Daniel Chapter 5 Verses 17-24

17 Then Daniel answered before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty; 19 and because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him; whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. 20 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 his glory was taken from him; 21 he was driven from among men, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed.

Why did Daniel refuse the king’s gifts?

It would not have been wrong to accept them, since he had earlier accepted the gifts and favors of Nebuchadnezzar, as had his three friends on two occasions.

Perhaps Daniel felt that he was too old to get back into government service, which would have been required had he assumed the position that Belshazzar offered. (However, he did serve a role in the Persian government, which took over the very next day!)

The best explanation, however, may be that Daniel knew that Belshazzar’s rule (and indeed the Chaldean kingdom) was not going to last much longer. Indeed, Belshazzar was killed that very night.

As mentioned above, before Daniel interprets the message, he gives the king a history lesson.

In verse 19 Daniel reminds Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar was an absolute sovereign. He could dispense life and death at his whim – unlike Belshazzar who seems to be much less powerful and mighty.

Would Nebuchadnezzar have spent the night in a drunken feast with the enemy camped just outside the city?

Daniel is telling the king: “I knew Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was a friend of mine. You, sir, are no Nebuchadnezzar!”

The “but” in verse 20 is the turning point in the story. Nebuchadnezzar was great, but…

He was filled with pride and refused to give the glory to God.

As bad as Nebuchadnezzar’s punishment was, Belshazzar’s punishment was going to be worse.

Finally, like any good history teacher, Daniel reminds the king in verse 22 that he already knew all of this but he had not learned from the past.

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