Daniel 5:25

Contemporary English Version

The words written there are mene, which means "numbered," tekel, which means "weighed," and parsin, which means "divided." God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be king. So God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“This is the writing that was inscribed: Mene

Hebrew Names Version
This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UFARSIN.

King James Version
And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin .

English Standard Version
And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene , Mene , Tekel , and Parsin .

New American Standard Bible
"Now this is the inscription that was written: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.'

New Century Version
"These are the words that were written on the wall: ‘Mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.'

Amplified Bible
"This is the inscription that was written, 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN [numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided].'

Geneva Bible (1587)
And this is the writing that he hath written, Mene, Mene, Tekel Vpharsin.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now this is the inscription that was written out: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.'

Berean Standard Bible
Now this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

Complete Jewish Bible
and the inscription says, ‘M'ne! M'ne! T'kel ufarsin.'

Darby Translation
And this is the writing that is written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Easy-to-Read Version
These are the words that were written on the wall: mene, mene, tekel, uparsin .

George Lamsa Translation
And this is the writing that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Good News Translation
"This is what was written: ‘Number, number, weight, divisions.'

Lexham English Bible
"Now this was the writing that was inscribed: ‘Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.'

Literal Translation
And this is the writing that was written: A MINA, A MINA, A SHEKEL, AND HALF MINAS.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And this is the scripture, that is written vp: Mane, Thetel, Phares.

American Standard Version
And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin .

Bible in Basic English
And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN.

King James Version (1611)
And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL VPHARSIN.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And this the writing that he hath writte: MENE MENE, THECEL, VPHARSIN.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And this is the ordered writing, Mane, Thekel, Phares.

English Revised Version
And this is the writing that was inscribed, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

World English Bible
This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli this is the scripture which is discryued, Mane, Techel, Phares.

Update Bible Version
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Webster's Bible Translation
And this [is] the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

New English Translation
"This is the writing that was inscribed: Mene , Mene , Teqel , and Pharsin .

New King James Version
"And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, [fn] MENE, TEKEL, [fn] UPHARSIN. [fn]

New Living Translation
"This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel , and Parsin .

New Life Bible
"This is what was written: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.'

New Revised Standard
And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene , mene , tekel , and parsin .

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And this is the writing which was inscribed, M'ne, M'ne, T'kel, u-Pharsin.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.

Revised Standard Version
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.

Young's Literal Translation
and this [is] the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ When the queen heard the king and his officials talking, she came in and said: Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! Don't be afraid or look so pale. ¹¹ In your kingdom there is a man who has been given special powers by the holy gods. When your father Nebuchadnezzar was king, this man was known to be as smart, intelligent, and wise as the gods themselves. Your father put him in charge of all who claimed they could talk with the spirits or understand the meanings in the stars or tell about the future. ¹² He also changed the man's name from Daniel to Belteshazzar. Not only is he wise and intelligent, but he can explain dreams and riddles and solve difficult problems. Send for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means. ¹³ When Daniel was brought in, the king said: So you are Daniel, one of the captives my father brought back from Judah! ¹⁴ I was told that the gods have given you special powers and that you are intelligent and very wise. ¹⁵ Neither my advisors nor the men who talk with the spirits of the dead could read this writing or tell me what it means. ¹⁶ But I have been told that you understand everything and that you can solve difficult problems. Now then, if you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. You will wear royal purple robes and have a gold chain around your neck. ¹⁷ Daniel answered: Your Majesty, I will read the writing and tell you what it means. But you may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. ¹⁸ Sir, the Most High God made your father a great and powerful man and brought him much honor and glory. ¹⁹ God did such great things for him that people of all nations and races shook with fear. Your father had the power of life or death over everyone, and he could honor or ruin anyone he chose.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

MENE: Had these words been written in the Chaldean character, every one who knew the alphabet of the language could at least have read them: they are pure Chaldee, and literally denote "He is numbered, he is numbered; he is weighed; they are divided." Daniel 5:25

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 28:19 - and to morrow 2 Chronicles 21:12 - a writing Isaiah 14:11 - pomp Isaiah 47:11 - thou shalt not be Jeremiah 27:7 - until Habakkuk 2:7 - they Luke 1:51 - he hath scattered Luke 12:20 - God

Cross-References

Genesis 4:18
Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And this is the writing that was written,.... They are such and such letters, and so to be read, as follows:

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN; which are Chaldee words, and may be literally rendered, "he hath numbered, he hath numbered"; that is, God hath certainly, perfectly, and exactly numbered; "he hath weighed", God hath weighed thee, Belshazzar; "and they divide the kingdom"; that is, the Medes and Persians, as appears from the following interpretation:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And this is the writing that was written - The Babylonians, it would seem, were unacquainted with the “characters” that were used, and of course unable to understand the meaning. See Daniel 5:8. The first thing, therefore, for Daniel to do was to read the writing, and this he was able to do without difficulty, probably, as already remarked, because it was in the ancient Hebrew character - a character quite familiar to him, though not known to the Babylonians, whom Belshazzar consulted. It is every way probable that that character “would” be used on an occasion like this, for

(a) it is manifest that it was intended that the true God, the God of the Hebrews, should be made known, and this was the character in which his communications had been made to men;

(b) it was clearly the design to honor his own religion, and it is morally certain that there would be something which would show the connection between this occurrence and his own agency, and nothing would do this better than to make use of such a character; and

(c) it was the Divine intention to put honor on Daniel, and this would be well done by making use of a character which he understood.

There have been, indeed, many conjectures respecting the characters which were employed on this occasion, and the reasons of the difficulty of interpreting the words used, but it is most probable that the above is the true statement, and this will relieve all the difficulties in regard to the account. Prideaux supposes that the characters employed were the ancient Phoenician characters, that were used by the Hebrews, and that are found now in the Samaritan Pentateuch; and that, as above suggested, these might be unknown to the Babylonians, though familiar to Daniel. Others have supposed that the characters were those in common use in Babylon, and that the reason why the Babylonians could not read them was, that they were smitten with a sudden blindness, like the inhabitants of Sodom, Genesis 19:11. The Talmudists suppose that the words were written in a cabalistic manner, in which certain letters were used to stand for other letters, on the principle referred to by Buxtorf (“Lex. Chal. Rabb. et Talm.” p. 248), and known as אתבשׁ 'âthebbash - that is, where the alphabet is reversed, and the Hebrew letter א (A) is used for the Hebrew letter ת (T), and the Hebrew letter ב (B) for the Hebrew letter ש (S), etc., and that on account of this cabalistic transmutation the Babylonians could not read it, though Daniel might have been familiar with that mode of writing. rabbi Jochanan supposed that there was a change of the order in which the letters of the words were written; other rabbis, that there was a change merely in the order of the first and second letters; others, that the words were written backward; others that the words were written, not in the usual horizontal manner, but perpendicularly; and others, that the words were not written in full, but that only the first letters of each were written. See Bertholdt, pp. 349, 350. All these are mere conjectures, and most of them are childish and improbable suppositions. There is no real difficulty in the case if we suppose that the words were written in a character familiar to Daniel, but not familiar to the Babylonians. Or, if this is not admitted, then we may suppose that some mere marks were employed whose signification was made known to Daniel in a miraculous manner.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Daniel 5:25. And this is the writing — Had the words been written in the Chaldean character, every wise man there, every one that could read the alphabet of his own language, could have read and interpreted them. Let it be observed, -

1. That the character which we now call Hebrew is the Chaldean character.

2. That the true Hebrew character is that which we call the Samaritan.

3. Daniel could easily read this, for it was the character used by the Jews previously to the Babylonish captivity.

4. It appears that it was simply on account of the strangeness of the character that the Chaldeans could not read it.

I shall set down the words in both characters, by which the least learned reader may see that it was quite possible that one might be well known, while the other might be unintelligible.

Hebrew

מנא מנא תקל ופרסין

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

In ancient times, no doubt, these letters differed more from each other than they appear to do now; for we know that the Samaritan on ancient coins, though radically the same, differs very much from that now used in printing.

It should be observed, that each word stands for a short sentence; מנא mene signifies NUMERATION; תקל tekel, WEIGHING; and פרש peres, DIVISION. And so the Arabic translates them. [Arabic] mokeeson, measured; [Arabic] mewzonon, weighed; [Arabic] mokesoomon, divided. All the ancient Versions, except the Syriac, read the words simply Mene, Tekel, Phares, as they are explained in the following verses; without the repetition of Mene, and without the conjunction ו vau, and plural termination, ין in, in Peres.