What does Daniel 5:26 mean?

Daniel is giving a more detailed explanation of the mysterious writing (Daniel 5:25) which appeared on the wall during Belshazzar's party (Daniel 1:1–5). Before the interpretation, Daniel made a point of criticizing Belshazzar for being foolish and profane (Daniel 5:17–23). The words—possibly written in some cipher or foreign script (Daniel 5:8)—are either Aramaic or words closely resembling it: mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.

The term mene refers to counting and measuring, especially in the sense of numbering something. That the term is repeated suggests exhaustive investigation. The word can also imply "reckoning," which fits with the theme of God's judgment. Another possible reason for the repetition is to use the idea of "counting" in more than one way: that God is aware of the number of days allotted to Babylon, and also that He has "counted" as those days were exhausted.

A century before the Babylonian kingdom fell, God had said, "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave" (Jeremiah 27:6–7). God has numbered the days of every nation, and He is fully capable of ending one and bringing another to prominence. No human being can guarantee themselves any length of life: only God knows what the future holds. It is wise, therefore, to live every day in obedience to will (James 4:13¬–15).