Daniel 5:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father — your father the king — made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,

NIV: There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners.

NASB: There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—appointed him chief of the soothsayer priests, sorcerers, Chaldeans, and diviners.

CSB: There is a man in your kingdom who has a spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. Your own predecessor, the king,

NLT: There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your predecessor, the king — your predecessor King Nebuchadnezzar — made him chief over all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers of Babylon.

KJV: 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;

NKJV: There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.

The queen—perhaps the widow of a former ruler (Daniel 5:10)—tries to comfort the panicking Belshazzar (Daniel 5:5–8) by reminding him of another resource. She is describing Daniel, using phrases like those spoken by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:8). She recalled for Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar had promoted Daniel to the position of chief of the wise men. The queen's reference to Belshazzar's father may identify Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzar's grandfather. Neither the Hebrew language nor the Chaldean language had a word for "grandfather" or "grandson." The word "father" simply means "ancestor" or "forefather."

This raises the question of why Daniel was not included with the wise men who assembled at Belshazzar's first request. Though Daniel was called "chief" that does not necessarily mean he was "supervisor." This may mean he was "best" or "greatest" of that group. In addition, it was common for a new king to dismiss wise men from a prior king. These possibilities suggest Daniel was semiretired, or not with the other advisors, when Belshazzar hosted his perverse feast (Daniel 5:1–4). It is crucial to notice that Daniel's reputation remained unblemished through the years.

After Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation, a succeeding ruler, Belshazzar, fails to learn the proper lesson. During a drunken party, he brings out Jewish objects to use in idolatry. The celebration is interrupted by disembodied fingers leaving strange markings on the wall. Daniel is summoned when no one else can read or interpret these. After boldly rebuking Belshazzar's immorality, Daniel explains the event as a prophecy of doom. That same night, Belshazzar dies, and the kingdom eventually comes under a new leader.

The book of Daniel contains famous Old Testament stories and prophecies. Daniel was taken from the Israelite people and made an advisor for a conquering empire. He demonstrates faithfulness and wisdom during many years serving in this role. Though Daniel does not deliver a public message, Jesus refers to him as a "prophet" (Matthew 24:15). The first portion of the book mostly describes Daniel's interpretations of dreams and other events. The second portion looks ahead to the end times. Daniel is classified in English Bibles as a "major" prophet, meaning the book is relatively long and the content has broad implications. The book of Revelation echoes and expands on many of the same themes.