OET interlinear DAN 5:3

Section 5:1–31: God judged King Belshazzar

The author continued to write in the Aramaic language. He wrote about how King Belshazzar gave a big banquet and made use of the sacred treasures from the Jerusalem temple. Belshazzar saw a hand writing a mysterious message on the wall. Only Daniel was able to explain the message, that God was about to punish Belshazzar. That same night an army of Medes and Persians conquered the city and killed Belshazzar.

English versions give different headings to Daniel 5. These include:

The Handwriting on the Wall (GW)

The Writing on the Wall (NIV)

King Belshazzar’s Banquet (CEV)

In some languages it may be more natural to write the heading in the form of a clause. For example, you could say:

King Belshazzar saw a hand write on the wall.

King Belshazzar had/gave a banquet/feast.

Some versions give headings to the subsections of Daniel 5. For example, the NLT has two headings:

The Writing on the Wall (5:1)

Daniel explains the writing (5:13)

The NRSV has three headings:

Belshazzar’s Feast (5:1)

The Writing on the Wall (5:5)

The Writing on the Wall Interpreted (5:13)

You should decide the number of headings that is best in your translation. The purpose of headings is to help readers to follow the events of the story. Headings also help the reader understand the relationships between the different parts of the story. You should try not to have more headings than necessary.

Historical Background:

Nabonidus was the king of Babylon from 556 to 539 B.C. Historical records indicate that he married Nitocris, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, and that Belshazzar was their oldest son.See the ancient Greek historian Herodotus and the Nabonidus Chronicles. While Nabonidus was absent from Babylon during the last ten years of his reign, Belshazzar acted as king in his place.

Daniel 5 describes the last night of the Babylonian empire. From other historic sources we know that Cyrus, the king of Persia, attacked the Babylonian army during the 7th month of the year 539 B.C. On the 15th day of that month, they attacked the town of Sippar and King Nabonidus fled. The next day Cyrus’ army entered the city of Babylon without any battle and killed its ruler, Belshazzar. Daniel 5 describes what Belshazzar was doing on the last day of the Babylonian empire.

Paragraph 5:1–4

Daniel 5:1–4 introduces a new episode in the narrative. It identifies the time, place, and the major characters in this new episode.

Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem,

• So they brought the golden vessels which King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem,

• So the servants fetched the gold and silver cups that the Babylonians had removed/looted from God’s house, the temple in Jerusalem.

• At once the sacred bowls from God’s temple were brought/carried in to the banquet hall.

General Comment on 5:3b

The repetition of the information about the gold goblets from 5:2 emphasizes the importance of the sacred goblets. However, in some languages it may not be natural to repeat the information. Another way to translate this is:

When the gold cups were brought in… (CEV)

Try to emphasize the importance of the sacred vessels in a way that is natural in your language.

and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

• and the king, his nobles/officials, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.

• Everyone at the banquet drank from them—the king, his leading/important men, his wives and his secondary/lesser wives.

General Comment on 5:3

If it is unnatural to repeat so much information, you may be able to translate in a briefer way. For example:

When the gold cups were brought in, everyone at the banquet drank from them (CEV)

At once the gold cups and bowls were brought in, and they all drank wine out of them (CEV)