Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Daniel 5:29 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 29. 29Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Daniel 5:29 opens this movement with “Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about…”.
The gifts are paid, the king dies that night, and the narrator names Darius
This verse is one part of that explanation in Daniel 5:29-31. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Daniel 5:29–31
Read Daniel 5:29 with 5:29–31. Daniel 5:29 opens this movement with “Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: Belshazzar honors Daniel as promised, dies that night, and the narrative passes the kingdom to the historically disputed Darius the Mede.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The compressed ending makes royal reward irrelevant to survival and stresses that a kingdom is received rather than ultimately possessed. “Honor and Immediate Regime Transition” opens that larger movement. This completes the present movement before the next larger development: Chapter 6 places Daniel under Darius, whose administrative decree will trap him. Within that movement: Daniel 5:29 opens this movement with “Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about…”.
What Remains True
Titles and rewards can arrive at the very moment the system granting them collapses. Daniel 5:29-31 keeps that truth tied to this claim: Belshazzar honors Daniel as promised, dies that night, and the narrative passes the kingdom to the historically disputed Darius the Mede. In this unit: Daniel 5:29 opens this movement with “Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about…”.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Daniel 5:29-31 — Honor and Immediate Regime TransitionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 5:29-31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 5:29-31; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1653–1655, translation and translator notes on 5:29-31
Open source ↗