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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Then	אֱדַ֤יִן 'e.Da.yin	H116	then (of time) · adverb
king’s	מַלְכָּא֙ mal.Ka'	H4430	a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
countenance	זִיוֹ֣הִי zi.Yo.hi	H2122	(figuratively) cheerfulness · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
changed	שְׁנ֔וֹהִי she.No.hi	H8133	to alter · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
thoughts	וְרַעיֹנֹ֖הִי ve.ra.'.yo.No.hi	H7476	a grasp. i.e. (figuratively) mental conception · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
troubled	יְבַהֲלוּנֵּ֑הּ ye.va.ha.lu.Neh	H927	to terrify · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
joints	וְקִטְרֵ֤י ve.kit.Rei	H7001	a knot (as tied up) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct
loins	חַרְצֵהּ֙ char.Tzeh	H2783	the loin (as the seat of strength) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
loosed	מִשְׁתָּרַ֔יִן mish.ta.Ra.yin	H8271	to free · verb, active participle, masculine plural absolute
knees	וְאַ֨רְכֻבָּתֵ֔הּ ve.'Ar.khu.ba.Teh	H755	the knee · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
smote	נָֽקְשָֽׁן Na.ke.Shan	H5368	to knock · verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
one	דָּ֥א da'	H1668	this · demonstrative particle
another	לְדָ֖א le.Da'	H1668	this · preposition + demonstrative particle

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

Ezekiel 7:17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
Daniel 7:28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matte…
Nahum 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them…
Psalms 69:23 Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
Ezekiel 21:7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every hear…
Daniel 4:5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Isaiah 13:7-8 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
Daniel 4:19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 5:1-9

We have here Belshazzar the king very gay, but all of a sudden very gloomy, and in straits in the fulness of his sufficiency. See how he affronts God, and God affrights him; and wait what will be the issue of this contest; and whether he that hardened his heart against God prospered. I. See how the king affronted God, and put contempt upon him. He made a great feast, or banquet of wine; probably it was some anniversary solemnity, in honour off his birthday or coronation-day, or in honour of some of their idols. Historians say that Cyrus, who was now with his army besieging Babylon, knew of this feast, and presuming that they then would be off their guard, somno vinoque sepulti - buried in sl…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 5:6

countenance--literally, "brightness," that is, his bright look. joints of his loins--"the vertebrÃ&brvbr of his back" [GESENIUS].

Adam Clarke on Daniel 5:6

The king's countenance was changed - Here is a very natural description of fear and terror. 1. The face grows pale; 2. The mind becomes greatly agitated; 3. Pains seize on the lower part of the back and kidneys; 4. A universal tremor takes place, so that the knees smite against each other; 5. And lastly, either a syncope takes place, or the cry of distress is uttered, Dan 5:7 : "The king cried."

John Gill on Daniel 5:6

Then the kings countenance changed,.... Or, "his brightness" (l); his ruddy countenance, his florid looks, his gay airs; all his jollity and mirth, that appeared in his face, were changed into paleness, sadness, and confusion: and his thoughts troubled him; what should be the meaning of this; perhaps he might immediately fear it presaged ruin and destruction to him; the sins of his former life might at once come into his thoughts, and those particularly he had now been guilty of; his luxury and intemperance, his idolatry and profanation of the vessels of the sanctuary, which his conscience might accuse him of, and give him great distress and trouble: so that the joints of his loins were lo…

The Church Fathers

Verse 6. "Then the king's expression was altered..." Here too it is to be observed concerning those Psalms entitled: "For those who will suffer alterations (or vicissitudes)," that the alteration of fortune is not only the lot of the saint but also of the sinner. For we read in this connection: "King Belshazzar was considerably disturbed and his countenance was altered."
— Jerome, Commentary on Daniel

When the king saw this he quaked in fear and was in much distress, and he shouted in strength to bring in magicians, Chaldeans and soothsayers, not knowing that it is not possible for these to read the letters of God, but it is possible for those who from childhood practiced the law of God who also recognize the divine letters from their fathers.
— Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.15.1

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…
Belshazzar · King of Babylon — King of Babylon
Countenance · Sad — Sad
Drunkenness · .Belshazzar — .Belshazzar
Fear, Unholy · Exemplified: Belshazzar — Exemplified: Belshazzar

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).

Daniel 5:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 5:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 5:6

Adam Clarke on Daniel 5:6

John Gill on Daniel 5:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Daniel 5:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 5:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 5:6

Adam Clarke on Daniel 5:6

John Gill on Daniel 5:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Daniel 5:6

Keil & Delitzsch on Daniel 5:6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Daniel 5:5-6

Rashi on Daniel 5:6