Commentary on Daniel Chapters 1-12 John Calvin
JOHN CALVIN
did not hesitate to receive the purple, he displays his perfect freedom from all fear. Meanwhile he, doubtless, wished to lay prostrate the king's foolish arrogance, by which he was puffed up, when he says, Let thy gifts remain with thee, and give thy presents to another! I care not for them. Because he so nobly despises the king's liberality, there is no doubt of his desire to correct the pride by which he was puffed up, or at least to wound and arouse his mind to feel God's judgment, of which Daniel will soon become both the herald and the witness. It now follows, — Daniel 5:18-20 18. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
18. O rex, 264 Deus excelsus imperium, et magnitudinem, et praestantiam, et splendorem dedit Nebuchadnezer patri tuo.
19. 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.
19. Et ob magnitudinem quam dederat ei, omnes populi, gentes et linguae tremuerunt, et formidarunt a conspectu ejus: quem volebat, occidebat: 265 et quem volebat percutere, percutiebat: et quem volebat attol-lere, attollebat: et quem volebat dejicere, dejiciebat.
20. 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:
20. Quando autem elevatum fuit cor ejus, et spiritus ejus roboratus est 266 ad superbtam, dejectus fuit e solio regni, et gloriam abstulerunt ab eo. Before Daniel recites the writing, and adds its interpretation, he explains to King Belshazzar the origin of this prodigy. He did not begin the reading at once, as he might conveniently have done, saying Mene, Mene! as we shall see at the end of the chapter, since the king could not have pro-fired by his abrupt speech. But here Daniel shews it to be by no means surprising, if God put forth his hand and shewed the figure of a hand describing the king's destruction, since the king had too obstinately provoked his anger. We see then why Daniel begins by this narrative, since King Nebuchadnezzar was a most powerful monarch, subduing the whole world to himself and causing all men to tremble at his word, and was afterwards hurled from the throne of his kingdom. Hence it more clearly appears that Belshazzar did not live in ignorance, for he had so signal and remarkable an example [hat he ought to have conducted himself with moderation. Since then that domestic admonition did not profit him, Daniel shews the time to be ripe for the denunciation of God's wrath by a formidable and portentous sign. This is the sense of the passage. Passing on to the words themselves, he first
264Verbally, "Thou, O king," as he addresses him. — Calvin. 265That is, "whom he wished to slay was slain." — Calvin. 266Or, "he was hardened." — Calvin.