Daniel 5:25 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Daniel 5:25 kjv
And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Daniel 5:25 nkjv
"And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Daniel 5:25 niv
"This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin
Daniel 5:25 esv
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.
Daniel 5:25 nlt
"This is the message that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.
Daniel 5 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Dan 5:26 | "This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered..." | Daniel's interpretation of MENE. |
| Dan 5:27 | "TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting." | Daniel's interpretation of TEKEL. |
| Dan 5:28 | "PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." | Daniel's interpretation of UPHARSIN (PERES). |
| Dan 4:25 | "...you shall eat grass like an ox... until you know that the Most High rules..." | God's sovereignty over kings and kingdoms. |
| Dan 2:21 | "He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings..." | God's sovereign control over world powers. |
| Jer 25:12 | "Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon..." | Prophecy of Babylon's fall and judgment. |
| Isa 13:17-19 | "...I am stirring up the Medes against them... Babylon, the glory of kingdoms..." | Prophecy naming Medes and the fall of Babylon. |
| Ps 62:9 | "Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a lie... they are altogether lighter than air." | Weighing human value and vanity. |
| Prov 16:18 | "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." | Consequences of pride, directly related to Belshazzar's sin. |
| Job 31:6 | "Let him weigh me in honest scales, and let God know my integrity!" | Request for divine evaluation and judgment. |
| 1 Sam 2:3 | "...for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed." | God as the ultimate judge of human deeds. |
| Prov 24:12 | "If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?" | God sees the true motives and inner state. |
| Lk 12:20 | "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you...'" | Sudden, unexpected divine judgment. |
| Mt 7:2 | "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." | Principle of divine reciprocation and judgment. |
| Rev 6:5 | "...a pair of scales in his hand!" | Symbolic weighing, hinting at famine/judgment. |
| Rev 18:2 | "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!" | Prophecy of the ultimate spiritual Babylon's fall. |
| Ex 31:18 | "...two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." | Divine writing as a sign of God's direct involvement. |
| Lk 20:20 | "They watched him... that they might catch him in a word..." | Scrutiny and evaluation by a higher authority. |
| Ps 75:6-7 | "For not from the east or from the west... comes promotion, but it is God who executes judgment..." | God as the dispenser of justice and sovereignty. |
| Hab 2:2-3 | "...Write the vision; make it plain on tablets... For still the vision awaits its appointed time..." | Divine messages given clearly and for specific times. |
| Rom 9:28 | "For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and quickly." | God's swift and decisive execution of judgment. |
Daniel 5 verses
Daniel 5 25 meaning
Daniel 5:25 presents the Aramaic inscription mysteriously written on the wall during Belshazzar's feast: "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." This divine message serves as a condensed prophecy, representing God's impending judgment upon King Belshazzar and the Babylonian kingdom, indicating that its days were numbered, its worth found lacking, and its domain was to be divided among other powers.
Daniel 5 25 Context
Daniel 5:25 is central to the narrative of Belshazzar's feast. King Belshazzar, a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar, defiantly held a grand banquet. During this feast, he commanded that the sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar be brought out. He, his nobles, wives, and concubines then drank wine from them while praising their false gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. This act of blatant sacrilege and idolatry in the presence of the true God of Israel was an affront of immense proportions. Suddenly, a disembodied human hand appeared and wrote a cryptic message on the plaster wall. Terrified, Belshazzar called upon his wise men, but none could read or interpret the writing. Eventually, Daniel, renowned for his divine wisdom, was brought in, providing the reading and the interpretation which sealed Babylon's fate. This incident underscores God's sovereignty over pagan kings and kingdoms, specifically addressing the pride and blasphemy of Belshazzar and foretelling the imminent collapse of the Babylonian Empire to the Medo-Persian forces, fulfilling earlier prophecies.
Daniel 5 25 Word analysis
- And this is: Establishes the solemn introduction to the divine decree.
- the writing: Referring to the extraordinary, miraculous script that appeared on the wall. It emphasizes the direct, supernatural intervention.
- that was inscribed: Denotes a passive, divine action; it was written by an unseen hand, a sign from God.
- MENE (מְנֵא - mene): An Aramaic passive participle meaning "numbered" or "counted."
- Significance: It implies God has kept a precise tally of the kingdom's days, which are now complete. The repetition of MENE stresses the certainty and finality of this count.
- MENE (מְנֵא - mene): Repetition emphasizes the absolute nature of the decree; the counting is definite, and the time is fully determined.
- Significance: Double emphasis signifies an irrevocable judgment and confirms the kingdom's limited duration.
- TEKEL (תְּקֵל - tekel): An Aramaic passive participle meaning "weighed."
- Significance: It conveys the idea of divine evaluation, assessing Belshazzar's actions, character, and kingdom. It implies a moral and spiritual assessment in God's perfect balance.
- UPHARSIN (וּפַרְסִין - upharsin): Comprises "u" (וּ - u), meaning "and," and "PHARSIN" (פַרְסִין - pharsin), which is an Aramaic passive participle, plural form, meaning "divided."
- Significance: This term directly points to the partition of the kingdom. The word "Pharsin" also phonetically connects to "Persia" (Paras) and "Medes" (Pares is related to a divided portion). This clever wordplay by God through the divine hand subtly reveals the conquerors.
- MENE MENE: This repetition magnifies the sense of divine precision and certainty concerning the kingdom's numbered days.
- TEKEL UPHARSIN: Juxtaposing these two words demonstrates the consequence of being "weighed and found wanting"—it directly leads to the "division" and end of the kingdom. The judgment (TEKEL) dictates the outcome (UPHARSIN).
Daniel 5 25 Bonus section
The profound terror that seized Belshazzar upon seeing the handwriting demonstrates the powerful, unnerving nature of divine communication when encountered directly by those in defiance. His knees knocked, and his face changed color, showing that even a hardened king understood this was a supernatural, ominous message. The inability of all Babylonian wise men, astrologers, and soothsayers to read or interpret the writing highlighted the emptiness of pagan wisdom and religion in the face of the true God's revelation. This inability served as a polemic against the supposed power and knowledge of the Babylonian deity, Marduk, and his priests, effectively discrediting them and setting the stage for God's chosen prophet, Daniel, to deliver the definitive interpretation. This act further affirmed God's singular knowledge and supremacy over all other purported gods and human wisdom. The specific mention of "fingers of a human hand" appearing (Dan 5:5) made the event both personal and terrifying, suggesting a direct divine action rather than an abstract sign.
Daniel 5 25 Commentary
Daniel 5:25 records the cryptic handwriting on the wall that paralyzed King Belshazzar and his court. These four Aramaic words—Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin—are not merely symbols but divinely inspired judgments. They articulate God's swift and unyielding sentence on Babylon. "Mene" declares that Babylon's sovereign time is counted and fulfilled. The repetition underscores the absolute finality; God's ledger is closed. "Tekel" announces a divine moral assessment; Belshazzar, through his desecration of God's temple vessels and arrogant worship of idols, had been measured against God's perfect standard and found to be morally and spiritually "lacking." This finding of unworthiness then culminates in "Upharsin," which proclaims the inevitable consequence: the division and immediate conquest of the Babylonian Empire by the Medes and Persians. This powerful, terse message, though initially indecipherable to human wisdom, perfectly encapsulated the downfall of a proud kingdom that defied the Most High God.
- Practical Usage Example: When facing temptations or making decisions, consider being "weighed" by God (Tekel) in advance—what is the moral and spiritual weight of your choice?
- Practical Usage Example: Just as Belshazzar's time was "numbered" (Mene), we are reminded that our time is also finite, encouraging a life lived in accordance with God's will.