“And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
My Notes
What Does Daniel 5:16 Mean?
"And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom." Belshazzar, king of Babylon, offers Daniel the highest rewards available — royal clothing, gold, and the third position in the kingdom — if Daniel can read the mysterious writing on the wall. The offers reveal Belshazzar's desperation: his wise men have failed, the party has turned to terror, and the finger that wrote on the plaster is still in his memory.
The offer of "third ruler" is historically precise: Belshazzar was himself second (co-regent with his father Nabonidus), so third was the highest position he could actually give. The detail confirms the accuracy of the setting.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'scarlet robes' (worldly rewards) are being offered for your wisdom — and would you speak the truth without them?
- 2.How does Daniel's independence from Belshazzar's economy enable his freedom to speak truth?
- 3.When has the 'writing on the wall' appeared in your life — an undeniable message you couldn't ignore?
- 4.What rewards are you chasing that might not survive the night?
Devotional
Scarlet robes. Gold chains. Third ruler in the kingdom. Belshazzar offers Daniel everything money and power can buy — because the writing on the wall has everything money and power can't explain.
The party was spectacular. A thousand nobles. Gold and silver vessels looted from Jerusalem's temple. Wine flowing from sacred cups. And then a hand appeared — just fingers, no body — and wrote on the plaster wall. The party stopped. The king's face changed. His knees knocked together. His bowels loosened. The most powerful man in Babylon was terrified by handwriting.
The wise men couldn't read it. Every intellectual resource in the empire — magicians, astrologers, soothsayers — stood in front of the wall and shrugged. The writing was beyond them. And Belshazzar, desperate, turns to the one person he should have consulted first: the Hebrew captive who interprets dreams. The man Babylon keeps on the margins until nobody else can solve the problem.
Daniel's response (v. 17) is perfect: keep your gifts. Give them to someone else. I'll read the writing for free. The man who doesn't need the king's rewards is the man the king needs most. Daniel's independence from Belshazzar's economy is exactly what qualifies him to speak truth to Belshazzar's face.
The writing says: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. Numbered, weighed, divided. Your kingdom is finished. Your character has been measured and found wanting. Your empire is being given to the Persians. Tonight.
Belshazzar dies that night. The scarlet robes he offered are worthless by morning. The gold chains are confiscated by the Persians. The third rulership of a kingdom that no longer exists is the most ironic job offer in history.
The rewards the world offers for truth-telling are only valuable if the world offering them survives the night. Daniel's reward — faithfulness to God regardless of earthly compensation — outlasted every Babylonian throne.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And I have heard of thee,.... That is, by the queen, which he repeats for the sake of observing what she had said of…
And I have heard of thee ... - Dan 5:11. Canst make interpretations - Margin, “interpret.” Chaldee, “interpret…
Dissolve doubts - Untie knots - unbind what is bound. An expression used in the east to signify a judge of eminent…
Here is, I. The information given to the king, by the queen-mother, concerning Daniel, how fit he was to be consulted in…
make better give(R.V.); lit. interpret.
dissolve doubts loose knots. See on Dan 5:5.
thou shalt be clothed with purple,…