Daniel 5:23

New King James Version

And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.

Hebrew Names Version
but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which don't see, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not glorified.

King James Version
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

English Standard Version
but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

New American Standard Bible
but you have risen up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

New Century Version
Instead, you have set yourself against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from the Temple of the Lord to be brought to you. Then you and your royal guests, your wives, and your slave women drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that are not really gods; they cannot see or hear or understand anything. You did not honor God, who has power over your life and everything you do.

Amplified Bible
"And you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of His house have been brought before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But the God who holds in His hand your breath of life and your ways you have not honored and glorified [but have dishonored and defied].

Geneva Bible (1587)
But hast lift thy selfe vp against the Lorde of heauen, and they haue brought the vessels of his House before thee, and thou and thy princes, thy wiues and thy concubines haue drunke wine in them, and thou hast praysed the gods of siluer and golde, of brasse, yron, wood and stone, which neither see, neither heare, nor vnderstand: and the God in whose hand thy breath is and all thy wayes, him hast thou not glorified.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

Berean Standard Bible
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

Contemporary English Version
Instead, you turned against him and ordered the cups from his temple to be brought here, so that you and your wives and officials could drink wine from them. You praised idols made of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, even though they cannot see or hear or think. You refused to worship the God who gives you breath and controls everything you do.

Complete Jewish Bible
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven by having them bring you the vessels from his house; and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them; then you offered praise to your gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone, which can't see, hear or know anything. Meanwhile, God, who holds your very breath in his hands, and to whom belongs everything you do, you have not glorified.

Darby Translation
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of the heavens; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

Easy-to-Read Version
No, you did not become humble. Instead, you have turned against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from his Temple to be brought to you. Then you and your royal officials, your wives, and your slave women drank wine from those cups. You gave praise to the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They are not really gods; they cannot see or hear or understand anything. But you did not give honor to the God who has the power over your life and everything you do.

George Lamsa Translation
But have lifted up yourself against the LORD of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your princes, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of gold and silver, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which neither see nor hear nor know; and the God in whose hands is your breath and all your ways, you have not glorified nor honored.

Good News Translation
You acted against the Lord of heaven and brought in the cups and bowls taken from his Temple. You, your noblemen, your wives, and your concubines drank wine out of them and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that cannot see or hear and that do not know anything. But you did not honor the God who determines whether you live or die and who controls everything you do.

Lexham English Bible
And now you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that do not see and do not hear and do not know, but the God who holds your life in his hand and all of your ways come from him, you have not honored.

Literal Translation
But you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of Heaven. And they have brought the vessels of His house before you. And you, and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine with them. And you have praised the gods of silver,and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, and do not know. And you have not glorified the God in whose hand your life, breath, and all your ways is .

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
but hast magnified thy selff aboue the LORDE off heauen, so that the vessels off his house were brought before the: that thou, and thy lordes, with thy quene and concubynes, might drynke wyne therout: And hast praysed the Idols of syluer and golde, copper and yron, off wodde & stone: As for the God, in whose honde consisteth thy breth ad all thy wayes: thou hast not loaued him.

American Standard Version
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.

Bible in Basic English
But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy consorts and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified;

King James Version (1611)
But hast lifted vp thy selfe against the Lord of heauen, and they haue brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wiues and thy concubines haue drunke wine in them, and thou hast praised the gods of siluer, and golde, of brasse, yron, wood and stone, which see not, nor heare, nor knowe: and the God in whose hande thy breath is, and whose are all thy wayes, hast thou not glorified.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But hast lift vp thy selfe against the Lorde of heauen, so that the vessels of his house were brought before thee, that thou and thy princes, with thy wyues and concubines, might drinke wine thereout: and thou hast praysed the gods of siluer and golde, of brasse and iron, of wood and stone, which neither see, heare, nor vnderstand: As for the God in whose hande consisteth thy breath and all thy wayes, thou hast not glorified him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou has been exalted against the Lord God of heaven; and they have brought before thee the vessels of his house, and thou, and thy nobles, and thy mistresses, and thy concubines, have drunk wine out of them; and thou has praised the gods of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and wood, and stone, which see not, and which hear not, and know not: and the God in whose hand are thy breath, and all thy ways has thou not glorified.

English Revised Version
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

World English Bible
but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which don't see, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not glorified.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
but thou were reisid ayens the Lord of heuene, and the vessels of his hous weren brouyt bifore thee, and thou, and thi beste men, and thi wyues, and thi concubyns, drunken wyn in tho vessels; and thou heriedist goddis of siluer, and of gold, and of bras, and of irun, and of tree, and of stoon, that seen not, nether heren, nether feelen; certis thou glorifiedist not God, that hath thi blast, and alle thi weies in his hond.

Update Bible Version
but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drank wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don't see, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand is your breath, and are all your ways, you have not glorified.

Webster's Bible Translation
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drank wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath [is], and whose [are] all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.

New English Translation
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways!

New Living Translation
For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!

New Life Bible
You have honored yourself more than the Lord of heaven. The cups of His house have been brought to you. And you and your important men and all your wives have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But you have not honored the God Who holds your life and your ways in His hand.

New Revised Standard
You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
but, against the Lord of the heavens, hast uplifted thyself, and, the vessels of his house, have they brought before thee, and, thou, and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have been drinking, wine, therein, and, gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which see not nor hear nor know, hast thou praised, - whereas, God, in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy ways, him, hast thou not glorified.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven: and the vessels of his house have been brought before thee: and thou, and thy nobles, and thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them: and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor feel: but the God who hath thy breath in his hand, and all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.

Revised Standard Version
but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Young's Literal Translation
and against the Lord of the heavens thou hast lifted up thyself; and the vessels of His house they have brought in before thee, and thou, and thy great men, thy wives, and thy concubines, are drinking wine with them, and gods of silver, and of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that are not seeing, nor hearing, nor knowing, thou hast praised: and the God in whose hand [is] thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, "O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father--your father the king--made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹² Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas Daniel 5:16">[fn] were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation." ¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives [fn] from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. ¹⁶ And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." ¹⁷ Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ¹⁹ And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

lifted: Daniel 5:3, Daniel 5:4, 2 Kings 14:10, Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 33:10, Isaiah 37:23, Jeremiah 50:29, Ezekiel 28:2, Ezekiel 28:5, Ezekiel 28:17, Ezekiel 31:10, Habakkuk 2:4, 1 Timothy 3:6, Revelation 13:5, Revelation 13:6

the Lord: Daniel 4:37, Genesis 14:19, Psalms 115:16

and they: Daniel 5:2-4, 1 Samuel 5:1-9

hast praised: Judges 16:23

which: Psalms 115:4-8, Psalms 135:15-17, Isaiah 37:19, Isaiah 46:6, Isaiah 46:7, Habakkuk 2:18, Habakkuk 2:19, 1 Corinthians 8:4

in whose: Genesis 2:7, Job 12:10, Job 34:14, Job 34:15, Psalms 104:29, Psalms 146:4, Isaiah 42:5, Acts 17:25, Acts 17:28, Acts 17:29

and whose: Job 31:4, Psalms 139:3, Proverbs 20:24, Jeremiah 10:23, Hebrews 4:13

hast thou: Romans 1:21-23

Reciprocal: Exodus 7:17 - thou shalt Exodus 20:23 - General Exodus 32:18 - but the Judges 9:27 - the house Judges 16:24 - praised 1 Samuel 5:2 - of Dagon 1 Kings 17:17 - that there was 1 Kings 18:26 - no voice 1 Chronicles 10:9 - tidings 2 Chronicles 4:19 - all the vessels 2 Chronicles 24:7 - did they bestow 2 Chronicles 32:25 - his heart 2 Chronicles 36:10 - goodly vessels 2 Chronicles 36:12 - humbled 2 Chronicles 36:23 - All the kingdoms Ezra 1:2 - Lord God Ezra 1:7 - Nebuchadnezzar Nehemiah 9:10 - they Job 15:25 - he stretcheth Psalms 10:4 - will not Psalms 69:12 - drunkards Proverbs 18:12 - destruction Proverbs 24:12 - that keepeth Isaiah 5:12 - the harp Isaiah 13:11 - and I will cause Isaiah 40:20 - chooseth Isaiah 44:8 - ye are Isaiah 44:9 - and their Isaiah 47:8 - I am Jeremiah 27:22 - carried Jeremiah 48:26 - for he Jeremiah 50:28 - to declare Jeremiah 50:32 - the most proud Ezekiel 16:49 - pride Ezekiel 28:9 - say Ezekiel 31:14 - the end Daniel 3:1 - made Daniel 8:11 - he magnified Daniel 11:12 - his heart Hosea 2:8 - her corn Hosea 7:5 - with scorners Habakkuk 1:16 - they Habakkuk 2:5 - he transgresseth Luke 16:25 - remember 1 Corinthians 4:7 - why 2 Corinthians 10:5 - and every Hebrews 10:26 - if Revelation 9:20 - and idols Revelation 16:9 - and they

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven,.... Who made it, and dwells in it; from whence he beholds all the actions of the children of men, and will bring them to an account for them; and yet, though so high and great, such was the insolence of this king, that he dared to lift up himself against him, as if he was above him, and greater than he; and indeed so it may be rendered, "above the Lord of heaven" x; which showed his great pride and vanity, his want of knowledge, both of himself, and of the true God. This name of God is the same with Beelsamen y; by which the Phoenicians used to call him:

and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee; that is, his servants by his orders had brought the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem, which Nebuchadnezzar had took from thence, and set them upon his table for him and his company to drink out of; which is an instance of the pride of his heart, and of his daring boldness and impiety; see Daniel 5:2:

and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drank wine in them; even that very day or night: this Daniel had knowledge of by some means or another; and his intelligence was so good that he could with great certainty affirm it:

and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone; see Daniel 5:4:

which see not, nor hear, nor know; no more, than the various metals and materials of which they are made; and therefore it must be great madness and folly to praise such as gods that are below men, and even brutes; have neither the sense of animals, nor the knowledge of men; see

Psalms 115:4:

and the God in whose hand thy breath is; who gave it to him at first, and as yet continued it in him, and could take it away when he pleased: and whose are all thy ways; counsels and designs, works and actions; under whose direction and control they all are; the events, issue, and success of which all depend upon him; see Jeremiah 10:23:

him hast thou not glorified; by owning him as the only true God; ascribing all he was and had unto him, and giving due worship, adoration, and honour to him; but, on the contrary, setting up his idol gods above him, and treating him, and everything belonging to him, with ignominy and contempt.

x על מרי שמיא "super Dominum coeli", Montanus; "super Dominum scelorum", Michaelis. y Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 9. p. 34.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven - The God who had so signally rebuked and humbled Nebuchadnezzar. The monarch had done this, it would seem, during the whole of his reign, and now by a crowning act of impiety he had evinced special disregard of him, and contempt for him, by profaning the sacred vessels of his temple.

And they have brought the vessels of his house before thee ... - See the note at Daniel 5:2.

And the God in whose hand thy breath is - Under whose power, and at whose disposal, is thy life. While you have been celebrating the praises of idol gods, who can do you neither good nor evil, you have been showing special contempt for that great Being who keeps you in existence, and who has power to take away your life at any moment. What is here said of Belshazzar is true of all men - high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, princes and people. It is a deeply affecting consideration, that the breath, on which our life depends, and which is itself so frail a thing, is in the “hand” of a Being who is invisible to us, over whom we can have no control; who can arrest it when he pleases; who has given us no intimation when he will do it, and who often does it so suddenly as to defy all previous calculation and hope. Nothing is more absolute than the power which God holds over the breath of men, yet there is nothing which is less recognized than that power, and nothing which men are less disposed to acknowledge than their dependence on him for it.

And whose are all thy ways - That is, he has power to control thee in all thy ways. You can go nowhere without his permission; you can never, when abroad, return to your home without the direction of his providence. What is here said, also, is as true of all others as it was of the Chaldean prince. “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” None of us can take a step without his permission; none can go forth on a journey to a distant land without his constant superintending care; none can return without his favor. And yet how little is this recognized! How few feel it when they go out and come in; when they go forth to their daily employments; when they start on a voyage or journey; when they propose to return to their homes!

Hast thou not glorified - That is, thou hast not honored him by a suitable acknowledgment of dependence on him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord — And the highest evidence of this rebellion was, the profaning the sacred vessels of the Lord's house.