OET interlinear DAN 5:6

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 5:5–6

The king suddenly saw a hand, writing a message on the wall.

his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that

• Then his face changed color and he became very afraid.

• He became so frightened that his face turned white.

General Comment on 5:6a–b

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of 5:6a–b. For example:

^6bHe was so frightened that ^6ahis face turned pale (CEV)

In other languages it may be natural to combine 6a–b. For example:

^6a-bhis face turned pale with fright (NLT)

his hips gave way

• He lost his strength/control

• He became weak in the legs,

and his knees knocked together.

• and his knees began to knock together.

• and his knees began to shake/tremble.

General Comment on 5:6

In some languages it may be natural to change the order of the clauses. For example:

^bKing Belshazzar was very frightened. ^aHis face turned pale, ^dhis knees knocked together, ^cand he could not stand up because his legs were too weak. (NCV)