5:17 Let your gifts be for yourself. Daniel may reject Belshazzar’s offer of reward because he is conscious that it is only by God’s mercy that he is able to respond to the king’s request, and he does not want to use his God-given role as a means of personal profit (cf. Gen. 14:23; 1 Sam. 9:7 note). But why then did he accept them earlier (2:48) and later (v. 29)? Some interpreters believe he is here avoiding royal pressure to modify the ominous message (Num. 22:18; Mic. 3:5, 11).