Daniel 5:7
New International Version
The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

New Living Translation
The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will have a gold chain placed around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!”

English Standard Version
The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Berean Standard Bible
The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

King James Bible
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

New King James Version
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

New American Standard Bible
The king called aloud to bring in the sorcerers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king began speaking and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Anyone who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.”

NASB 1995
The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.”

NASB 1977
The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me will be clothed with purple, and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.”

Legacy Standard Bible
The king called out loudly to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king answered and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this writing and declare its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck and rule with power as third ruler in the kingdom.”

Amplified Bible
The king called aloud to bring in the enchanters (Magi), the Chaldeans [who were master astrologers] and the diviners. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold put around his neck, and have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Christian Standard Bible
The king shouted to bring in the mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and gives me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around his neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The king called out to bring in the mediums, Chaldeans, and astrologers. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and gives me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around his neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”

American Standard Version
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the King cried out loudly and he said to bring the Enchanters and the Chaldeans and the Magi and the Wise Men. The King answered and said to the Wise Men of Babel: “Any person who will read this writing and will show me its translation shall wear purple and a necklace of gold on his neck, and he shall rule a third of the Kingdom!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; and he said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation, shall be clothed with scarlet, and there shall be a golden chain upon his neck, and he shall be the third ruler in my kingdom.

Contemporary English Version
The king called in his advisors, who claimed they could talk with the spirits of the dead and understand the meanings found in the stars. He told them, "The man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. He will wear robes of royal purple and a gold chain around his neck."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king cried out aloud to bring in the wise men, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon: Whosoever shall read this writing, and shall make known to me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and shall have a golden chain on his neck, and shall be the third man in my kingdom.

English Revised Version
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The king screamed for the psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers to be brought to him. He told these wise advisers of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me its meaning will be dressed in purple, wear a gold chain on his neck, and become the third-highest ruler in the kingdom."

Good News Translation
He shouted for someone to bring in the magicians, wizards, and astrologers. When they came in, the king said to them, "Anyone who can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in robes of royal purple, wear a gold chain of honor around his neck, and be the third in power in the kingdom."

International Standard Version
The king cried out to bring in enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers. He announced to the advisors of Babylon, "Whoever can read this writing and tell me its meaning will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain placed around his neck, and will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

JPS Tanakh 1917
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon: 'Whosoever shall read this writing, and declare unto me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall rule as one of three in the kingdom.'

Literal Standard Version
The king calls mightily, to bring up the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king has answered and said to the wise men of Babylon, that, “Any man who reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, he puts on purple, and a bracelet of gold [is] on his neck, and he rules third in the kingdom.”

Majority Standard Bible
The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

New American Bible
The king shouted for the enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners to be brought in. “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means,” he said to the wise men of Babylon, “shall be clothed in purple, wear a chain of gold around his neck, and be third in governing the kingdom.”

NET Bible
The king called out loudly to summon the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple and have a golden collar placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

New Revised Standard Version
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and the king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in the kingdom.”

New Heart English Bible
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever shall read this writing, and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."

Webster's Bible Translation
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the sooth-sayers. And the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation of it, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

World English Bible
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Young's Literal Translation
Call doth the king mightily, to bring up the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Answered hath the king, and said to the wise men of Babylon, that, 'Any man who doth read this writing, and its interpretation doth shew me, purple he putteth on, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and third in the kingdom he doth rule.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Handwriting on the Wall
6his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together. 7The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” 8So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.…

Cross References
Genesis 41:42
Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph's finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.

Exodus 7:11
But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.

Isaiah 44:25
who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,

Isaiah 47:13
You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you--your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.

Jeremiah 50:35
A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men.

Ezekiel 16:11
I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.

Daniel 1:4
young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace--and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.


Treasury of Scripture

The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

aloud.

Daniel 4:14
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:

to bring.

Daniel 2:2
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

Daniel 4:6
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

Genesis 41:8
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

be clothed.

Daniel 5:16,29
And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom…

Daniel 2:6
But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

Genesis 41:42-44
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; …

scarlet.

Proverbs 1:9
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

Song of Solomon 1:10
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

Ezekiel 16:11
I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

the third.

Daniel 2:48
Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 6:2,3
And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage…

Esther 3:1
After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

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Daniel 5
1. Belshazzar's impious feast.
5. A hand-writing unknown to the magicians, troubles the king.
10. At the commendation of the queen Daniel is brought.
17. He, reproving the king of pride and idolatry,
25. reads and interprets the writing.
30. The monarchy is translated to the Medes














(7) The astrologers.--It is worthy of notice that on this occasion the magicians (the chartummim) do not appear. We must either suppose that they are included under the general term "Chaldeans," or that the king in his terror forgot to summon them. The "wise men" spoken of (Daniel 5:8) were the body over which Daniel was president--a post which it appears. from Daniel 8:27, he held at this time. It is needless to discuss why Daniel did not come in at first.

The third ruler.--See Excursus C. Those who adopt another view of Belshazzar maintain that a triumvirate existed at this time similar to that in the days of Darius the Mede (Daniel 6:2), and that the king promises to raise to the rank of "triumvir" the person who could interpret the vision successfully. It may be noticed that the form of the ordinal "third," both here and in Daniel 5:16; Daniel 5:29, is very peculiar, and that in the last two passages it resembles a substantive rather than an adjective. . . .

Verse 7. - The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. The Septuagint here also differs from the Massoretic text, "And the king cried out with a great cry to call in the enchanters (ἐπαοιδοὐς) and sorcerers (φαρμακοὺς), and Chaldeans, and soothsayers, to announce to him the interpretation of the writing, and they came in for inspection (ἐπὶ θεωρίαν), to see the writing, And they were not able to make known to the king the interpretation of the writing. Then the king made commandment, saying, Any man who shall show the interpretation of the writing, he shall put on him a purple robe, and shall put round his neck a golden chain, and authority shall be given him over a third part of the kingdom." Theodotion is an exact rendering of the Massoretic text in the sense represented by the English versions, save that it wholly omits the conjunctions between the various classes of wise men, so that Ξαλδαίους might be an adjective qualifying either μάγους or γαξαρηνούς, and the article is also omitted, which is represented in the Massoretic text by the status emphaticus. The Peshitta has four classes of wise men called in; as the Septuagint has, otherwise it agrees with the Massoretic text. It is a matter of some interest to observe that the position of the Chaldeans is somewhat precarious here, as in the second chapter. They disappear wholly from the list in the next verse, which really seems to be another version of this. It is a marginal gloss that has crept into the text. If we accept the reading of the Septuagint here, so far at least as to assume the entrance of the wise men before the king's declaration of the reward, the succession of events becomes more natural. The king calls for the presence of these interpreters of omens, and then, when they fail to interpret the writing to him, he proclaims his offer of a reward to whoever can do so. It is to be noted that there is in the Septuagint no question of ability to read the writing, but simply to interpret it. It has been pointed out to me by a friend that if these words were written in cuneiform, the signs that would represent them might have a great variety of possible sounds, and with these differing sounds, differing meanings. Sometimes a sign was phonetic and a syllable, sometimes it was idiographic and might represent a whole word. There is this to be said for this view - the Assyrian was the writing expected in inscriptions. Still, from the fact that the Septuagint omits the demand that the inscription should be read, we may regard the matter as doubtful. Assuming that the wise men were required to read the inscription, some of the Jewish interpreters, as Jephet-ibn-Ali, think that the letters of the word were inverted; others have it that the letters were arranged in columns. Even, however, if the words were written correctly enough as Aramaic words, it would be a difficult matter to put any meaning in them as they stood, as we shall see when we consider Daniel's interpretation. The reward promised is of special interest. The word argvana, translated "scarlet," appears in Assyrian as argmamm; hamneeka, the word rendered "necklace," is of doubtful origin. We find in the Ninevite sculptures and on the cylinders from Babylon many instances of splendid robes (vide Rawlinson, 'Five Great Monarchies,' 560); the rich necklace is also to be seen (ibid., 2. 497,499). The great difficulty has arisen over the rank given to Daniel, "the third ruler in the kingdom." The difficulty is that the ordinal here is not in its usual form, although Petermann gives taltu as one of the forms of the ordinal. There is, further, the unusual position of the numeral in relation to the verb, though the abnormality is less than Professor Bevan represents it, as the Peshitta follows word for word the arrangement of the Massoretic text. The truth seems to be that the word really was toolta, as in the Syriac, and the difficulty has risen in not recognizing the transference from one dialect of Aramaic to another. It is used in the Peshitta (2 Corinthians 10:2) of the third heaven. Professor Bevan's interpretation, that it means "every third day,') may be dismissed as absurd. Ewald (in loc.) regards the title as one of a board of three - not an in,possible meaning, in the light of what we find in the following chapter. Yet his reasoning, that it cannot be third in rank, because the queen-mother could not be counted in, is inept now, when we learn that Belshazzar was colleague with his father, and so the third place was all he had to give. On this question Behrmann takes the view discarded as impossible by Ewald, and holds that Daniel was placed third because of the queen-mother. It is one of the commonplaces of the criticism of this book that the history ascribed to Daniel is borrowed from the history of Joseph: why was the position offered not made "second," as was that of Joseph? We have the reason in what we know of the history of Babylon at the time. The Septuagint and Josephus were unaware of the facts, and translated as they did.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The king
מַלְכָּא֙ (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

called out for
קָרֵ֤א (qā·rê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7123: To call, read out or aloud

the enchanters,
לְאָ֣שְׁפַיָּ֔א (lə·’ā·šə·p̄ay·yā)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural determinate
Strong's 826: A conjurer, enchanter

astrologers,
כַּשְׂדָּאֵ֖י (kaś·dā·’ê)
Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3779: Chaldeans -- a Chaldaean

and diviners
וְגָזְרַיָּ֑א (wə·ḡā·zə·ray·yā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural determinate
Strong's 1505: To quarry, determine

to be brought in,
לְהֶֽעָלָה֙ (lə·he·‘ā·lāh)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5954: To enter, to introduce

and he
מַלְכָּ֜א (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

said
וְאָמַ֣ר ׀ (wə·’ā·mar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 560: To say, tell, command

to these wise men
לְחַכִּימֵ֣י (lə·ḥak·kî·mê)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2445: Wise, a Magian

of Babylon,
בָבֶ֗ל (ḇā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 895: Babylon -- an eastern Mediterranean empire and its capital city

“Whoever
דִּ֣י (dî)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 1768: Who, which, that, because

reads
יִקְרֵ֞ה (yiq·rêh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7123: To call, read out or aloud

this
דְנָ֗ה (ḏə·nāh)
Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 1836: This

inscription
כְּתָבָ֣ה (kə·ṯā·ḇāh)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 3792: Something written, a writing, record, book

and tells me
יְחַוִּנַּ֔נִי (yə·ḥaw·win·na·nî)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 2324: To show

its interpretation
וּפִשְׁרֵהּ֙ (ū·p̄iš·rêh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6591: An interpretation

will be clothed
יִלְבַּ֗שׁ (yil·baš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3848: Wrap around, to put on a, garment, clothe

in purple
אַרְגְּוָנָ֣א (’ar·gə·wā·nā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 711: Purple, red-purple

and have a gold
דַהֲבָא֙ (ḏa·hă·ḇā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 1722: Gold

chain
וְהַֽמְנִיכָ֤א‪‬ (wə·ham·nî·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 2002: A chain, necklace

placed around
עַֽל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5922: Above, over, upon, against

his neck,
צַוְּארֵ֔הּ (ṣaw·wə·rêh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6676: The back of the neck

and he will be made the third
וְתַלְתִּ֥י (wə·ṯal·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 8523: Third

highest ruler
יִשְׁלַֽט׃ (yiš·laṭ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7981: To dominate, govern, to permit

in the kingdom.�
בְמַלְכוּתָ֖א (ḇə·mal·ḵū·ṯā)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular determinate
Strong's 4437: Royalty, reign, kingdom


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OT Prophets: Daniel 5:7 The king cried aloud to bring (Dan. Da Dn)
Daniel 5:6
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