DAN 5:20 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) But when he became proud and stubborn and started acting presumptuously, he was disqualified from the throne, and his splendid reputation was deflated.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted presumptuously, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken away from him.

UST But when he became very proud and stubborn, he was removed from being king. People did not consider him to be glorious anymore.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And when his mind became arrogant and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.

LSV and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he has been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him,

FBV But when he became arrogant and hard-hearted, acting proudly, he was removed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him.

T4T But when he became very proud and stubborn [IDM], he was removed from being king [MTY]. People did not consider him to be glorious/great any more.

LEB But _⌊when_⌋[fn] his heart became arrogant and his spirit became hard so as to act proudly, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and the[fn] glory _⌊was taken away from him_⌋.[fn]

5:20 Literally “as that”

5:20 Or “his”

5:20 Literally “they took away”

BBE But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became hard with pride, he was put down from his place as king, and they took his glory from him:

Moff But when his mind became proud, when his spirit became defiant, so that he bore himself haughtily, he was deposed from his royal throne and deprived of his glory;

JPS But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him;

ASV But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

DRA But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto pride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was taken away.

YLT and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he hath been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him,

Drby But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto presumption, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his glory from him;

RV But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

SLT And when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was strong for pride, he was brought down from the throne of his kingdom, and they took away his honor from him.

Wbstr But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

KJB-1769 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:[fn][fn]

5.20 in pride: or, to deal proudly

5.20 deposed: Chaldee, made to come down

KJB-1611 [fn][fn]But when his heart was lifted vp, and his minde hardened in pride: hee was deposed from his kingly throne, and they tooke his glory from him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

5:20 Or, to deale proudly.

5:20 Cal. made to come downe.

Bshps But because his heart was loftie, and his minde strengthened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they toke his glory from him.
(But because his heart was lofty, and his mind strengthened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.)

Gnva But when his heart was puft vp, and his minde hardened in pride, hee was deposed from his kingly throne, and they tooke his honour from him.
(But when his heart was puffed up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his honour from him. )

Cvdl But because his herte was so proude, and his stomack set fast vnto wylfulnesse: he was deposed from his kyngly trone, and his magesty was taken from him.
(But because his heart was so proud, and his stomack set fast unto wilfulness: he was deposed from his kyngly throne, and his magesty was taken from him.)

Wycl Forsothe whanne his herte was reisid, and his spirit was maad obstynat in pride, he was put doun of the seete of his rewme;
(For_certain/Truly when his heart was raised, and his spirit was made obstynat in pride, he was put down of the seat of his realm;)

Luth Da sich aber sein Herz erhub und er stolz und hochmütig ward, ward er vom königlichen Stuhl gestoßen und verlor seine Ehre;
(So itself/yourself/themselves but be heart raised and he proud and highmütig was, what/which he from_the royal chair/stool bumped and verlor his honour(n);)

ClVg Quando autem elevatum est cor ejus, et spiritus illius obfirmatus est ad superbiam, depositus est de solio regni sui, et gloria ejus ablata est:
(When however elevated it_is heart his, and spirit of_that obfirmatus it_is to pride, depositus it_is from/about throne of_the_kingdom self, and glory his taken_away it_is: )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

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 5:20–21

Daniel told Belshazzar how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar because of his pride.

5:20a

But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride,

¶ “However, when his heart/head swelled with pride and he became conceited and obstinate,
¶ “But because he became very proud and stubborn,
¶ But Nebuchadnezzar became haughty, self-confident, and inflexible.

But: The common Aramaic conjunction that the BSB translates as But here introduces a contrast. In contrast to the time when the king ruled with great power (5:18–19), there came a time when God no longer allowed him to rule. Translate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride: Scholars have understood the Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as when in two ways:

The connector introduces a temporal (time) clause. For example:
when (RSV) (BSB, ESV, KJV, RSV/NRSV, NIV, NJPS, GW, NLT, REB, CEV)
The connector introduces a reason. For example:
because his heart grew swollen with pride, and his spirit stiff with arrogance (NJB) (NJB, GNT)

Both aspects of the connection are true. God humbled Nebuchadnezzar when and because he became proud. If you have a way to express both ideas, that is good. If you must choose between the two options, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with the majority of English versions.

his heart became arrogant: The Aramaic clause that the BSB translates as his heart became arrogant is more literally “his heart rose up.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Nebuchadnezzar became proud or arrogant. Here are some other ways to translate this:

his heart was filled with pride

he became proud (CEV)

his heart: In the Aramaic language, the heart was the part of the body where people thought, made decisions, and felt emotions. There are different ways to translate this:

Use an expression or idiom in your language to refer to the part of the person that thinks and feels. For example:
his mind
Refer to the person himself. For example:
But when he became proud (CEV)
Translate this idea as a verb. For example:
But when he began to think arrogantly/proudly

Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language.

and his spirit was hardened: The Aramaic text is more literally “and his spirit grew strong.” In this context, the word meaning spirit is a synonym for “heart.” Not only did the king become proud, but he also became strong or hardened. He became stubborn, obstinate, and inflexible. He determined to do whatever he wanted to do. Here are some other ways to translate this:

and he refused to change his thoughts/thinking

and he became stubborn

with pride: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as with pride is more literally “to act presumptuously.” This verb occurs only here in the Old Testament. It probably describes the king as behaving/acting in an overconfident, arrogant way. His actions and behavior were in accordance with his prideful thinking. Here are some other ways to translate this:

he became…presumptuous (REB)

that he became overconfident (GW)

he behaved/acted in a proud/arrogant way

5:20b

he was deposed from his royal throne,

Nebuchadnezzar's rule/reign was brought to an end.
God removed the king from his position.
So he lost his right to rule,

No Aramaic connector joins this clause to the previous one, and the BSB does not supply one. This clause indicates the result of 5:20a–b: Nebuchadnezzar was deposed because of his pride. Indicate this in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

so (NCV)

he was deposed from his royal throne: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as he was deposed means that Nebuchadnezzar was forced to give up his position as king. He was removed from his throne. That is, he could not longer sit on it to rule the country. This is a passive verb. Here are some ways to translate this:

Using a passive verb. For example:
he was removed from his royal throne (GNT)
he was taken off his royal throne (NCV)
the throne of Babylon was taken from him
Using an active verb. God caused some unnamed people to force Nebuchadnezzar to stop ruling as king. For example:
God removed him from his royal position/throne.
God stopped him from ruling as king.
God caused them to remove him as king.

his royal throne: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as his royal throne is literally “the throne of his kingdom.” This is a figure of speech. The royal throne was a symbol of royal power. It represented the king’s position as the ruler of the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar was no longer allowed to rule as king over Babylon. There are at least two ways to translate this:

Translate the figure of speech. For example:
deposed from his sovereign throne (NJB)
removed from the throne of Babylon
Translate the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:
God did not let him continue to rule as king
his rule/reign over Babylon was brought to an end

Translate in a way that is natural in your language and makes the meaning clear.

5:20c

and his glory was taken from him.

His glory was taken away from him.
God took his glory away from him,
and people no longer honored him as king

and: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces something else that happened to Nebuchadnezzar. This second event is closely connected to the previous event (5:20c).

his glory was taken from him: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as was taken is literally “they took away.” The subject is indefinite. It is implied that God caused people to do this. There are at least two ways to translate the phrase that the BSB translates as his glory was taken from him:

Using a passive verb. For example:
he was…stripped of his glory (NIV)
he was deprived of his glory
Using an active verb. For example:
they (indefinite) took his glory away from him
People no longer honored him as king.
People no longer thought of him as important.

his glory: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as his glory does not include the pronoun his. However, this idea is implied by the context. The phrase refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s great fame. People all over the known world had respected, honored, feared, and admired him. Now they did so no longer. In some languages it may be natural to use a verb to translate this idea. For example:

they did not honor him any longer

The same Aramaic word that means glory occurs at 2:6b, where it is translated as “honor,” 4:30b, and 5:18b. See the Notes and Display for other suggestions of how to translate it.

Parallel DAN 5:20

Section 5:1–31: God judged King Belshazzar

Paragraph 5:20–21

5:20a

5:20b

5:20c