Daniel 5:28
New International Version
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

New Living Translation
Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

English Standard Version
Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Berean Standard Bible
PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

King James Bible
PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

New King James Version
PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

New American Standard Bible
‘PERES’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

NASB 1995
“’PERES ‘— your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

NASB 1977
“ ‘PERES’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Legacy Standard Bible
‘PERES’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Amplified Bible
‘PERES’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Christian Standard Bible
‘Peres’ means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

American Standard Version
PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

English Revised Version
PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Divided-your kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Good News Translation
divisions, your kingdom is divided up and given to the Medes and Persians."

International Standard Version
PERES: Your kingdom has been divided—and will be given to the Medes and Persians."

Majority Standard Bible
PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

NET Bible
As for peres--your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians."

New Heart English Bible
PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."

Webster's Bible Translation
PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

World English Bible
PERES: your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Divided—Your kingdom is divided, and it has been given to the Medes and Persians.”

Young's Literal Translation
Divided -- Divided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.'

Smith's Literal Translation
Pharsin; Thy kingdom was divided, and it shall be given to the Medes and to Persia.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
PHARES: thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians.

Catholic Public Domain Version
PHARES: your kingdom has been divided and has been given to the Medes and the Persians.

New American Bible
, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

New Revised Standard Version
peres , your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
PERES, Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
‘Peras’ ‘Your kingdom is divided and is given to Media and to Persia’”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
PERES, thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Phares; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting
27TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.” 29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.…

Cross References
Isaiah 13:17
Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.

Jeremiah 51:11
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.

Jeremiah 51:28
Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the lands they rule.

Habakkuk 1:6
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.

2 Kings 24:1-2
During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. / And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.

2 Kings 25:1-4
So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it. / And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. / By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food. ...

Isaiah 21:2
A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”

Jeremiah 50:9
For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.

Jeremiah 50:41-42
Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth. / They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.

Isaiah 45:1
This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.

Revelation 18:10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

Revelation 18:21
Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.

Matthew 24:2
“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Luke 21:24
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.


Treasury of Scripture

PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

PERES.

Thy.

Daniel 5:31
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Daniel 6:28
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel 8:3,4,20
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last…

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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














Peres
The word "Peres" is a play on words in the Aramaic language, which is the original language of this passage. It is related to the word "upharsin" mentioned earlier in the chapter, which means "divided" or "broken." The term "Peres" also sounds like the word for "Persians," indicating the dual meaning of the prophecy. This wordplay is significant as it underscores the divine judgment and the precision of God's message to Belshazzar. The use of such a term highlights the sovereignty of God in orchestrating the rise and fall of empires according to His divine plan.

Your kingdom has been divided
This phrase signifies the end of the Babylonian Empire's dominance. Historically, the Babylonian Empire was known for its grandeur and power, but this divine message through Daniel reveals that no earthly kingdom is beyond God's control. The division of the kingdom is a direct consequence of the pride and impiety of its rulers, particularly Belshazzar, who failed to honor the God of heaven. This serves as a reminder of the biblical principle that pride precedes a fall (Proverbs 16:18) and that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

and given over to the Medes and Persians
The Medes and Persians were two distinct groups that formed a powerful alliance under the leadership of Cyrus the Great. Historically, this prophecy was fulfilled when Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., marking the transition from the Babylonian Empire to the Medo-Persian Empire. This transfer of power was not merely a political shift but a fulfillment of God's prophetic word, as previously revealed through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 45:1) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 51:11). The mention of the Medes and Persians emphasizes the accuracy of biblical prophecy and God's control over the nations. It also foreshadows the unfolding of God's redemptive plan, as the Persian Empire would later play a crucial role in the return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland, setting the stage for the coming of the Messiah.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
PERES
פְּרֵ֑ס (pə·rês)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6537: To break in two

means that your kingdom
מַלְכוּתָ֔ךְ (mal·ḵū·ṯāḵ)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4437: Royalty, reign, kingdom

has been divided
פְּרִיסַת֙ (pə·rî·saṯ)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 6537: To break in two

and given over
וִיהִיבַ֖ת (wî·hî·ḇaṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3052: To give, to put, imperatively, come

to the Medes
לְמָדַ֥י (lə·mā·ḏay)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4076: Medes -- descendants of Japheth, also their land

and Persians.”
וּפָרָֽס׃ (ū·p̄ā·rās)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6540: Persians -- a country in west Asia which conquered Babylon


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OT Prophets: Daniel 5:28 PERES (Dan. Da Dn)
Daniel 5:27
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