O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
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.
The queen-mother came to his rescue with counsel, for she knew Daniel, a man in whom dwelt the spirit of the holy gods, with light and understanding and wisdom beyond all the other wise men. The king's physicians for melancholy were his own counselors; he needed a physician for his pride, and she knew where to find him.
AI summary
Commenting on Daniel 5:10-29
O thou king,.... "Hear" (t), O king; so Aben Ezra supplies it; what he was about to say first, in order to prepare him for the meaning of the handwriting, and the cause of it; or, "thou knowest", as Saadiah supplies it; namely, what follows: the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom: a very large one, which reached to the ends of...