Dan 5:28-30 | KingComments | STEP | Daniel is ready to tell what is written on the wall. There are four words that the sages could not read, which he pronounces in front of the king. The translation of the words is: ‘numbered’, ‘numbered, ‘weighed’, ‘and broken’ (or: ‘and divided’). The last word is ‘pharsin’. The initial ‘u’ means ‘and’. Even if the sages had been able to pronounce the words and knew their translation, they would not have known their meaning. These words have a meaning, not in the sense of a translation, but in the sense of a message. Daniel will interpret what that meaning is. “Mene” contains the message that God numbered the days of the kingship of Belshazzar, i.e. determined the amount of them. The days of Belshazzar are over. His days are finished. Repeating the word “mene” underlines the importance and seriousness of this fact. Thus the days of the life of every human being are numbered by God, both of unbelievers and believers. For every human being the last day inevitably comes, during which the believer may look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus which can take place at any time and he is taken up by Him to be with Him. God knows as the All-knowing God of every man the day and the hour of his death. There is another side, however, and that is the side of human responsibility. Man can speed up the day of his death, for example by living unhealthy or by mocking his life by doing dangerous things. Also defying God, as Belshazzar did, can give him premature and also pre-timely death. The explanation of “tekel”, ‘weighed’, is that God weighed the life of Belshazzar, in the sense of judging it, and that He found it too light, that is, that Belshazzar failed. It is not about weighing up good deeds on the one hand against evil deeds on the other hand, but about the person. Daniel talks about the person, he talks about “you”. It is about the person and how the heart is towards God. Not only the fruits are assessed, but also the tree is assessed. Being found too light means that his life was vain, empty, without weight, there was nothing in it for God. In the interpretation Daniel changes the last word ‘pharsin’ into ‘peres’. According to experts, this is not a change in the meaning of the word, but a change from plural (‘pharsin’) to singular (‘peres’). “Peres” means ‘broken’. Daniel seems to make this change because of a play on words. The word ‘peres’ is reminiscent of Persia. In his interpretation Daniel says that the kingdom of Belshazzar is divided or broken and that it is given to the Medes and Persians. This must have sound in Belshazzar’s ears as the last judgment. He is immediately and completely back in reality. If he had any thought of escaping this judgment or simply wanting to deny it, then he hears it pronounced clearly now. The Medes and Persians lie before the city to put an end to his kingdom.

‏ Daniel 5:28-30

The Inscription and Its Meaning

Daniel is ready to tell what is written on the wall. There are four words that the sages could not read, which he pronounces in front of the king. The translation of the words is: ‘numbered’, ‘numbered, ‘weighed’, ‘and broken’ (or: ‘and divided’). The last word is ‘pharsin’. The initial ‘u’ means ‘and’. Even if the sages had been able to pronounce the words and knew their translation, they would not have known their meaning. These words have a meaning, not in the sense of a translation, but in the sense of a message. Daniel will interpret what that meaning is.

“Mene” contains the message that God numbered the days of the kingship of Belshazzar, i.e. determined the amount of them. The days of Belshazzar are over. His days are finished. Repeating the word “mene” underlines the importance and seriousness of this fact. Thus the days of the life of every human being are numbered by God, both of unbelievers and believers. For every human being the last day inevitably comes, during which the believer may look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus which can take place at any time and he is taken up by Him to be with Him. God knows as the All-knowing God of every man the day and the hour of his death.

There is another side, however, and that is the side of human responsibility. Man can speed up the day of his death, for example by living unhealthy or by mocking his life by doing dangerous things. Also defying God, as Belshazzar did, can give him premature and also pre-timely death.

The explanation of “tekel”, ‘weighed’, is that God weighed the life of Belshazzar, in the sense of judging it, and that He found it too light, that is, that Belshazzar failed. It is not about weighing up good deeds on the one hand against evil deeds on the other hand, but about the person. Daniel talks about the person, he talks about “you”. It is about the person and how the heart is towards God. Not only the fruits are assessed, but also the tree is assessed. Being found too light means that his life was vain, empty, without weight, there was nothing in it for God.

In the interpretation Daniel changes the last word ‘pharsin’ into ‘peres’. According to experts, this is not a change in the meaning of the word, but a change from plural (‘pharsin’) to singular (‘peres’). “Peres” means ‘broken’. Daniel seems to make this change because of a play on words. The word ‘peres’ is reminiscent of Persia. In his interpretation Daniel says that the kingdom of Belshazzar is divided or broken and that it is given to the Medes and Persians.

This must have sound in Belshazzar’s ears as the last judgment. He is immediately and completely back in reality. If he had any thought of escaping this judgment or simply wanting to deny it, then he hears it pronounced clearly now. The Medes and Persians lie before the city to put an end to his kingdom.

Belshazzar Slain

When Daniel is ready, Belshazzar does what he promised, but it is in pride. He seems not to have been impressed by what he has heard and does not humiliate himself. He keeps the honor to himself. The reward is only for a few hours and concerns only the decorations.

In few words and powerfully it says that Belshazzar is slain that same night. In this message of his death, we don’t hear anything about the way it happens. It is simply given as a communication. He who kills him is irrelevant. It is an instrument in God’s hand that performs His judgment (cf. Dan 8:25). He, the king of the Chaldeans, however great and high, is slain. This is also how the last world rulers come to their end. Without any battle being described, without trial, they are thrown into the pool of fire by the Lord Jesus (Rev 19:19-20).

Non-biblical history tells us that in the night that Belshazzar is killed, Babylon is conquered by Cyrus. To gain access to the city, the Medes and Persians diverted the river that runs around the city and serves as a natural protection. As a result, part of the river has become dry. The dry riverbed has allowed the armies to enter into the city, which they have taken without fighting.