The Bible

 

Daniel 5

Study

   

1 El rey Belsasar hizo un gran banquete a mil de sus príncipes, y contra todos mil bebía vino.

2 Belsasar, con el gusto del vino, mandó que trajesen los vasos de oro y de plata que Nabucodonosor su padre había traído del Templo de Jerusalén; para que bebiesen con ellos el rey y sus príncipes, sus mujeres y sus concubinas.

3 Entonces fueron traídos los vasos de oro que habían traído del Templo de la Casa de Dios que estaba en Jerusalén, y bebieron con ellos el rey y sus príncipes, sus mujeres y sus concubinas.

4 Bebieron vino, y alabaron a los dioses de oro y de plata, de bronce, de hierro, de madera, y de piedra.

5 En aquella misma hora salieron unos dedos de una mano de hombre, y escribían delante del candelero sobre lo encalado de la pared del palacio real, y el rey veía la palma de la mano que escribía.

6 Entonces el rey se demudó de su color, y sus pensamientos lo turbaron, y se desataron las ceñiduras de sus lomos, y sus rodillas se batían la una con la otra.

7 El rey clamó en alta voz que hiciesen venir magos, caldeos, y adivinos. Habló el rey, y dijo a los sabios de Babilonia: Cualquiera que leyere esta escritura, y me mostrare su declaración, será vestido de púrpura, y tendrá collar de oro a su cuello; y en el reino se enseñoreará el tercero.

8 Entonces fueron introducidos todos los sabios del rey, y no pudieron leer la escritura, ni mostrar al rey su declaración.

9 Entonces el rey Belsasar fue muy turbado, y se le mudaron sus colores y se alteraron sus príncipes.

10 La reina, por las palabras del rey y de sus príncipes, entró a la sala del banquete. Habló la reina, y dijo: Rey, para siempre vive, no te asombren tus pensamientos, ni tus colores se demuden;

11 en tu reino hay un varón, en el cual mora el espíritu de los ángeles santos de Dios ; y en los días de tu padre se halló en él lumbre e inteligencia y sabiduría, como conocimiento de los ángeles, al cual el rey Nabucodonosor, tu padre, constituyó príncipe sobre todos los magos, astrólogos, caldeos, y adivinos: así hizo el rey tu padre,

12 por cuanto fue hallado en él mayor espíritu, y conocimiento, y entendimiento, declarando sueños, y desatando preguntas, y soltando dudas, es a saber , en Daniel; al cual el rey puso por nombre Beltasar. Llámese, pues, ahora a Daniel, y él te mostrará la declaración.

13 Entonces Daniel fue traído delante del rey. Y habló el rey, y dijo a Daniel: ¿Eres tú aquel Daniel de los hijos de la cautividad de Judá, que mi padre trajo de Judea?

14 Yo he oído de ti que el espíritu de los ángeles santos de Dios está en ti, y que en ti se halló lumbre, y entendimiento y mayor sabiduría.

15 Y ahora fueron traídos delante de mí, sabios, astrólogos, que leyesen esta escritura, y me mostrasen su declaración, pero no han podido mostrar la declaración del negocio.

16 Yo pues he oído de ti que puedes declarar las dudas, y desatar dificultades. Si ahora pudieres leer esta escritura, y mostrarme su declaración, serás vestido de púrpura, y collar de oro será puesto en tu cuello, y en el reino serás el tercer señor.

17 Entonces Daniel respondió, y dijo delante del rey: Tus dones sean para ti, y tus presentes dalos a otro. La escritura yo la leeré al rey, y le mostraré la declaración.

18 El Altísimo Dios, oh rey, dio a Nabucodonosor tu padre el reino, y la grandeza, y la gloria, y la hermosura.

19 y por la grandeza que le dio, todos los pueblos, naciones, y lenguas, temblaban y temían delante de él. A los que él quería mataba, y a los que quería daba vida; a los que quería engrandecía, y a los que quería humillaba.

20 Mas cuando su corazón se ensoberbeció, y su espíritu se endureció en altivez, fue depuesto del trono de su reino, y traspasaron de él la gloria.

21 Y fue echado de entre los hijos de los hombres; y su corazón fue puesto con las bestias, y con los asnos monteses fue su morada. Hierba le hicieron comer, como a buey, y su cuerpo fue bañado con el rocío del cielo, hasta que conoció que el Altísimo Dios se enseñorea del reino de los hombres, y que pondrá sobre él al que quisiere.

22 Y tú, su hijo Belsasar, no has humillado tu corazón, sabiendo todo esto;

23 y contra el Señor del cielo te has ensoberbecido, e hiciste traer delante de ti los vasos de su Casa, y tú y tus príncipes, tus mujeres y tus concubinas, bebisteis vino en ellos: además de esto, a dioses de plata y de oro, de bronce, de hierro, de madera, y de piedra, que ni ven, ni oyen, ni saben, diste alabanza; y al Dios en cuya mano está tu alma, y cuyos son todos tus caminos, nunca honraste.

24 Entonces de su presencia fue enviada la palma de la mano que esculpió esta escritura.

25 Y la escritura que esculpió es : MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPARSIN.

26 La declaración del negocio es: MENE: Contó Dios tu reino, y lo ha rematado.

27 TEKEL: Pesado has sido en balanza, y fuiste hallado falto.

28 PERES: Tu reino ha sido roto, y es dado a los medos y a los persias.

29 Entonces, mandándolo Belsasar, vistieron a Daniel de púrpura, y en su cuello fue puesto un collar de oro, y pregonaron de él que fuese el tercer señor en el reino.

30 La misma noche fue muerto Belsasar, rey de los caldeos.

31 Y Darío de Media tomó el reino, siendo de sesenta y dos años.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #5223

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

5223. 'And he sent and called all the magi of Egypt, and its wise men means in consulting factual knowledge, interior as well as exterior. This is clear from the meaning of 'the magi' in the good sense as interior factual knowledge, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'wise men' as exterior factual knowledge, also dealt with below. The reason 'the magi and wise men of Egypt' means factual knowledge is that Egypt had been one of the kingdoms where the representative Ancient Church existed, 1278, 2385. But in Egypt the facts known to that Church were the particular objects of care and attention, being knowledge about correspondences, representatives, and meaningful signs. For that knowledge was used to explain what had been written in the books of the Church, and to explain the things that were done in their sacred worship, 4749, 4964, 4966. This was how it came about that 'Egypt' meant factual knowledge in general, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, as did 'Pharaoh' its king too. The leading people among them who were well-versed in and imparted that knowledge were called magi and wise men. The magi were those well-versed in mystical knowledge, the wise men those well-versed in non-mystical, so that the facts known to the magi were interior ones, while those known to the wise men were exterior. This explains why such factual knowledge is meant in the Word by those two kinds of men. But after they began to misuse the Church's interior factual knowledge and to turn it into magic, Egypt', and likewise 'the magi of Egypt and its wise men', began to mean factual knowledge that led to perversions.

[2] The magi in those times had a knowledge of the kinds of things that belong to the spiritual world, and in their teaching about these they employed the correspondences and the representatives known to the Church. For this reason many of those magi also communicated with spirits and learned the arts of illusion which they used to perform miracles that involved magic. But those who were called the wise men had no interest in anything like this. Instead they provided the answers to hard questions and taught about the causes lying behind natural things. It was primarily in arts such as these that the wisdom of those times consisted, and the ability to practise them was called wisdom. This becomes clear from what is recorded about Solomon in the first Book of Kings,

Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of the Egyptians, so much so that he was wiser than all people - than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. In addition he spoke about trees, from the cedars which are in Lebanon even to the hyssop which comes out of the wall. He also spoke about beasts, and about birds, and about creeping things, and about fish. Therefore they came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who had heard about his wisdom. 1 Kings 4:30-34.

Also there is what is recorded about the queen of Sheba in the same book,

She came to test him with hard questions; and Solomon gave her an explanation for every matter she mentioned. 1 There was not a matter 2 hidden from the king for which he could not give her an explanation. 1 Kings 10:1 and following verses.

[3] From this one may see what was described in those times as wisdom and who exactly those people were who were called wise men, not only in Egypt but also elsewhere - in Syria, Arabia, and Babel. But in the internal sense 'the wisdom of Egypt' means nothing else than knowledge about natural things, while 'that of the magi' means knowledge about spiritual realities, so that exterior factual knowledge is meant by 'the wise men', and interior factual knowledge by 'the magi', 'Egypt' meaning knowledge in general, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966.

Egypt and its wise men had no other meaning in Isaiah,

The princes of Zoan are foolish, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh has become brutish. How does one say to Pharaoh, I am a son of the wise, a son of the kings of old? Where are your wise men now? Isaiah 19:11-12.

[4] The fact that the term 'magi' was applied to those who had a knowledge of spiritual realities, and who also for that reason received revelations, is clear from the magi who came from the east to Jerusalem, asking where the King of the Jews was to be born and saying that they had seen His star in the east and had come to worship Him, Matthew 2:1-2. The same is also clear from Daniel, who is called the chief of the magi in Daniel 4:9. And in another place,

The queen said to King Belshazzar, There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And in the days of your father, light and intelligence and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. Therefore King Nebuchadnezzar your father set him up as chief of the magi, diviners, Chaldeans, and determiners. Daniel 5:11.

And in yet another place,

Among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; for when they were to stand before the king, every matter of wisdom [and] understanding which the king asked of them exceeded ten times [that of] all the magi, the diviners who were in his kingdom. Daniel 1:19-20.

[5] It is well known that in the contrary sense 'magi' 3 is used to mean those who pervert spiritual realities and thereby practise magic, like those mentioned in Exodus 7:9-12; 8:7, 19; 9:11. For magic is nothing else than a perversion, being the perverted use of those kinds of things that constitute true order in the spiritual world, a perverted use that gives rise to magic. But at the present day such magic is called natural, for the reason that no recognition exists any longer of anything above or beyond the natural order. People refuse to accept the existence of anything spiritual unless one means by this an interior dimension of what is natural.

Footnotes:

1. literally, all her words

2. literally, word

3. The same Latin noun magus describes a wise man or philosopher in a good sense, but a magician in a bad sense.

  
/ 10837  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.