MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPARSIN - Daniel 5:25

In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Belshazzar was greatly troubled because he saw a hand writing on the wall, and when his wise men were unable to tell him what the writing said or meant, he called for Daniel who said, “O you king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor. And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomsoever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. 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 in them; and you have 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 your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified. Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written”, and in chapter five and verse twenty-five of his book, Daniel told King Belshazzar the writing said, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” where we read,

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

The verse reads, “And this is the writing that was written, …” Daniel began with the words, “and this is the writing” or “and the following exists as the wording and engraving” “that was written” which means “that was inscribed” on the wall. Daniel said the following words were inscribed upon the wall.

The verse continues, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” Daniel added the words, “MENE, MENE” which means  “a mina or a weight or measurement, a mina or a weight or measurement” “TEKEL” or “to be weighed” “UPHARSIN” which means “to break in two or divide like a half-mina or half-shekel”. Daniel shared how the words whose meanings are, a weight or measurement, to be weighed and divided in half were inscribed upon the wall.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel what the words were that were inscribed upon the wall. “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” were all words which were unfamiliar to Belshazzar’s wise men, but Daniel will share what they meant in our next few verses. For now let us consider that “MENE” was used twice which denoted a unit of measurement, and for certain, Belshazzar was that unit. God knows everything about everyone, and we all come short of His glory. (See Romans 3:23) We all have sin in our lives, and those sins lead to death. (See Romans 3:10; 6:23) For this reason God sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit so when we are “weighed” we will never come up short because He has tilted the scales. 

Next time Daniel shares how he tells King Belshazzar, “the interpretation of the thing”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".