Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Daniel 5:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Daniel 5:4 contributes this concrete line to the movement: “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron,…”.
Read It With
- Daniel 5:1–4
Read Daniel 5:4 with 5:1–4. Daniel 5:4 advances “Feast and Profanation of Temple Vessels” with the textual step “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron,…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: Belshazzar's banquet turns Jerusalem's vessels into drinking cups while the court praises manufactured gods.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This boundary keeps “Feast and Profanation of Temple Vessels” together inside the larger chapter movement and prevents the next scene or disclosure from being flattened into it. At Daniel 5:4, the wording “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron,…” supplies this verse's distinct step.
Follow the Context
- Read the opening words of Daniel 5:1-4 as the entry into “Feast and Profanation of Temple Vessels.”
- Belshazzar's banquet turns Jerusalem's vessels into drinking cups while the court praises manufactured gods.
- Let verse 4 complete this movement before moving to 5:5-9.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
The writing does not model occult automatic writing or private omens.
What Remains True
Power becomes morally blind when it turns another community's sacred loss into entertainment and assumes wealth can purchase an answer. Daniel 5:4 contributes the concrete textual step “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron,…”.
How It Can Shape Life
- Treat conquered, minority, and religious communities' objects and memories with respect; do not make humiliation a party theme. Keep Daniel 5:4 inside 5:1–4 and do not convert its wording into an unsupported modern identification.
Teach It Back
Explain Daniel 5:4's role in 5:1–4. Name the ancient setting, quote or paraphrase “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron,…”, state one material uncertainty, and name one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Daniel 5:1-4 — Feast and Profanation of Temple VesselsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Daniel 5:4 must be read with this unit-level uncertainty: Historical harmonizations, broad kinship usage, literary adaptation, and a later court tale are all proposed. The package states the evidence without pretending the title 'king' is archaeologically confirmed.
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 5:1-4, 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, 5:1-4; 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 5:1-4
Open source ↗