In brief
Belshazzar is king of Babylon at the end of the Chaldean empire, presented in Daniel 5 as the son of Nebuchadnezzar. At a great feast, he has the gold vessels of the Jerusalem temple brought in to drink from them while praising his idols. A hand appears and writes on the wall. Only Daniel can read it: God has counted his reign, weighed him and found him wanting, and his kingdom will be divided. That same night Belshazzar is killed and Darius the Mede takes the kingdom. He stands as a warning against pride that scorns God.
What does the name Belshazzar mean?
Belshazzar is a Babylonian name, generally linked to a formula calling on the god Bel to protect the king, but the Bible gives no explanation of it. He must not be confused with Belteshazzar, the Babylonian name given to Daniel (Daniel 1:7; 5:12), despite the resemblance between the two names.
The story of Belshazzar
The feast and the temple vessels
Daniel 5:1-4Belshazzar gives a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. Warmed by wine, he has the gold and silver vessels brought that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. The king, his nobles, his wives and his concubines drink from them, and they praise the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
The hand writing on the wall
Daniel 5:5-9At that moment, the fingers of a man's hand appear and write on the plaster of the wall, opposite the lampstand. The king's face turns pale and his knees knock together. He promises purple, a gold chain and the third place in the kingdom to whoever reads the writing. None of Babylon's wise men can; dismay spreads through the hall.
Daniel is summoned
Daniel 5:10-16The queen reminds the king that a man in his kingdom, Daniel, interpreted dreams and solved hard questions in Nebuchadnezzar's time, when the king made him chief of the wise men. Belshazzar has him brought in and promises him the same honors if he can read the writing and explain it.
You have not humbled your heart
Daniel 5:17-24Daniel refuses the gifts, then recalls how God brought Nebuchadnezzar low in his pride until he knew that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of men. Belshazzar, his son, has not humbled his heart though he knew all this. He has profaned the temple vessels and praised gods that cannot see or hear, and has “not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is.”
Counted, weighed, divided
Daniel 5:25-31Daniel reads the writing: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” God has counted the king's reign and ended it; he has been weighed in the balances and found wanting; his kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians. Belshazzar has Daniel honored as promised. “In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.” Darius the Mede receives the kingdom.
What Belshazzar teaches us
- Knowing what God did for others is not enough: Belshazzar knew Nebuchadnezzar's story and did not humble his heart.
- What is consecrated to God cannot be profaned without consequence; treat with respect what belongs to him.
- Your breath and all your ways are in God's hand: live each day before him, not as if judgment will never come.
- Worldly honors carry no weight when God weighs a life; seek what counts in his eyes.
Key verses
Daniel sums up the king's fault: he lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven, profaned his vessels and did not glorify the God who holds his breath and all his ways in his hand.
“You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting.” God's verdict on a reign: no human greatness stands before his judgment.
The sentence is carried out that very night: Belshazzar is killed and Darius the Mede takes the kingdom. God's word does not delay when the hour has come.
Sermons about Belshazzar
Frequently asked questions
Why did God judge Belshazzar?
Daniel tells him to his face: he lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven by drinking from the temple vessels, praised gods of metal and stone that neither see nor hear, and did not glorify the God who holds his breath (Daniel 5:23). Above all, he knew how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar, and he did not humble his own heart.
What does the name Belshazzar mean?
Belshazzar is a Babylonian name. It is generally linked to a formula calling on Bel, a god of Babylon, to protect the king, but the Bible does not explain it. It must be distinguished from Belteshazzar, the name the chief of the eunuchs gave Daniel (Daniel 1:7), which Daniel 5:12 recalls in the same account.
Where can I find the story of Belshazzar in the Bible?
The whole account is in Daniel 5: the feast, the writing hand, the failure of the wise men, Daniel's explanation and the king's death that same night. Daniel 7:1 and 8:1 also date two of Daniel's visions to the first and third years of Belshazzar's reign.