Daniel 5:4

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

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 {When he tasted the wine}, Belshazzar commanded [that they] bring [the] vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his {predecessor} had taken from the temple that [was] in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines may drink from them.

3 Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that [was] in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

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

5 {Immediately} {human fingers} appeared and they wrote {opposite} the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king, and the king was watching the palm of the hand that was writing.

6 Then his face changed and his thoughts terrified him, and {his hip joints gave way} and {his knees knocked together}.

Footnotes

• [a]. All these metals have the definite article that does not have to be translated into English to retain the meaning