Daniel 5:5-9

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ¹  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ²  The king was watching the back ³  of the hand that was writing. 5:6 Then all the color drained from the king’s face ⁴  and he became alarmed. ⁵  The joints of his hips gave way, ⁶  and his knees began knocking together. 5:7 The king called out loudly ⁷  to summon ⁸  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ⁹  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ¹⁰  and have a golden collar ¹¹  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its ¹²  interpretation to the king. 5:9 Then King Belshazzar was very terrified, and he was visibly shaken. ¹³  His nobles were completely dumbfounded.

[5:5]  ¹ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ² sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ³ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”

[5:6]  ⁵ tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Aram “his loins went slack.”

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).

[5:8]  ¹² tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.

[5:9]  ¹³ tn Aram “his visage altered upon him.” So also in v. 10.