Daniel 5:27TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting.
The setting
Same throne room, moments later. Daniel explains the mysterious Aramaic words while Babylonian officials watch their empire crumble. Modern-day Iraq.
The emotion here: heartbroken but faithful to deliver hard truth
The original word
teqēl (תְּקֵל) — weighed on scales and found deficient
Why it matters
Ancient scales were so precise they could detect a grain of wheat's difference in gold weight
Read with care
What most readers miss in Daniel 5:27
This wasn't about Belshazzar's personal sins but his failure as a steward of God's people and sacred things
Common misconceptionThis verse is often used to shame people about personal failures, but it was actually about a leader who abused sacred things and oppressed God's people.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Daniel 5:27
Bible Genome reading
Daniel 5:27 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Daniel 5:27 comes from the book of Daniel, written during the Exile period. These words are attributed to Daniel. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is commanding. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include divine judgment, moral evaluation, inadequacy. Notable phrases: weighed in the balances; found wanting. This verse contains prophecy.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same anxious
“And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
— 2 Timothy 3:12
“The evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"”
— Acts 19:15
“I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'”
— Acts 22:7
“When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is har…”
— Acts 26:14
Your reflection
What does Daniel 5:27 mean to you, today?
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