Daniel 5:3

3 When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them.

Daniel 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 5:3

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the
temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem
That is, the servants to whom the orders were given fetched them from the temple of Bel, and brought them to the king's house; and though only mention is made of golden vessels, yet no doubt the silver ones were also brought, according to the king's command: and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in
them;
by which they were profaned, being dedicated to holy uses, but now put to common use, and that by such impious persons; and who did it, not on account of the value and antiquity of these vessels, and in admiration of them, and to the honour of their festival; but in contempt of them, and in a profane and scurrilous way, as follows:

Daniel 5:3 In-Context

1 King Belshazzar held a great feast for his one thousand nobles. The wine flowed freely.
2 Belshazzar, heady with the wine, ordered that the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God's Temple of Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines, could drink from them.
3 When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them.
4 They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp-illumined, whitewashed wall of the palace. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away,
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.