Daniel 5 – The Writing on the Wall
Daniel 5 tells the story of Belshazzar’s prideful feast and the mysterious hand that writes his judgment on the wall. With powerful symbolism and prophetic clarity, God declares the fall of Babylon and confirms His control over kings and empires.
When Judgment Breaks In Without Warning
In a moment of pride and drunken revelry, King Belshazzar defiles God’s sacred vessels and exalts his gods of gold and silver. But in that very hour, a hand appears and writes a message of doom on the wall. This chapter reveals how kingdoms fall—not just by armies, but by arrogance. God weighs every king, and His justice never sleeps.
✔ Belshazzar hosts a blasphemous feast.
✔ A mysterious hand writes a message on the wall.
✔ Daniel interprets the message of doom.
✔ That night, Babylon falls to Persia.
📖 Key Verse: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” – Daniel 5:27
🔎 God is patient—but when His justice comes, it comes with finality. The writing is on the wall.
Daniel Chapter 5 Overview
Daniel 5:1–9 – A Feast of Pride and a Divine Interruption
📖 Daniel 5:1 – “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.”
🔎 Babylon’s final night begins in prideful luxury:
🔹 Belshazzar throws a massive feast while the Medo-Persian army surrounds the city—a dangerous display of arrogance and false security.
🔹 He drinks “before the thousand,” signaling his desire to boast in front of others, much like Lucifer’s desire for glory (Isaiah 14:13–14).
🔹 This feast symbolizes the spirit of Babylon at its peak—drunk with power, blind to danger.
➡️ Prophetic Parallel: Revelation 17–18 describes end-time Babylon similarly—feasting and glorifying itself while judgment approaches.
📖 Daniel 5:2–4 – “He commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels… which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple…”
🔎 The line between sin and judgment is crossed:
🔹 Belshazzar desecrates the holy things of God, using temple vessels from Jerusalem for drunken idol worship.
🔹 This is more than disrespect—it is direct defiance, treating the sacred as common.
🔹 The gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone are praised—a reflection of Daniel 2’s statue, but now fully corrupted by idolatry.
➡️ Spiritual Warning: When what is holy is treated as entertainment, judgment is near. God does not tolerate blasphemy indefinitely.
📖 Daniel 5:5 – “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick…”
🔎 Divine interruption pierces the revelry:
🔹 A bodiless hand writes on the wall—terrifying and unmistakably supernatural.
🔹 It appears “opposite the candlestick”—a deliberate placement of light against darkness, clarity against confusion.
🔹 This is a public act of judgment, not a private whisper.
➡️ Prophetic Echo: In the last days, God will again write with His own hand—not just on walls, but in hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).
📖 Daniel 5:6–9 – “Then the king’s countenance was changed… and his thoughts troubled him…”
🔎 Pride collapses in an instant:
🔹 His bravado turns to fear—knees knocking, face pale, strength gone.
🔹 Babylon’s wisest men cannot interpret the writing—the wisdom of the world fails again.
🔹 The laughter of the feast turns to panic. When God speaks, no man-made knowledge can decipher it without His Spirit.
➡️ End-Time Reminder: When divine judgment appears, the boldest kings become trembling men—and the only voices that matter are those who know God.
Daniel 5:10–16 – A Forgotten Prophet is Remembered
📖 Daniel 5:10 – “Now the queen… came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever…”
🔎 A royal voice of wisdom interrupts the chaos:
🔹 This “queen” is likely the queen mother, possibly Nebuchadnezzar’s widow—someone with memory and respect for Daniel.
🔹 She wasn’t at the drunken feast—she represents a sobering voice of reason and memory.
🔹 Her entrance signals that God still has a messenger, even when the current generation has forgotten him.
➡️ Spiritual Parallel: In times of crisis, the world will turn to those who carry heavenly insight—even if they’ve been overlooked.
📖 Daniel 5:11 – “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods…”
🔎 Daniel’s reputation shines through the darkness:
🔹 She speaks of Daniel with honor: a man of “light, understanding, and wisdom.”
🔹 The phrase “spirit of the holy gods” reflects her pagan background—but her reverence is genuine.
🔹 Daniel’s earlier work in interpreting dreams and showing divine wisdom has left a legacy—even if the king ignored it.
➡️ Devotional Insight: Your consistency in truth may be forgotten for a time—but when the world runs out of answers, they will remember where light once shined.
📖 Daniel 5:12 – “Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding… were found in the same Daniel…”
🔎 Heaven’s gift stands out from Babylon’s noise:
🔹 Daniel is known not just for intelligence, but for having an excellent spirit—a heart of truth, humility, and divine connection.
🔹 He is distinguished from the astrologers and magicians—he walks with God, not in sorcery.
🔹 The world may confuse them in peaceful times, but in crisis, the difference is unmistakable.
➡️ End-Time Echo: The wise shall shine (Daniel 12:3)—not because they’re loud, but because they’re clear, Spirit-led, and faithful.
📖 Daniel 5:13–16 – “Art thou that Daniel… I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations…”
🔎 Belshazzar finally acknowledges Daniel—but without honor:
🔹 He refers to Daniel as “of the captivity of Judah”—a subtle insult, reminding him of his conquered past.
🔹 Though he calls for Daniel’s help, there is no humility—just desperation.
🔹 He promises rewards and honor—earthly bribes for heavenly truth.
➡️ Spiritual Contrast: Unlike Nebuchadnezzar who eventually honored Daniel’s God, Belshazzar treats the prophet as a tool, not a voice from heaven. But Daniel will answer not for reward—but for truth’s sake.
Daniel 5:17–29 – The Message Decoded: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin
📖 Daniel 5:17 – “Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another…”
🔎 Daniel refuses to be bought:
🔹 He rejects the king’s offer of power or riches—he will speak freely and faithfully, not for reward.
🔹 This is the mark of a true prophet: uncompromised, unbought, and unmoved by kings.
🔹 He positions himself to speak as heaven’s representative, not a court adviser.
➡️ Spiritual Parallel: God’s messengers speak truth—not for promotion, but for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
📖 Daniel 5:18–21 – “The most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom… but when his heart was lifted up…”
🔎 Before interpreting the writing, Daniel rebukes Belshazzar with history:
🔹 He reminds the king how God humbled Nebuchadnezzar, who learned to honor the Most High.
🔹 Daniel emphasizes that all power is given by God, and pride leads to downfall.
🔹 This prelude is not filler—it’s a final appeal to Belshazzar’s conscience.
➡️ Prophetic Pattern: God always reminds His people of past warnings before present judgment falls (see Revelation 2–3).
📖 Daniel 5:22–23 – “And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this…”
🔎 The verdict begins with moral indictment:
🔹 “Though thou knewest” – Ignorance is not his excuse. He knew what happened to Nebuchadnezzar but chose pride anyway.
🔹 He lifted himself against the “Lord of heaven” and profaned the temple vessels—crossing the line from pride into blasphemy.
🔹 He praised idols that see not, hear not, nor know—while ignoring the God who gives breath.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: The greater the light rejected, the swifter the judgment. Belshazzar’s sin is not ignorance—it’s rebellion.
📖 Daniel 5:24–25 – “Then was the part of the hand sent… MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
🔎 The message is short—but eternal:
🔹 Written in Aramaic, these words are weights and measures used in trade and currency—heaven’s spiritual scale.
🔹 The repetition of “MENE” emphasizes certainty—God’s judgment is settled.
🔹 No one in Babylon could interpret these simple words—because only the Spirit reveals spiritual truth.
➡️ End-Time Echo: As in the last days, when Babylon falls (Revelation 18), the true meaning will only be understood by those filled with divine wisdom.
📖 Daniel 5:26–28 – “MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it…”
🔎 The interpretation is direct and irreversible:
🔹 MENE – God has numbered your reign, and your time is up.
🔹 TEKEL – You have been weighed in God’s balances, and found lacking.
🔹 PERES – Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
🔹 “Upharsin” is the plural of “Peres,” reflecting division and conquest already underway.
➡️ Devotional Warning: Every life is measured. Every heart is weighed. Every kingdom has an end.
📖 Daniel 5:29 – “Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet…”
🔎 The king rewards Daniel—but it’s too late:
🔹 Daniel accepts the robe and chain—but only after declaring judgment.
🔹 This moment is ironic: Daniel is exalted by a man whose kingdom is collapsing.
🔹 The stage is now set for God’s will to be fulfilled that very night.
➡️ Prophetic Symbolism: The world may offer reward in its final moments—but the remnant’s reward comes from heaven, not Babylon.
Daniel 5:30–31 – The Fall of Babylon
📖 Daniel 5:30 – “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.”
🔎 Swift. Silent. Sudden.
🔹 The fall happens in the same night that Daniel speaks the judgment. There is no delay, no second chance.
🔹 History confirms this: Cyrus’s general, Gobryas, entered Babylon without a fight by diverting the Euphrates River—fulfilling prophecy (Isaiah 45:1–2).
🔹 The city thought itself invincible behind walls and water. But God had weighed it—and it was over.
➡️ Prophetic Echo: Revelation 18:10 – “In one hour is thy judgment come.” The fall of end-time Babylon will also be sudden and irreversible.
📖 Daniel 5:31 – “And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.”
🔎 A new kingdom rises—but God’s kingdom still rules above them all:
🔹 Darius (possibly a title or co-ruler under Cyrus) takes Babylon without resistance—a bloodless conquest ordained by prophecy.
🔹 The transition of power is smooth historically, but it marks a shift in prophetic eras—from Babylon (gold) to Medo-Persia (silver) as seen in Daniel 2.
🔹 While men see empires rise and fall, Daniel sees the unfolding hand of God’s timeline.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: God doesn’t just judge the proud—He installs the humble, all according to His eternal plan.
Daniel Chapter 5 - Deeper Study
Overview: A Kingdom in Crisis
🔹 Timeframe: The final night of Babylon, October 539 BC.
🔹 Setting: Belshazzar’s palace in Babylon.
🔹 Theme: Pride, blasphemy, and judgment mark Babylon’s last breath.
Key Takeaways
🔑 What is sacred must never be treated as common.
🔑 God sees every act of pride, even in private.
🔑 Divine warnings often come at midnight.
🔑 Prophecy always unfolds in God’s perfect timing.
🔑 No kingdom stands once it is weighed and found wanting.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Babylon’s fall in a single night – Foreshadows the sudden fall of spiritual Babylon (Revelation 18:10).
🔮 Desecrating holy things – Echoes end-time rebellion against God’s law and sanctuary (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
🔮 A remnant who understands – Daniel remains faithful and clear-headed, like the wise in the last days (Daniel 12:10).
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Belshazzar’s reign – He was co-regent with his father Nabonidus, ruling Babylon during its decline.
📜 Use of temple vessels – A direct act of defiance against the God of Israel, considered sacrilege of the highest order.
📜 The Medo-Persian invasion – Led by Cyrus the Great, Babylon was taken without a major battle—just as prophesied in Isaiah 45.
💡 Final Reflection: Are You Ignoring the Writing on the Wall?
Belshazzar knew of Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling—but still hardened his heart. His judgment came swiftly.
📌 Have you forgotten the lessons of those before you?
📌 Are you mocking what is holy with careless living?
📌 Is God trying to get your attention before it’s too late?
🚀 God still writes on walls. The question is—will you read it before the judgment falls?
The Handwriting on the Wall
Dan 5:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Dan 5:2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
Dan 5:3 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.
Dan 5:4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Dan 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.
Dan 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.
Dan 5:7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 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.
Dan 5:9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
Dan 5:10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
Dan 5:11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
Dan 5:12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting
Dan 5:13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
Dan 5:14 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.
Dan 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:
Dan 5:16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 5:17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Dan 5:18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
Dan 5:19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
Dan 5:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
Dan 5:21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
Dan 5:22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
Dan 5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Dan 5:24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
Dan 5:25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Dan 5:26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Dan 5:27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Dan 5:28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Dan 5:29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 5:30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
Dan 5:31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
Date Written
605–536 BC
Written By
Daniel – a Hebrew prophet during the Babylonian exile
Language
Hebrew (Chapters 1-2:4a, 8-12)
Aramaic (Chapters 2:4b-7)
Verses
31