingH3790
לָקֳבֵ֣לlo.ko.Vel<to> beforeH6903
נֶבְרַשְׁתָּ֔אnev.rash.Ta'candlestick theH5043
עַל\־'al-onH5922
גִּירָ֕אgi.Ra'plaster theH1528
דִּֽי\־di-ofH1768
כְתַ֥לkhe.Tal[the] wall ofH3797
הֵיכְלָ֖אheikh.La'palace theH1965
דִּ֣יdiofH1768
מַלְכָּ֑אmal.Ka'king theH4430
וּמַלְכָּ֣אu.mal.Ka'and king theH4430
חָזֵ֔הcha.Zeh[was] seeingH2370
פַּ֥סpas[the] palm ofH6447
יְדָ֖הye.Dah'hand theH3028
דִּ֥יdiwhichH1768
כָתְבָֽה\׃kha.te.Vah[was] writingH3790

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Daniel 5:5

  • Daniel 4:31

    While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

  • Daniel 5:24-28

    Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. …

  • Job 20:5

    That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

  • Colossians 2:14

    Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

    For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

  • Daniel 5:15

    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:

  • Luke 12:19-20

    And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

  • Psalms 78:30-31

    They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

  • Proverbs 29:1

    He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

  • Daniel 4:33

    The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.

  • Daniel 5:8

    Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

  • Revelation 20:12-15

    And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the same.
4:31,33; Job 20:5; Ps 78:30,31; Pr 29:1; Lu 12:19,20; 1Th 5:2,3
wrote.
8,15,24-28; Col 2:14; Re 20:12-15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Daniel 5:4

    They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

  • Daniel 5:5

    In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

  • Daniel 5:6

    Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

Read all of Daniel 5

Daniel 5:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
En aquella misma hora salieron unos dedos de mano de hombre, y escribían delante del candelero sobre lo encalado de la pared del palacio real, y el rey veía la palma de la mano que escribía.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
En ce même moment, les doigts d’une main d’homme sortirent, et écrivirent, vis-à-vis du chandelier, sur le plâtre de la muraille du palais du roi; et le roi vit l’extrémité de la main qui écrivait.
German
Elberfelder 1871
In demselben Augenblick kamen Finger einer Menschenhand hervor und schrieben, dem Leuchter gegenüber, auf den Kalk der Wand des königlichen Palastes; und der König sah die Hand welche schrieb.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
In eadem hora apparuerunt digiti, quasi manus hominis scribentis contra candelabrum in superficie parietis aulæ regiæ: et rex aspiciebat articulos manus scribentis.