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Daniel 5:26

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Daniel 5:26 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end;
Daniel 5:26 — American Standard Version

Context — Daniel 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
23but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.
24Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
25And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end;
27TEKEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
← Daniel 5:25Daniel 5:27 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“This is the interpretation of the thing, etc.] Or, “word”f217; for they might all seem as one word; or this is the sense of the whole: MENE; as for this word, it signifies, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it; God had fixed the number of years, how long that monarchy should last, which he was now at the head of, and which was foretold, (<242501>Jeremiah 25:1,11,12 27:7), and also the number of years that he should reign over it; and both these numbers were now completed; for that very night Belshazzar was slain, and the kingdom translated to another people: and a dreadful thing it is to be numbered to the sword, famine, and pestilence, or any sore judgment of God for sin, as…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“God hath fixed the number of years of thine empire, and that number is now complete.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Or, as it is explained more accurately by Berholdt and Gesenius: Mene, Numbered, Mene, Numbered, Tekel, Weighted, Upharsin. Divided. From this arrangement it will be at once seen that the interpretation proposed by Daniel was not one that would have been likely to have occurred to anyone. Mene - מנא menê'. This word is a passive participle from מנה menâh - “to number, to review.” - Gesenius, “Lex.” The verb is also written מנא menâ' - Buxtorf, “Lex.” It would be literally translated “numbered,” and would apply to that of which an estimate was taken by counting. We use now an expression which would convey a similar idea, when we say of one that “his days are numbered;” that is, he has not…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“MENE - MENE MENE, it is numbered, it is numbered; the words are doubled for the greater confirmation. It relates to the number of the seventy years for the overthrow of the Babylonish empire. Daniel 5:27”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“5:26 Mene means ‘numbered’: In this context, it means “reckoned, scrutinized.””
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“God: Dan 9:2; Job 14:14; Isa. 13:1-14:32, Isa 21:1-10, Isa 47:1-15; Jer 25:11, Jer 25:12; Jer 27:7, 50:1-51:64; Act 15:18 Daniel 5:27”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification