Daniel 5:23 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 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:
to be high actively · verb, perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
against
וְעַ֣לve.'Al
H5922
above · conjunction + preposition
Lord
מָרֵֽאma.re'-
H4756
a master · noun, common both genders singular construct
heaven
שְׁמַיָּ֣אshe.mai.Ya'
H8065
the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
brought
הַיְתִ֣יוhay.Tiv
H858
to arrive · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
vessels
וּלְמָֽאנַיָּ֨אu.le.ma.nai.Ya'
H3984
a utensil · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
house
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Daniel 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk i…
Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brou…
Isaiah 37:23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the H…
Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Job 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Psalms 115:4-8 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Proverbs 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 5:10-29
Here is, I. The information given to the king, by the queen-mother, concerning Daniel, how fit he was to be consulted in this difficult case. It is supposed that this queen was the widow of Evil-Merodach, and was that famous Nitocris whom Herodotus mentions as a woman of extraordinary prudence. She was not present at the feast, as the king's wives and concubines were (Dan 5:2); it was not agreeable to her age and gravity to keep a merry night. But, tidings of the fright which the king and his lords were put into being brought to her apartment, she came herself to the banqueting-house, to recommend to the king a physician for his melancholy. She entreated him not to be discouraged by the insu…
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord - And the highest evidence of this rebellion was, the profaning the sacred vessels of the Lord's house.
John Gill on Daniel 5:23
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven,.... Who made it, and dwells in it; from whence he beholds all the actions of the children of men, and will bring them to an account for them; and yet, though so high and great, such was the insolence of this king, that he dared to lift up himself against him, as if he was above him, and greater than he; and indeed so it may be rendered, "above the Lord of heaven" (x); which showed his great pride and vanity, his want of knowledge, both of himself, and of the true God. This name of God is the same with Beelsamen (y); by which the Phoenicians used to call him:
and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee; that is, his servan…
"You have exalted yourself against God." … Certainly, he says, you were brought to such madness that you placed yourself above God and overcame your father in arrogance and luxury. Indeed, [Nebuchadnezzar] thought that nobody among humankind was equal to him, but you believed that the Lord of heaven was inferior to you.
He did well to instruct those present to worship not visible things but their Creator and Lord. At the same time he also convicts the king of conceit and teaches him that the highest heaven has for its creator the unseen God. You, he is saying, made your heart more elevated not than heaven but than the God of heaven, the Lord of all creation; if you were not guilty of such awful conceit, you would not have ordered the vessels of his house to be brought in.
Now, [Daniel] did well and showed much wisdom in putting in parallel the idols and the God of all with a view to the benefit felt by the hearers; after emphasizing that the former neither see nor hear, instead of proceeding to say in regard to the God of all that he sees and hears and knows, he cited the more powerful fact of all, your life and your ways are in his hand, since providing life to others and in turn removing it at will is more important than having life. He brought out, then, that while the idols are deprived of life and all sensation, the Lord God of all is the source of all life and both gives it and takes it, governing as he wills. Nevertheless, [Daniel] is saying, despite his being of this stature, so great, with power of life and death, appointing kings and removing them, you not only did not sing his praises but rather even persisted in your drunken behavior, making fun of vessels dedicated to him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Babel — (confusion), Bab’ylon (Greek form of Babel), is properly the capital city of the country which is called in Genesis Shinar, and in the later books Chaldea, or the land of the Chaldeans. The first…
Belshazzar — Bel protect the king!, the last of the kings of Babylon (Dan. 5:1). He was the son of Nabonidus by Nitocris, who was the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and the widow of Nergal-sharezer. When still young…
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
Belshazzar · King of Babylon — King of Babylon
Daniel · .Courage and fi — .Courage and fi
Glorifying God · The wicked averse to — The wicked averse to
Life, Natural · Is in the hand of God — Is in the hand of God
Pride · Exemplified: Belshazzar — Exemplified: Belshazzar
Reproof · Exemplified: Daniel
בַיְתֵ֜הּvay.Teh
H1005
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
before
קָֽדָמָ֗ךְka.da.ma.yikh
H6925
before · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
thou
וְאַ֨נְתְּve.'an.tah
H607
thou · conjunction + personal pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular
lords
וְרַבְרְבָנָ֜ךְve.rav.re.va.na.yikh
H7261
a magnate · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
wives
שֵֽׁגְלָתָ֣ךְshe.ge.la.Takh
H7695
a (legitimate) queen · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
concubines
וּלְחֵנָתָךְ֮u.le.che.na.toKh
H3904
a concubine · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
drunk
שָׁתַ֣יִןsha.Ta.yin
H8355
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
wine
חַמְרָא֮cham.Ra'
H2562
wine · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
praised
שַׁבַּ֑חְתָּsha.Bach.ta
H7624
to adulate · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
gods
וְלֵֽאלָהֵ֣יve.le.la.Hei
H426
God · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
silver
כַסְפָּֽאkhas.pa-'
H3702
silver (from its pale color) · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
gold
וְ֠דַהֲבָאVe.da.ha.va'
H1722
gold · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
brass
נְחָשָׁ֨אne.cha.Sha'
H5174
copper · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
iron
פַרְזְלָ֜אfar.ze.La'
H6523
iron · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
wood
אָעָ֣א'a.'A'
H636
a tree or wood · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
stone
וְאַבְנָ֗אve.'av.Na'
H69
a stone · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
see
חָזַ֧יִןcha.Za.yin
H2370
to gaze upon · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
not
לָֽאla'-
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · negative particle
nor
וְלָאve.la'-
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · conjunction + negative particle
hear
שָׁמְעִ֛יןsha.me.'In
H8086
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
nor
וְלָ֥אve.La'
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · conjunction + negative particle
know
יָדְעִ֖יןya.de.'In
H3046
to know (properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
God
וְלֵֽאלָהָ֞אve.le.la.Ha'
H426
God · conjunction + preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
hand
בִּידֵ֛הּbi.Deh
H3028
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
breath
נִשְׁמְתָ֥ךְnish.me.Takh
H5396
vital breath · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
all
וְכָלve.khol
H3606
properly · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct
ways
אֹרְחָתָ֥ךְ'o.re.cha.Takh
H735
a road · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
not
לָ֥אla'
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · negative particle
glorified
הַדַּֽרְתָּha.Dar.ta
H1922
to magnify (figuratively) · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
Daniel 5:23
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:
23. Et contra Dominum coeli to extulisti, et vasa domus ejus, [268] protulerunt in conspectum tuum: et tu, et proceres tui, uxores tuae, [269] et concubinae tuae vinum bibistis in illis: et deos argenti, hoc est, argenteos, et aureos, aeneos, ferreos, ligneos, et la-pideo…
Daniel is summoned, reminds the king of his sin, and reads and interprets the writing.
The counsel of the queen was followed, and without delay Daniel was brought in. העל, cf. העלּוּ Dan 5:15, is Hebr. Hophal of על = עלל, to go in, as הוּסף, Dan 4:33. The question of the king: Art thou Daniel ... ? did not expect an answer, and has this meaning: Thou art indeed Daniel. The address shows that Belshazzar was acquainted with Daniel's origin, of which the queen had said nothing, but that he had had no official intercourse with him. It shows also that Daniel was no longer the president of the magicians at the king's court (Dan 2:48.).
Dan 5:14
cf. Dan 5:11. It is not to be overlooked that here Be…
the Most High God rules . . . and appoints anyone he desires: God had taught Nebuchadnezzar this lesson, and it was the heart of God’s message to Belshazzar. God would appoint a new ruler that very night (5:30-31).
Rashi on Daniel 5:22
in view of the fact that you know all this in view of the fact that you know all this that befell your father, and you should have feared the Holy One, blessed be He.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
