Daniel 5:23

23 but thou were raised [up] against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his house were brought before thee, and thou, and thy best men, and thy wives, and thy concubines, drank wine in those vessels; and thou praisedest gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, and of iron, and of tree, and of stone, that see not, neither hear, neither feel; certainly thou glorifiedest not God, that hath thy blast, and all thy ways in his hand. (but thou were raised up against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his House were brought before thee, and thou, and thy best men, and thy wives, and thy concubines, drank wine from those vessels; and thou praisedest gods made of silver, and gold, and bronze, and iron, and wood, and stone, that see not, neither hear, nor feel; certainly thou glorifiedest not God, who hath thy breath, and all thy ways, in his hands.)

Daniel 5:23 Meaning and Commentary

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" ^F24; 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 ^F25; by which the Phoenicians used to call him: and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee;
that is, his servants by his orders had brought the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem, which Nebuchadnezzar had took from thence, and set them upon his table for him and his company to drink out of; which is an instance of the pride of his heart, and of his daring boldness and impiety; see ( Daniel 5:2 Daniel 5:3 ) : and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drank wine
in them;
even that very day or night: this Daniel had knowledge of by some means or another; and his intelligence was so good that he could with great certainty affirm it: and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron,
wood, and stone;
see ( Daniel 5:4 ) : which see not, nor hear, nor know;
no more, than the various metals and materials of which they are made; and therefore it must be great madness and folly to praise such as gods that are below men, and even brutes; have neither the sense of animals, nor the knowledge of men; see ( Psalms 115:4-7 ) : and the God in whose hand thy breath is;
who gave it to him at first, and as yet continued it in him, and could take it away when he pleased: and whose are all thy ways; counsels and designs, works and actions; under whose direction and control they all are; the events, issue, and success of which all depend upon him; see ( Jeremiah 10:23 ) : him hast thou not glorified;
by owning him as the only true God; ascribing all he was and had unto him, and giving due worship, adoration, and honour to him; but, on the contrary, setting up his idol gods above him, and treating him, and everything belonging to him, with ignominy and contempt.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (aymv yrm le) "super Dominum coeli", Montanus; "super Dominum scelorum", Michaelis.
F25 Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 9. p. 34.

Daniel 5:23 In-Context

21 and he was cast out from the sons of men; but also his heart was set with beasts, and his dwelling was with wild asses; also he ate hay as an ox doeth, and his body was coloured with the dew of heaven, till he knew, that the Highest hath power in the realm of men, and he shall raise on it whomever he will. (and he was thrown out from among people; and his mind became like that of the beasts, and his habitation was with the wild donkeys, or with the wild beasts; and he ate grass, like an ox doeth, and his body was sprinkled with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged, that the Most High God hath power over the kingdom of people, and that he shall raise upon it whomever he will.)

22 And thou, Belshazzar, the son of him, meekedest not thine heart, when thou knewest all these things; (And thou, Belshazzar, his successor, hast not humbled, or made meek, thy heart, even though thou knewest all these things;)

23 but thou were raised [up] against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his house were brought before thee, and thou, and thy best men, and thy wives, and thy concubines, drank wine in those vessels; and thou praisedest gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, and of iron, and of tree, and of stone, that see not, neither hear, neither feel; certainly thou glorifiedest not God, that hath thy blast, and all thy ways in his hand. (but thou were raised up against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his House were brought before thee, and thou, and thy best men, and thy wives, and thy concubines, drank wine from those vessels; and thou praisedest gods made of silver, and gold, and bronze, and iron, and wood, and stone, that see not, neither hear, nor feel; certainly thou glorifiedest not God, who hath thy breath, and all thy ways, in his hands.)

24 Therefore the finger of the hand was sent of him, which hand wrote this thing that is written. (And so the fingers of this hand were sent from him, which hand wrote this thing that is written.)

25 Soothly this is the scripture which is described, Mene, Tekel, Peres. (Truly this is the writing that is written there, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.)