Daniel 5:4
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Study Note
Study Note
Belshazzar's feast at which he and his guests 'drank wine and praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone' using the Temple vessels seized by Nebuchadnezzar constitutes a double sacrilege: profaning consecrated objects and offering cult to the very material of which idols are made. The six materials — gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, stone — cover the full range of ancient idol manufacture, making the list a comprehensive catalog of everything that is not the living God (cf. Psalm 115:4; Daniel 2:31–45). The appearance of the hand writing on the wall in the very moment of this celebration (v. 5) embodies the prophetic logic of Isaiah 47:10–11: evil says 'no one sees me' and disaster falls in the moment of security. The narrative has contributed to the English idiom 'the writing on the wall' as a phrase for imminent judgment.
Other Translations
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
they have drunk wine, and have praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
They took their wine and gave praise to the gods of gold and silver, of brass and iron and wood and stone.
Cross References
Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and …
And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands …
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.
The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto …
I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise …
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten …