Daniel 5:25
New International Version
“This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin

New Living Translation
“This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel , and Parsin .

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

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

King James Bible
And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

New King James Version
“And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

New American Standard Bible
“Now this is the inscription that was written: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’

NASB 1995
“Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’

NASB 1977
“Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’

Legacy Standard Bible
“Now this is the writing that was inscribed: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’

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

Christian Standard Bible
“This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

American Standard Version
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And this writing was inscribed and this is the inscription that was inscribed: ’Meneh meneh teqal oufarseen’

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And this is the ordered writing, Mane, Thekel, Phares.

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

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
This is what has been written: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.

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

International Standard Version
This is the written inscription: MENE, MENE, TEKEL AND PARSIN

JPS Tanakh 1917
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN.

Literal Standard Version
and this [is] the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided.

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

New American Bible
“This is the writing that was inscribed: , , and

NET Bible
"This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEQEL, and PHARSIN.

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

New Heart English Bible
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.

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

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

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting
24Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription. 25Now this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. 26And this is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.…

Cross References
Daniel 5:24
Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

Daniel 5:26
And this is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.


Treasury of Scripture

And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

MENE.

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Divided Inscribed Inscription MENE Noted Numbered Peres Recorded TEKEL Weighed Writing Written
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Divided Inscribed Inscription MENE Noted Numbered Peres Recorded TEKEL Weighed Writing Written
Daniel 5
1. Belshazzar's impious feast.
5. A hand-writing unknown to the magicians, troubles the king.
10. At the commendation of the queen Daniel is brought.
17. He, reproving the king of pride and idolatry,
25. reads and interprets the writing.
30. The monarchy is translated to the Medes














(25) Mene . . .--It should be remarked that the word Mene, which occurs twice in the inscription, is found only once in the interpretation, and that the "Medes" who are mentioned in the interpretation are not spoken of in the inscription. Hence it has been conjectured that the second Mene was originally Madai, or Media. This, though it appears plausible, has no external support. The word Mene, "numbered," is repeated twice for the sake of emphasis. The days of Babylon are numbered; it is God Himself who has numbered them. "Mene" is used in the double sense of "numbering" and "bringing to an end." Similarly, "Tekel" implies both the act of "weighing" and the fact of "being light." The "u" in Upharsin is the conjunction "and," while pharsin, or, rather, parsin, is the plural of peres, a noun which implies "divisions" and also Persians. It appears from Daniel 5:28 that the divided empire of Babylon and the Medo-Persian empire are signified.

Verses 25-28. - And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The Septuagint has two versions of this passage, one m the text, the other in the portion at the beginning, which we think is really composed of marginal readings. In the text the Aramaic is not given at all. As we have already seen, the verse which corresponds to ver. 25 here is really the latter part of ver. 17 of the Septuagint, "This is the writing: It hath been numbered; it is reckoned; it has been carried away." In the verses which are appended to the beginning of the chapter, we have the Aramaic words, but given in a different order, and without the repetition of the first word: "MANE, PHARES, THEKEL. MANE, It has been numbered; PHARES, It is carried away; TnEKEL, It has been set up." Here not only is the order different, but the meaning assigned to phares is singular. פְרַס means in Syriac, "spread out." It would seem that ἐξαίρω meant "stretched out" as well as "carried away." It is still more difficult to understand how thekel can mean "set up," unless the words, ἐν ζυγῷ, "on the balance," are understood. The Septuagint of the best version is briefer than the Massoretic, though less so than it is in some of the other passages, "Numbered is the time of thy kingdom; ceases thy kingdom; cut short and ended has been thy kingdom; to the Modes and the Persians has it been given." The word interpreted is not repeated as in the Massoretic text, and תְקִל is derived from קְלַל, which in some of the conjugations means "destroyed," whereas in ver. 17 it is rendered κατελογίσθη, "it is reckoned," a rendering of תקל which makes it mean "weigh." The Septuagint rendering of the first clause is an evident attempt at explaining the numbering implied. The Massoretic reading involves a pun in both the last words; there is a play between תְקִל (teqel), "to weigh," and קְלַל (qelal), "to be light," although the introduction of שכח rather conceals this. In the last the play is between פרס, "to divide," and פדס, "a Persian." Theodotion avoids the repetition of the first word, otherwise he is in somewhat close agreement with the Massoretic text, "MANE, God hath measured thy kingdom; THEKEL, It is set on the balance, and found wanting; PHARES, Thy kingdom is cut asunder, and given to the Medes and the Persians." The Peshitta is in close agreement with the Massoretic text. The actual meaning of the words, taking them as they appear in the Massoretictext, as Aramaic words, is, to give English equivalents, "a pound, a pound, an ounce, and quarters;" hence the impossibility of interpreting the words. We find all these words, mena, teqel (shekel), pares, in the Ninevite inscriptions. As the words are interpreted, we cannot fail to be impressed with the peremptory style of the inscription, as Hitzig has it. Zockler refers to the sculpturesque style (lapidarstil). This brevity rendered it difficult for the soothsayers to put any meaning into the words at all. In all the versions the fact that the kingdom is to be given to the Medes and Persians is emphasized, but, moreover, the play on words in the last clause implies the Persians as the prominent assailants of the Babylonian power, but really that the two powers were united. It seems extraordinary that any one, in the face of this, should maintain that the author of Daniel separated the two powers, and thought the Median power succeeded the Babylonian, and then that the Persian succeeded the Median. We know now that Herodotus's representation of the history of Media and Persia is utterly false and misleading.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now this
וּדְנָ֥ה (ū·ḏə·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 1836: This

is the inscription
כְתָבָ֖א (ḵə·ṯā·ḇā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 3792: Something written, a writing, record, book

that
דִּ֣י (dî)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 1768: Who, which, that, because

was written:
רְשִׁ֑ים (rə·šîm)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7560: To inscribe, sign

MENE,
מְנֵ֥א (mə·nê)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4484: Maneh, mina (a measure of weight)

MENE,
מְנֵ֖א (mə·nê)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4484: Maneh, mina (a measure of weight)

TEKEL,
תְּקֵ֥ל (tə·qêl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8625: To balance

PARSIN.
וּפַרְסִֽין׃ (ū·p̄ar·sîn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6537: To break in two


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OT Prophets: Daniel 5:25 This is the writing that was inscribed: (Dan. Da Dn)
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