Daniel 5:27 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Daniel 5:27 kjv
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Daniel 5:27 nkjv
TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
Daniel 5:27 niv
Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Daniel 5:27 esv
TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;
Daniel 5:27 nlt
Tekel means 'weighed' ? you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.
Daniel 5 27 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 2:3 | "Talk no more so very proudly... For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed." | God accurately weighs human actions. |
| Job 31:6 | "let Him weigh me in a just balance, and let God know my integrity." | Implies a desire for righteous divine judgment. |
| Ps 62:9 | "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity." | Human insufficiency and emptiness apart from God. |
| Ps 75:6-7 | "For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west... But God is the judge: He puts down one, and sets up another." | God's sovereignty over earthly rulers. |
| Prov 16:2 | "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits." | God judges motives and the inner being. |
| Prov 21:2 | "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts." | God assesses the true intentions of the heart. |
| Isa 40:15 | "Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance..." | Emphasizes God's transcendent power and our insignificance without Him. |
| Dan 4:17, 32 | "...that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men..." | Underscores God's supreme authority over rulers. |
| Dan 5:22 | "But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this." | Highlights Belshazzar's specific failure: pride and willful ignorance. |
| Dan 5:28 | "Peres: your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." | Immediate consequence of being found wanting. |
| Dan 5:30-31 | "That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain..." | Swift fulfillment of the divine judgment. |
| Jer 22:28-30 | "Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol... no man of his offspring shall prosper...?" | God's judgment leading to a ruler's deposition. |
| Mt 7:1-2 | "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged..." | Divine principle of judgment's reciprocity. |
| Mt 16:27 | "For the Son of Man is going to come... and He will repay each person according to what he has done." | Future judgment based on actions. |
| Rom 3:23 | "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" | Universal human deficiency and spiritual wanting. |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death..." | The ultimate consequence of spiritual insufficiency. |
| Heb 4:13 | "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." | God's comprehensive, all-seeing judgment. |
| 1 Pet 4:5 | "...they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." | Universal accountability before God. |
| Rev 6:5 | "I saw, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand." | Scales can symbolize economic hardship and divine judgment. |
| Rev 20:12 | "And I saw the dead... judged according to their works, as recorded in the books." | Final judgment based on individual deeds. |
| Jud 1:14-15 | "Behold, the Lord comes... to execute judgment on all, to convict all the ungodly..." | The comprehensive nature of God's final judgment. |
| Jer 25:12-14 | "Then, after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation..." | Foretells Babylon's judgment as an empire. |
| Prov 11:1 | "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight." | Emphasizes God's standard of justice and integrity. |
| Zeph 1:7 | "Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand..." | Implies imminent divine reckoning. |
| Mk 4:24 | "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you..." | Principle of God's proportional judgment. |
Daniel 5 verses
Daniel 5 27 meaning
The verse delivers God's unreserved judgment upon King Belshazzar, proclaiming that he has undergone a rigorous divine assessment, akin to being placed on a scale. In this spiritual and moral weighing, he has been conclusively found deficient, lacking, and falling far short of the divine standard required for righteous kingship and reverent living.
Daniel 5 27 Context
Daniel chapter 5 chronicles King Belshazzar's audacious feast where he defiantly desecrates the sacred vessels taken from the Jerusalem Temple by his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. He and his elite drink wine from these holy vessels, praising their pagan gods in a display of overt hubris and blasphemy. In the midst of this sacrilege, a disembodied hand mysteriously appears and writes four cryptic words—"Mene, Mene, Teqel, Uparsin"—on the palace wall, throwing the entire court into terror. Unable to decipher the message, Belshazzar is advised to summon Daniel. Daniel confronts the king, recalling Nebuchadnezzar's former humbling by God for his pride, and indicts Belshazzar for his deliberate rejection of this vital lesson and his defiant insult to the God of heaven. Daniel 5:27 then provides the divine interpretation of the word "Teqel," directly revealing Belshazzar's moral and spiritual insolvency and the impending doom of his reign. Historically, Babylon was under siege by the Medo-Persian armies, led by Cyrus, making the fulfillment of this divine verdict immediate and inevitable.
Daniel 5 27 Word analysis
- Teqel (תְּקֵל, teqel): This Aramaic word directly translates to "weighed." As the first word of the interpretive phrase for "Teqel," it immediately announces the divine auditing process. It is a passive participle, signifying that the weighing has already taken place and that the subject (Belshazzar) has been acted upon. This suggests a conclusive and irreversible judgment.
- You have been weighed (אִתְתְּקִ֑לְתָּ, it'tətəqilta): This Aramaic phrase explicitly clarifies the object and nature of the weighing. The second person singular form directly points to Belshazzar, personalizing the judgment. The use of the passive voice strongly implies God as the divine agent conducting the weighing, while the perfect tense indicates a completed and finalized verdict, leaving no room for appeal or modification.
- on the scales (בְּמֹאזְנַיָּא, bə·mō·zə·nay·yā): This Aramaic term refers to "balances" or "scales," which were ancient instruments known for precise measurement. Its presence metaphorically emphasizes the impartial, accurate, and absolute justice of God's judgment. It implies a divine standard or measure against which Belshazzar's character, decisions, and actions were meticulously evaluated.
- and found (וְהִשְׁתְּכַחַתּ, wə·hiš·təkhaḥat): The conjunction "and" links the action of weighing with its outcome, and the verb "found" (or "discovered") signifies the uncovering or revelation of a reality. It indicates that God's thorough assessment exposed Belshazzar's true condition, which was previously unseen or ignored by him.
- wanting (חֲסִ֖יר, ḥă·sîr): This critical Aramaic adjective means "deficient," "lacking," "incomplete," or "insufficient." It delivers the devastating conclusion of the divine weighing: Belshazzar did not meet the divine standard. His spiritual and moral value was less than what was required by the perfectly just God, signifying a fundamental flaw and utter inadequacy in his character and rule.
- Words-group analysis:
- "Teqel: You have been weighed on the scales": This powerful declaration establishes the divine judicial process in motion. The repeated concept of "weighing" (implied by "Teqel" and explicitly stated) underscores the absolute certainty and meticulousness of God's evaluation. The "scales" serve as a potent symbol of God's absolute impartiality and unwavering standards of righteousness and justice.
- "and found wanting": This concise and climactic phrase articulates the devastating verdict. It reveals the severe inadequacy, spiritual hollowness, and moral deficiency exposed by God's unwavering assessment. This comprehensive failure, a complete lack of what was divinely required, irrevocably sealed Belshazzar's fate and justified the swift dissolution of his kingdom.
Daniel 5 27 Bonus section
The ancient concept of "weighing" in the Near East was frequently employed metaphorically to convey moral and judicial evaluation, far beyond simple physical mass. For instance, in ancient Egyptian eschatology, a deceased heart might be weighed against the feather of Ma'at, symbolizing truth and justice, to determine worthiness for the afterlife. This cultural understanding amplifies the profound gravity of Daniel's interpretation for Belshazzar. His perceived physical security and material wealth were inconsequential against the eternal scales of God. He possessed great temporal power, but zero spiritual or moral "weight." The divine verdict on Belshazzar is not arbitrary but a consequence of a deliberate choice to despise divine truth and pursue godless ambition, resulting in an unpayable debt of righteousness and a kingdom spiritually emptied and ripe for divine overthrow. This underscores the theological principle that earthly dominion is ultimately contingent upon divine approval, often based on a ruler's moral standing and acknowledgment of God's supremacy.
Daniel 5 27 Commentary
Daniel 5:27 provides the definitive, uncompromising divine assessment of King Belshazzar. His reign and personal character were subjected to God's impartial scales, symbolizing an absolute standard of righteousness and accountability. Despite his royal power and human perception of security, Belshazzar was discovered to be utterly "wanting" – not merely lacking minor qualities, but profoundly deficient in reverence for God, wisdom derived from his predecessor's downfall, humility, and moral integrity. His audacious sacrilege and willful ignorance led to a verdict of spiritual bankruptcy, rendering him unfit to rule. This immediate pronouncement explains the swift and total collapse of his kingdom, serving as an eternal warning against pride, contempt for the sacred, and failing to acknowledge God's ultimate sovereignty.