Daniel 5:28

28 PERES[a] [means that] your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Daniel 5:28 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 5:28

PERES
The singular of "Pharsin", ( Daniel 5:25 ) . The sense of this word is, thy kingdom is divided:
which, though it consisted of various provinces, united under Belshazzar, now should be broken and separated from him: and given to the Medes and Persians;
to Darius the Mede, and to Cyrus the Persian, who was a partner for a while with his uncle Darius in the government of the empire: there is an elegant play on words in the words "Peres" and "Persians"; and a grievous thing it is to sinners, not only to have body and soul divided at death, but to be divided and separated from God to all eternity; and to hear that sentence, "depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels".

Daniel 5:28 In-Context

26 This is the interpretation of the message: MENE [means that] God has numbered [the days of] your kingdom and brought it to an end.
27 TEKEL [means that] you have been weighed in the balance and found deficient.
28 PERES [means that] your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
29 Then Belshazzar gave an order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, [placed] a gold chain around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed,

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or divided, or half a shekel; sg form of PARSIN in v. 25
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