Bible Strands
Daniel 5:9
Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were bewildered.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes King Belshazzar’s reaction after his court’s wise men fail to read the mysterious inscription. The moment occurs during the royal banquet when the king’s terror intensifies and his nobles are left bewildered.
The words — The Hebrew מִתְבָּהַ֔ל (mit.ba.Hal) literally means “was alarmed,” paired with שָׁנַ֣יִן (sha.Na.yin), meaning “were changing.” These verbs describe the physical alteration of the king’s complexion under extreme fear.
The thread — This physical manifestation of dread echoes Daniel 5:6, where Belshazzar’s face pales and his joints loosen at the same writing. The motif of royal terror precedes Nebuchadnezzar’s sleepless distress in Daniel 2:1 and anticipates the coming destruction of Isaiah 13:6.
Why it lands — The text records a ruler’s loss of composure when confronted with an uninterpretable divine warning. It requires the reader to recognize that human wisdom fails when facing sovereign judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
Cross-references
- Daniel 5:6 his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
- Daniel 2:1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Isaiah 21:2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
- Jeremiah 6:24 We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- Job 18:11 Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.
- Psalms 18:14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
- Psalms 48:6 Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 30:6 Ask now, and see: Can a male give birth? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
- Daniel 10:8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.