Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
Parallel translations
- KJV Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
- BSB Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
- NKJV Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
- NASB Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.
- NLT So God has sent this hand to write this message.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Daniel explains that the hand that wrote on the wall was sent by God Himself. The mysterious sign is identified as a direct act of divine judgment.
Overview
Daniel attributes the writing to God, the same God Belshazzar had just dishonored. The message is no random omen but the deliberate verdict of the One the king defied. This makes clear that the coming judgment is personal and just, issued by the offended Lord of heaven.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Dan 5:5In the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 5:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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