Daniel 5:6

6 Then the king turned pale, and his thoughts frightened him. His hip joints became loose, and his knees knocked against each other.

Daniel 5:6 Meaning and Commentary

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 loosed;
or, "the girdles of his loins" ^F13; which were loosed or broke, through the agitation he was in; or he was all over in a sweat, so that he was obliged to loose his girdle; or, as persons in great fear and consternation, he was seized with a pain in his back; it opened as it were; nor could he hold his urine; as Grotius and others; see ( Isaiah 45:1 ) , where this seems to be prophesied of: and his knees smote one against another;
as is the case of persons in a great tremor, or under a panic. "Et subito genua intremuere timore".--Ovid.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (yhwyz) "splendores ejus", Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis.
F13 (hurx yrjq) "cingula lumborum ejus", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius.

Daniel 5:6 In-Context

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

5 Suddenly, the fingers of a person's hand appeared and wrote on the plaster wall opposite the lamp stand of the royal palace. The king watched as the hand wrote.

6 Then the king turned pale, and his thoughts frightened him. His hip joints became loose, and his knees knocked against each other.

7 The king screamed for the psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers to be brought to him. He told these wise advisers of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me its meaning will be dressed in purple, wear a gold chain on his neck, and become the third-highest ruler in the kingdom."

8 All the king's wise advisers came, but they couldn't read the writing or tell the king its meaning.