Daniel 5 15

Daniel 5:15 kjv

And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:

Daniel 5:15 nkjv

Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing.

Daniel 5:15 niv

The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it.

Daniel 5:15 esv

Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter.

Daniel 5:15 nlt

My wise men and enchanters have tried to read the words on the wall and tell me their meaning, but they cannot do it.

Daniel 5 verses

Daniel 5 15 meaning

King Belshazzar explains that he had already summoned his trusted group of "wise men" and "enchanters," the esteemed advisors of his court, to decipher the mysterious handwriting that appeared on the wall. However, despite their combined expertise, they proved completely unable to read the cryptic message or to provide any understanding of its meaning, leaving the king and his court in profound perplexity and fear.

Daniel 5 15 Context

Daniel chapter 5 unfolds on the night of Babylon's fall. King Belshazzar, co-regent with his father Nabonidus, hosts a lavish feast, profaning sacred vessels plundered from the temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. In the midst of this sacrilege, a disembodied hand mysteriously appears and writes an enigmatic message on the palace wall. The terrifying apparition sends the king into a panic. Belshazzar, following tradition, immediately calls upon his most learned and powerful advisors – the "wise men" and "enchanters" – offering great rewards to anyone who could interpret the divine handwriting. Verse 15 directly follows the description of the king's initial distress and his first, futile attempt to find understanding among his own court, setting the stage for Daniel's eventual appearance and the true interpretation of God's judgment. This scene builds upon a recurring motif in Daniel, where pagan wisdom consistently fails in the face of divine revelation.

Daniel 5 15 Word analysis

• And now (וּכְעַן, ūḵeʿan): An Aramaic conjunctive phrase, signalling a shift or the current state of affairs. It carries a sense of urgency and directness, moving the narrative from the terrifying appearance of the hand to Belshazzar's immediate (and unsuccessful) reaction.
• the wise men (חַכִּימִין, ḥakkimîn): Aramaic plural for "sages," "scholars," or "learned ones." This is a general term for those possessing intellectual and often administrative wisdom within the court. In other parts of Daniel (e.g., Dan 2:12), they are explicitly identified with those providing counsel.
• the enchanters (אָשְׁפִין, ’āšpîn): Aramaic plural, referring to practitioners of magic, sorcerers, or those engaged in occult arts and divination. They were believed to have knowledge of hidden things or to manipulate spiritual forces. This group represented a specific class of mystical specialists within the Babylonian court, often linked to astrology and omens.
• have been brought in before me (הוּעֲלוּ קָדָמַי, hûʿalû qāḏāmāy): A passive construction emphasizing that they were formally summoned and presented to the king for the specific purpose of solving this crisis. This shows the king's immediate and official response.
• and they could not (וְלָא כָלִין, wəlā’ kālîn): "Could not" translates a verb root signifying "to be able," "to have power" or "to endure." Their failure was not merely a lack of knowledge but a complete incapacity or inability, despite their presumed skills and wisdom.
• read this writing (לְמִקְרֵא כְּתָבָא דְנָה, ləmiqrê kəṯāḇā ḏənnâ): The fundamental inability to even read the characters on the wall, suggesting the writing was in a script or form utterly foreign to them, or supernaturally obscured from their understanding. This goes beyond interpretation, indicating a foundational obstacle.
• or make known to me its interpretation (וּפִשְׁרֵהּ לְהוֹדָעוּתַנִי, ûpišrēh ləhôḏāʿûṯanî): Even if they could somehow read it, their deeper inability lay in grasping and explaining its meaning (פְּשַׁר, pəšar). This distinction highlights that understanding divine communication requires more than mere literacy; it demands divine insight. The dual failure underscores the limits of their human or demonic-derived wisdom.

Daniel 5 15 Bonus section

The repeated motif in Daniel (chapters 2, 4, and 5) where pagan "wise men" consistently fail to interpret divine signs or dreams, only for Daniel (and through him, God) to succeed, is a deliberate literary device. This repetition serves to de-legitimize the polytheistic Babylonian worldview and their spiritual claims, elevating the singular authority and wisdom of the God of Israel. Belshazzar's direct mention of their previous failure highlights that this was a known pattern, intensifying his despair and implicitly preparing for Daniel's unique position as one endowed with a "spirit of the holy gods" (Dan 4:8, 5:11). The incident also illustrates that genuine spiritual understanding does not come from earthly study or magical arts, but from divine bestowal, thus magnifying God's glory amidst the crumbling glory of Babylon.

Daniel 5 15 Commentary

Daniel 5:15 encapsulates the ultimate impotence of the most celebrated human and pagan wisdom in the face of divine revelation. Belshazzar, driven by terror, instinctively turns to the well-established figures of his court: the generalized "wise men" and the specialized "enchanters" who claimed occult insight. Their uniform failure, specifically their inability to both read the writing and interpret its meaning, serves a crucial theological and literary purpose. It repeatedly underscores the central theme of Daniel: God's supreme sovereignty over all earthly powers and wisdom, and the exclusivity of divine wisdom, accessible only through His chosen vessels, not human ingenuity or occult practices. This scene establishes a clear and stark contrast, preparing the audience for Daniel's inevitable arrival as the sole bearer of divine understanding. Belshazzar’s admission of their failure confirms that a higher, supernatural power is at work, far beyond the reach of Babylon's greatest minds.