Daniel 5:4

4 They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.^[a]

Daniel 5:4 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 5:4

They drunk wine
That is, out of the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem, and perhaps till they were drunk: and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of
wood, and of stone;
for they had gods of all these materials; (See Gill on Daniel 1:2), and these they praised by offering sacrifices unto them; or rather by singing songs, and drinking healths, and by ascribing all their victories over the nations of the world to them; as that by their means they had got such large dominions, and such great wealth and treasures, and particularly these vessels of gold and silver; and so insulted and triumphed over the God of Israel, and defied the prophecies and promises of the deliverance of them that went under his name.

Daniel 5:4 In-Context

2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them.

3 So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them.

4 They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king's palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the hand that was writing,

6 his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that his hip joints shook and his knees knocked together.

Footnotes

• [a]. Isa 46:6