“And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Parallel translations
- WEB This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
- KJV And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
- BSB Now this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
- NASB “Now this is the inscription that was written: ‘Menē, Menē, Tekēl, Upharsin.’
- NLT “This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.
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 reads the inscription: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. These words form God's coded sentence against the kingdom.
Overview
The writing consists of terms that also denote weights or measures, which the wise men could read as letters but not understand as a message. Daniel, given divine insight, will unfold their meaning as a pronouncement of judgment. The verse highlights again that revelation requires not just literacy but the understanding God alone supplies.
Cross-references & the web
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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 5:25 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.