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Daniel Chapter
Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 4
This
chapter was written by Nebuchadnezzar himself; and was either taken out of his
archives, or given by him to Daniel, who under divine inspiration inserted it
into this work of his; and a very useful instruction it contains, showing the
sovereignty of God over the greatest kings and potentates of the earth, and
this acknowledged by one of the proudest monarchs that ever lived upon it. It
begins with a preface, saluting all nations, and declaring the greatness and
power of God, Daniel 4:1 then
follows the narrative of a dream the king dreamed, which troubled him; upon
which he called for his wise men to interpret it, but in vain; at length he
told it to Daniel, Daniel 4:4, the
dream itself; which being told, astonished Daniel, the king being so much
interested in it, Daniel 4:10, the
interpretation of it, with Daniel's advice upon it, is in Daniel 4:20 the
fulfilment of it, time and occasion thereof, Daniel 4:28. Nebuchadnezzar's
restoration to his reason and kingdom, for which he praises God, Daniel 4:34.
Daniel 4:1 Nebuchadnezzar
the king, To
all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to
you.
YLT 1`Nebuchadnezzar the king to
all peoples, nations, and languages, who are dwelling in all the earth: Your
peace be great!
Nebuchadnezzar the king,..... This and the two
following verses are annexed to the preceding chapter in the Hebrew Bible, and
in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; as if the author of the division
of the chapters thought that Nebuchadnezzar proposed by this public
proclamation to celebrate the praise of the Lord, on account of the wonderful
deliverance of the three Jews from the fiery furnace; whereas they are a
preface to a narrative of a dream, and an event which concerned himself, and
most properly begin a new chapter, as they do in the Syriac and Arabic versions.
The edict begins, not with pompous and extravagant titles, as was the manner of
the eastern monarchs, and still is, but only plainly "Nebuchadnezzar the
king"; for he was now humbled under the mighty hand of God; whether his
conversion was real is not evident; yet, certain it is, he expresses himself in
stronger language concerning the divine Being and his works, and under a deeper
sense of his sovereignty and majesty, than ever he did before. This
proclamation is directed
unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the
earth; belonging to his kingdom, as Aben Ezra; and these were many;
besides the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, also the Medes and Persians,
the Egyptians, the Jews, and the nations round about them; and also the
Spaniards, Moors, and Thracians, with others: but there is no reason to limit
this to his own subjects, though first designed; for it was his desire that all
people whatever in the known world might read, hear, and consider, what the
grace of God had done unto him, with him, and for him, and learn to fear and
reverence him:
peace be multiplied unto you: a wish for all kind of
outward happiness and prosperity, and an increase of it; thus it becomes a
prince to wish for all his subjects, and even for all the world; for there
cannot be a greater blessing than peace, nor a greater judgment than war. This
phrase is borrowed from the common salutation in eastern countries, and is used
often in the New Testament for spiritual and eternal peace.
Daniel 4:2 2 I
thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has
worked for me.
YLT 2The signs and wonders that
God Most High hath done with me, it is good before me to shew.
I thought it good,.... Or, "fair"F25שפר "pulchrum", Montanus, Grotius, Gejerus,
Michaelis; "decet me", Junius & Tremellius. and beautiful, highly
becoming me, what was my duty, and what might be profitable and beneficial to
others, and make for the glory of the great God of heaven and earth:
to show the signs and wonders the high God hath wrought toward me; to declare by
writing the wonderful things God, who is above all, the most high God, had done
unto him, by giving him a wonderful dream, exactly describing his future case
and condition, and then as wonderful an interpretation of it, and which was as
wonderfully fulfilled, and, after all, in a wonderful manner restoring him to
the exercise of his reason, and the administration of his kingdom, after both
had departed from him.
Daniel 4:3 3 How
great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to
generation.
YLT 3His signs how great! and
His wonders how mighty! His kingdom [is] a kingdom age-during, and His rule [is]
with generation and generation.
How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders!.... They are
great, very great, exceeding great; so great that it cannot be said, nor even
conceived how great they are, what a display of wisdom, power, and goodness is
in them; they are wonderful beyond expression and conception; and so strong and
mighty as not to be resisted and made void by all the powers of nature, earth,
or hell; and if this may be said of his works of providence, and his miracles
of that, how much more of his works and miracles of grace!
his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
Nebuchadnezzar's reign, though a long one, had an end, and so have all others;
but the kingdom of God is for ever; the kingdom of providence, and also of
grace; the kingdom of his Son, the Messiah, as in Daniel 2:44 from
whence Nebuchadnezzar had learnt this:
and his dominion is from generation to generation; or,
"with generation and generation"F1עם
דר ודר "cum
generatione et generatione", Pagninus, Montanus, Michaelis; "cum omni
aetate", Piscator. ; it goes along, and continues with all generations,
and will do so to the end of time.
Daniel 4:4 4 I,
Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
YLT 4`I, Nebuchadnezzar, have
been at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace:
I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house,.... Being
returned from his wars, and having obtained victory over the Egyptians, and
other nations, and made himself an universal monarch; and now was in entire
rest from all his enemies; enjoying himself in his family, and among his
courtiers, and nothing to disturb him from any quarter. JosephusF2Joseph.
Antiqu. l. 10. c. 10. sect. 6. says this was a little after the history of the
former chapter; but it must be many years after that: he reigned forty five
years; one year after this dream, it came to pass; it was seven years
fulfilling, and he lived after his restoration a year or two; so that this must
be about the thirty fifth year of his reign. Bishop UsherF3Annales
Vet. Test. A. M. 3434. and Mr. WhistonF4Chronological Tables, cent.
10. place it in the year of the world 3434 A.M., and before Christ 570; and so
Dr. PrideauxF5Connexion, p. 92. . Mr. BedfordF6Scripture
Chronology, p. 710. puts it in the year 569:
and flourishing in my palace: in health of body, in
rigour of mind, abounding with riches; indulging himself in all sensual
pleasures; adored by his subjects, caressed by his courtiers, and in fame
throughout the whole world: a new palace was built by him, of which Daniel 4:30, being,
as Dr. PrideauxF7Connexion, &c. par. 1, B. 2. p. 102. says, four
times as large as the old one; eight miles in compass; surrounded with three
walls; and had hanging gardens in it, he made for his wife.
Daniel 4:5 5 I
saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of
my head troubled me.
YLT 5a dream I have seen, and it
maketh me afraid, and the conceptions on my bed, and the visions of my head, do
trouble me.
I saw a dream which made me afraid,.... Things were
represented to his fancy in a dream, as if he saw them with his eyes, as the tree,
its leaves and fruit; the shaking and cutting it down to the stump, &c.;
and though he did not understand the meaning of it, yet he thought it portended
some evil, which threw him into a panic; he was afraid that something bad would
befall him, though he knew not what: thus God can make the minds of the
greatest men uneasy amidst all their glory, pride, and pleasure:
and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled
me; the thoughts that came into his mind while he was upon his bed
dreaming, and the things which were represented to his fancy in his brain, he
remembered when awake, gave him a great deal of trouble and uneasiness, what
should be the meaning of them, and what would be the issue and event of these
things.
Daniel 4:6 6 Therefore
I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me,
that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
YLT 6And by me a decree is made,
to cause all the wise men of Babylon to come up before me, that the interpretation
of the dream they may cause me to know.
Therefore made I a decree,.... Published a
proclamation; signifying it was his mind and will
to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before him; all together,
supposing that one or other of them, or by consulting together, would be able
to explain things to his satisfaction, and make him more easy:
that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream; for though
they could not tell the interpretation of his former dream, because he could
not relate to them the dream itself; which, if he could, they promised him the
interpretation; but now he could remember it, and therefore might expect they
would make known the interpretation of it to him.
Daniel 4:7 7 Then
the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and
I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
YLT 7Then coming up are the
scribes, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and the dream I
have told before them, and its interpretation they are not making known to me.
Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and
the soothsayers,.... See Gill on Daniel 2:2,
and I told the dream before them, but they did not make known unto
me the interpretation thereof; because they could not; before they
pretended, if the dream was told, they could give the interpretation of it; but
now, though it was told, they could not do it; which shows the vanity of their
art, the falsehood of their pretensions, and that they were but jugglers and
impostors.
Daniel 4:8 8 But
at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to
the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told
the dream before him, saying:
YLT 8And at last come up before
me hath Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar -- according to the name of my god
-- and in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods, and the dream before him I
have told:
But at the last Daniel came in before me,.... Whether
sent for or no is not clear; the reason why he came not with the rest might be
because he did not associate with them; nor did they care he should be among
them, and present at this time; and it may be the king had forgot the knowledge
he had of dreams; or, however, did not choose to send for him until he had
tried all his wise men; and so it was ordered by the providence of God, and
which is the chief reason of all, that he should come last, that the skill of
the magicians might appear first to be baffled, and that Daniel, or rather
Daniel's God, might be more known, and might be glorified:
whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; so called by
him and his courtiers, after the name of his god Bel, with which this name of
Daniel begins; See Gill on Daniel 1:7,
and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: meaning
either the holy angels, as Saadiah or speaking in his Heathenish manner, having
imbibed the notion of many gods, some holy, and some impure; or it may be,
speaking in the dialect of the Jews, he may mean the one true God who is holy,
and from whom alone is the spirit of prophecy or of foretelling things to come;
which he knew by former experience Daniel had:
and before him I told the dream, saying; as follows:
Daniel 4:9 9 “Belteshazzar,
chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is
in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that
I have seen, and its interpretation.
YLT 9`O Belteshazzar, master of
the scribes, as I have known that the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee, and
no secret doth press thee, the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its
interpretation, tell.
O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians,.... So he
called him, either because he excelled them in knowledge, and was greater than
they, as Jacchiades; though not of their rank and order, which Daniel would
have scorned to have been among, and reckoned of; so that this would have been
no compliment, but a grief unto him; or because he was appointed by the king
chief over them, and even over their governors; See Gill on Daniel 2:48,
because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee; See Gill on Daniel 4:8;
and no secret troubleth thee; any ways perplexes thy
mind to find it out; it is easy to thee to come at; it gives thee no manner of
trouble to get knowledge of it; there is no secret hidden from thee; all is
plain before thee, and with the utmost facility canst thou reveal it:
tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen; that is, the
meaning of them; for the king remembered this his dream, and afterwards tells
it very particularly:
and the interpretation of it; it may be rendered,
"that is, the interpretation of it"F8ופשרה
"id est, interpretationem ejus", Junius & Tremellius,
Broughtonus, Michaelis. ; for that only was what the king wanted.
Daniel 4:10 10 “These
were the visions of my head while on my bed: I was looking, and
behold, A tree in the midst of the earth, And its height was great.
YLT 10As to the visions of my
head on my bed, I was looking, and lo, a tree in the midst of the earth, and
its height [is] great:
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed,.... So things
appeared to my fancy thus; they ran in my head or brain in a dream in my bed,
as if I saw them with my eyes, as follows; for so I thought,
I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth; an emblem of
a powerful prince well settled, and strongly supported in his power and government;
so the Assyrian monarch, Ezekiel 31:3 and
here Nebuchadnezzar himself, as it is afterwards explained; who was well
established in his monarchy, the metropolis of which was Babylon; and which
stood pretty much in the midst of the then known world:
and the height thereof was great; taller than trees in
common; denoting the superiority of the Babylonian monarch over all kings and
kingdoms of the earth.
Daniel 4:11 11 The
tree grew and became strong; Its height reached to the heavens, And it could be
seen to the ends of all the earth.
YLT 11become great hath the tree,
yea, strong, and its height doth reach to the heavens, and its vision to the
end of the whole land;
The tree grew, and was strong,.... Grew higher and
broader, taller and thicker, increased in boughs and branches, and became
strong and stable, that no winds nor storms could move it: this shows the
increasing power of Nebuchadnezzar, the enlargement of his dominions, and the
stability of his empire:
and the height thereof reached unto heaven; higher than
any on earth; expressive of his dominion over all nations and people of the
earth; or of his ambition of deity itself; and so Saadiah illustrates it by Isaiah 14:14.
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds &c.":
and the sight thereof to the end of the earth: being so
high, it was seen afar off; the fame of this great monarch reached to the ends
of the earth; the eyes of all were turned to him; some looking upon him with
wonder, others with envy.
Daniel 4:12 12 Its
leaves were lovely, Its fruit abundant, And in it was food
for all. The
beasts of the field found shade under it, The birds of the heavens
dwelt in its branches, And all flesh was fed from it.
YLT 12its leaves [are] fair, and
its budding great, and food for all [is] in it: under it take shade doth the
beast of the field, and in its boughs dwell do the birds of the heavens, and of
it fed are all flesh.
The leaves thereof were fair,.... Or
"branches"F9עפיה "ramus
ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus; "ramos ejus",
Junius & Tremellius; "rami ejus", Piscator. , as some; and design
either the provinces belonging to his empire, which were very large and
flourishing; or the governors of them under him, as Saadiah, who made no small
and contemptible figure; his princes were altogether kings:
and the fruit thereof much; great revenues from all
parts of the empire were brought to him:
and in it was meat for all; the produce of the
several countries, and the trade carried on in them, brought in a sufficient
livelihood to all the inhabitants:
the beasts of the field had shadow under it; the
inhabitants of the several Heathenish nations under him, and even those that
were most savage, were protected in their lives and properties by him; so
princes should be a screen, a protection to their subjects:
and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof; which Saadiah
interprets of the Israelites, in opposition to the foreign nations, comparable
to the beasts of the field:
and all flesh was fed of it; all his subjects shared
in the good things his victorious arms brought into his empire; all enriched,
or however made comfortable, and had a sufficiency of food and raiment; so that
there was no reason to complain of him as oppressive to his subjects.
Daniel 4:13 13 “I
saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher,
a holy one, coming down from heaven.
YLT 13`I was looking, in the
visions of my head on my bed, and lo, a sifter, even a holy one, from the
heavens is coming down.
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed,.... The king
goes on to relate what other things presented themselves to his imagination in
his dream, concerning this tree which signified himself:
and, behold, a watcher: which Saadiah interprets
of Bath Kol; but Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Jacchiades, and Ben Melech of an angel; so
called because incorporeal, ever watches, and never sleeps, and is always
attentive to, and observant of, the commands of God so the angels in the
fragment of Enoch are called "egregori", watchers; and the same word
is here used in the Alexandrian copy. SomeF11Lex. Kabalist. in voce איוב p. 54, 55. render it "an enemy", "an
holy one": according to the sense of the word in 1 Samuel 28:16, and
produce it to show that angels are called enemies:
and an Holy One; one of the holy angels that never sinned,
nor left their first estate, but continued in it; in which they are established
by Christ, and are impeccable; are perfectly pure and holy in their nature and
actions: such an one came down from heaven; the place of their abode, as it
seemed to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream.
Daniel 4:14 14 He
cried aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip
off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, And
the birds from its branches.
YLT 14He is calling mightily, and
thus hath said, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its
leaves, and scatter its budding, move away let the beast from under it, and the
birds from off its branches;
He cried aloud,.... Or, with strengths;F12בחיל "in virtute", Montanus; "cum
robore", Gejerus; "fortier", Cocceius, Michaelis;
"strenue", Junius & Tremellius, Broughtonus. being a mighty
angel, and that he might be heard far and near:
and said thus, hew down the tree; remove this mighty
monarch from his throne; take away his government from him: this is said to
fellow angels employed in the affairs of Providence, and the execution of them,
to bring about an event so momentous:
and cut off his branches; take away his provinces,
each of the parts of his dominion, from him:
shake off his leaves: cause his deputy
governors to shake off their allegiance to him:
and scatter his fruit; the revenues of his vast
empire, and let others take them:
let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his
branches; those that have either voluntarily betook themselves to him for
protection; or have been carried captive by him, and have lived under his
shadow, whether of the more barbarous nations, or more civilized, as the Jews;
let them take the opportunity of withdrawing from him, and returning to their
own lands; see Jeremiah 51:9.
Daniel 4:15 15 Nevertheless
leave the stump and roots in the earth, Bound with a band of iron and
bronze, In the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let him graze with the beasts On the grass of the earth.
YLT 15but the stump of its roots
leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of
the field, and with the dew of the heavens is it wet, and with the beasts [is]
his portion in the herb of the earth;
Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth,.... Let him
not be utterly destroyed, or his life taken away; but let him continue in
being; though in a forlorn condition, yet with hope of restoration; for a tree
may be cut down to the stump, and yet revive again, Job 14:7 and let
his kingdom remain:
even with a band of iron and brass; which some think was
done to preserve it and to show that his kingdom remained firm and immovable;
but that is meant by the former clause, Daniel 4:26, rather
the allusion is to his distracted condition afterwards related; it being usual
to bind madmen with chains of iron or brass, to keep them from hurting
themselves and others, as in Mark 5:4,
in the tender grass of the field; where his dwelling
should be, not in Babylon, and in his fine palace, living sumptuously as he now
did; but in the field, grazing there like a beast, and like one that is
feddered and confined to a certain place:
and let it be wet with the dew of heaven; suggesting
that this would not only be his case in the daytime; but that he should lie all
night in the field, and his body be wet all over with the dew that falls in the
night, as if he had been dipped in a dyer's vat, as the wordF13יצטבע "tingatur", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster;
"intingatur", Junius & Tremellius; "tingetur",
Piscator, Michaelis. signifies; and Jarchi says it has the signification of
dipping; and not be in a stately chamber, and on a bed of down, but on a plot
of grass, exposed to all the inclemencies of the air:
and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth; instead of
feeding on royal dainties, as he had all his days, let him eat grass like the
beasts of the field, as it seems he did.
Daniel 4:16 16 Let
his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart
of a beast, And
let seven times[a] pass over
him.
YLT 16his heart from man's is
changed, and the heart of a beast is given to him, and seven times pass over
him;
Let his heart be changed from man's,.... Not as to the
substance, but as to the quality:
and let a beast's heart be given unto him; from a human
heart, let it be changed into a brutal one; let him be deprived of the use of
reason, and have no more exercise of it than a brute has; let him be wholly
governed by the animal senses, and behave and act as a beast does; be as
senseless, stupid, and savage, as that: and such a heart Nebuchadnezzar had;
not that his rational soul departed from him, then he must have died; but the
powers of it were sadly vitiated and depraved; his understanding, imagining
himself to be a beast, not a man; his judgment, in not distinguishing the
actions of a beast from those of a man; his memory of things past utterly
failed; he forgot what he had been, and was; his will, inclination, and fancy,
were towards brutal things, and ran upon deserts, fields, and grass; and he
shunned the society of men:
and let seven times pass over him: while in this condition;
let him remain so long in it; not seven months, as Abarbinel, and others; nor
seven half years, or three years and a half, as some in Theodoret; dividing the
year into two parts, summer and winter; and suppose, that seven of these
seasons passed over him before he recovered; but seven years are meant, as
Jarchi, Saadiah, and Jacchiades, as the phrase is used in Daniel 7:25, so
many years the temple of Solomon was building, which Nebuchadnezzar had
destroyed, and so long this madness must remain upon him: no notice is taken of
this affair by Heathen writers, only AbydenusF14Apud Euseb. Praepar.
Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457. says, that being under a divine afflatus, he
foretold the destruction of the Babylonian empire by a Persian mule (meaning
Cyrus), and by a Mede, and immediately, ηφανιστο,
he disappeared; which some have understood of this time of his madness, which quickly
followed upon this dream.
Daniel 4:17 17 ‘This
decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the
word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules
in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the
lowest of men.’
YLT 17by the decree of the
sifters [is] the sentence, and by the saying of the holy ones the requirement,
to the intent that the living may know that the Most High is ruler in the
kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it, and the lowest of men He
doth raise up over it.
This matter is by the decree of the watchers,.... That is,
the cutting down the tree, and what is signified by it, was with the advice,
consent, and approbation of the watchers, by whom is generally understood
angels; not that they were the authors of this decree, but approvers of it; and
were ready, not only to subscribe it, but to execute it; it being against a
wicked man, and an oppressor of the Lord's people: they are represented as
assessors with God; called into a consultation with him; alluding to the manner
of kings and princes, who have their privy council, whom they advise with on
occasion; though, properly speaking, nothing of this nature is to be attributed
to God, only after the manner of men; see 1 Kings 22:19.
and the demand by the word of the Holy Ones; the same as
before, in other words; watchers and Holy Ones being the same, the holy angels;
See Gill on Daniel 4:13, and
the decree and the demand the same; or the requestF15שאלתא "petitio", Pagninus, Montanus;
"postulatio", Munster; "hoc postulatum", Junius &
Tremellius; "petitio haec", Piscator. , or petition; which shows what
concern they had in the decree; they only requested it might pass, or be carried
into execution; though some understand this of saints on earth, who, in their
prayers and supplications, requested for the judgments of God to come down upon
this proud monarch: though, after all, it may be best to interpret the whole of
the three Persons in the Godhead, who are perfectly pure and holy, essentially
and inderivatively; and may be called watchers, because they watch over the
good, to bring it upon the Lord's people; and over the evil, to bring it upon
their enemies: and to them well agree the decree and the demand; and the rather
this may be thought to be the true sense, since this decree is called the
decree of the most High, Daniel 4:24, and who
is expressed in the next clause:
to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men; though men have kingdoms on earth, and multitudes subject to
them, yet they are not absolute sovereigns; there is a God that is higher than
they, at whose control they are, and does whatsoever he pleases in their
kingdoms, of which the event signified in this dream was a proof; and would be
brought about on purpose to make it appear that those that live on earth (for,
as for the dead, they know nothing what is done on it), both princes and
people, might be sufficiently convinced of the truth of it:
and giveth it to whomsoever he will; that is, the kingdom; he
takes it from one, and gives it to another; pulls down one, and sets up another,
as he pleases; see Daniel 2:21,
and setteth up over it the basest of men; or, "the
lowest of men"F16שפל אנשים "humliem hominum". Montanus, Grotius;
"humilem inter homines", Pagninus; "humilem virorum",
Michaelis; "humillimum hominum", Cocceius. ; men of the meanest and
lowest rank and condition of life, as David was taken from the sheepfold, and
made king of Israel; perhaps respect is had to Nebuchadnezzar himself; not to
his person, as Saadiah, who says he was short, and low of stature; but to his
llater state and condition, when he was taken from among the beasts of the
field, and restored to his throne and kingdom.
Daniel 4:18 18 “This
dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its
interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to
make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of
the Holy God is in you.”
YLT 18`This dream I have seen, I
king Nebuchadnezzar; and thou, O Belteshazzar, the interpretation tell, because
that all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to cause me to know the
interpretation, and thou [art] able, for the spirit of the holy gods [is] in
thee.
This dream I King Nebuchadnezzar have seen,.... So things
were represented to him by a vision in a dream:
now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof; at once,
directly; as he was well assured he could, by what he had already done; having
both told him his dream when forgotten by him, and the meaning of it; and
therefore doubted not but he could interpret his dream, being told him:
forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make
known unto me the interpretation; he had sent for them,
even all of them; he had told them his dream, but they could not interpret it;
see Daniel 4:6,
but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee; he not only
knew his ability from former experience, but for the reason here given; of
which he might have more proofs than one, that the Spirit, not of impure
deities, of the gods and demons of the Heathens, but of the one true, living,
and holy God, who knows all things, dwelt in him; see Daniel 4:9.
Daniel 4:19 19 Then
Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his
thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do
not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar answered and
said, “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its
interpretation concern your enemies!
YLT 19`Then Daniel, whose name
[is] Belteshazzar, hath been astonished about one hour, and his thoughts do
trouble him; the king hath answered and said, O Belteshazzar, let not the dream
and its interpretation trouble thee. Belteshazzar hath answered and said, My
lord, the dream -- to those hating thee, and its interpretation -- to thine
enemies!
Then Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar) was astonied for one
hour,.... Not at the difficulty of interpreting the dream, which was
plain and easy to him; but at the sad and shocking things he saw plainly by the
dream were coming upon the king: and though he was a wicked prince, and justly
deserved such treatment; and thus he continued for the space of an hour like
one thunder struck, filled with amazement, quite stupid, dumb, and silent:
and his thoughts troubled him; both about what should
befall the king, and how he should make it known to him:
the king spake and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the
interpretation thereof, trouble thee: he saw by his
countenance the confusion he was in, and imagined there was something in the
dream which portended evil, and made him backward to relate it; and therefore
encouraged him to tell it, be it what it would:
Belteshazzar answered and said, my lord, the dream be to them that
hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies; which is as
if he had said, I could have wished, had it been the will of God, that what is
signified by the dream might have befallen not the king, but his enemies; this
he said, not merely as a courtier, but as one that heartily wished and prayed
for his peace and prosperity; and to show that he had no ill will to the king
in the interpretation of the dream, but was his hearty faithful servant and
minister; and yet suggests that something very dreadful and distressing was
intended for him; and hereby he prepared him the better to receive it.
Daniel 4:20 20 “The
tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the
heavens and which could be seen by all the earth,
YLT 20The tree that thou hast
seen, that hath become great and strong, and its height doth reach to the
heavens, and its vision to all the land,
Verse 20-21
The tree which thou sawest, In these two verses is
related part of the dream, which respects the flourishing estate of Nebuchadnezzar
and his kingdom; See Gill on Daniel 4:10, Daniel 4:11, Daniel 4:12.
Daniel 4:21 21 whose leaves were
lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which
the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven
had their home—
YLT 21and its leaves [are] fair,
and its budding great, and food for all [is] in it, under it dwell doth the
beast of the field, and on its boughs sit do the birds of the heavens.
Daniel 4:22 22 it
is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has
grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
YLT 22`Thou it [is], O king, for
thou hast become great and mighty, and thy greatness hath become great, and
hath reached to the heavens, and thy dominion to the end of the earth;
It is thou, O king, that art grown, and become strong,.... Here
begins the interpretation of the dream: the tree was an emblem of King
Nebuchadnezzar, of his greatness, and growing power and strength:
for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven; he overtopped
all the kings of the earth, exceeding them in honour and power, and aspired to
deity itself; See Gill on Daniel 4:11.
and thy dominion to the end of the earth; as far as
Hercules's pillars, as StraboF17Geograph. l. 15. p. 472. says he
came. Grotius interprets it, as far as the Caspian and Euxine sea, and the
Atlantic ocean.
Daniel 4:23 23 “And
inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and
saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in
the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of
the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the
beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’;
YLT 23and that which the king
hath seen -- a sifter, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, and he
hath said, Cut down the tree, and destroy it; but the stump of its roots leave
in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the
field, and with the dew of the heavens it is wet, and with the beast of the
field [is] his portion, till that seven times pass over him.
And whereas the king saw a watcher, and an Holy One,.... Here is
related another part of the dream, which respects the cutting down of the tree,
or the miserable condition the king should be brought into; see Daniel 4:13.
Daniel 4:24 24 this
is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which
has come upon my lord the king:
YLT 24`This [is] the
interpretation, O king, and the decree of the Most High it [is] that hath come
against my lord the king:
This is the interpretation, O king,.... Of this part of the
dream, namely, what follows in the two next verses:
and this is the decree of the most High; called before
the decree of the watchers, Daniel 4:17, and is
no other than the decree of that sovereign and absolute Being, whose purposes
are unfrustrable:
which is come upon my lord the king; the decree had passed
concerning him, and would be most certainly fulfilled: and, because of the
certainty of it, it is represented as if it was; for it would shortly and
surely come upon him, exactly as it was determined, and by the dream signified.
Daniel 4:25 25 They
shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field,
and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of
heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High
rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.
YLT 25and they are driving thee
away from men, and with the beast of the field is thy dwelling, and the herb as
oxen they do cause thee to eat, and by the dew of the heavens they are wetting
thee, and seven times do pass over thee, till that thou knowest that the Most
High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it.
That they shall drive thee from men,.... From conversation
with men, as unfit for it; from his court and palace, from his nobles and
princes. Saadiah interprets this of the angels: it may be rendered impersonally
or passively, as in Daniel 4:33,
"thou shalt be driven from men"F18לך
טררין "truderis", Michaelis. ; not by his
family, his wife and children; or by his nobles, who are afterwards said to
seek him; but by the most high God, and to show his power over him; and it may
be by means of his ministering angels; or he was driven by his own fancy and
imagination, which was suffered of God to prevail over him, judging himself not
a man, but a beast; and so it was most agreeable to him to live with beasts,
and not men:
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; in the open
air, or in some den and cavern, instead of being in his court, and among his
nobles; a strange change of condition indeed! and in which he was preserved by
divine Providence:
and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen; imagining
himself to be a beast, he should choose this sort of food, and eat it, and feed
upon it with a gust, as if he had really been one; and besides, having no other
food, would be obliged to eat this, as well as his degenerate and depraved
imagination led him to it:
and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven; strip him of
his clothes, and leave him naked; so that he should have nothing to shelter him
from the dew and rain, and other inclemencies of the heavens; and this his
frenzy might lead him to do of himself:
and seven times shall pass over thee; which some
understand of weeks, others of months, others of the seasons of winter and
summer; but it is best to interpret it of seven whole years; See Gill on Daniel 4:16,
till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will; this was done, as for
the instruction of men in general, so of Nebuchadnezzar in particular; that his
proud heart and haughty spirit might be brought down, and be made to
acknowledge that there was a God higher than he, that judgeth in the earth, and
that rules and overrules, and disposes of all things in it according to his
will and pleasure; see Daniel 4:17.
Daniel 4:26 26 “And
inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the
tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven
rules.
YLT 26And that which they said --
to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom for thee abideth,
after that thou knowest that the heavens are ruling.
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots,.... That is
the watchers and the Holy Ones; or it was commanded: this was the order given
by the most High:
thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee; signifying that another
king should not be set up in his place; and though the kingdom and
administration of it would depart from, him for a while, yet it would be
restored again, and be firm and stable:
after that thou shall have known that the heavens do rule; that is, that
God, who is the Maker of the heavens, and dwells there, is known and
acknowledged by thee to rule on the earth; from the government of which he was
desirous of excluding him, and taking it to himself; see Luke 15:18.
Daniel 4:27 27 Therefore,
O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being
righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps
there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
YLT 27`Therefore, O king, let my
counsel be acceptable unto thee, and thy sins by righteousness break off, and
thy perversity by pitying the poor, lo, it is a lengthening of thine ease.
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee,.... Since
this is the true interpretation of the dream, and such evils are like to befall
thee according to it, permit me, though thou art a king, and I am thy minister
or servant, to give thee some advice; and let it be taken in good part, as done
with a good design, and a hearty concern for thy welfare:
and break off thy sins by righteousness; this advice
carries in it a tacit charge of sins, and a reproof for them; which shows the
faithfulness of Daniel: these sins probably, besides pride, intemperance,
luxury, and uncleanness, were tyranny, rapine, violence, and oppression of his
subjects, to which righteousness is opposed; and by which, that is, by a course
and series of righteous living, by administering public justice, and giving to
everyone their due, he is advised to break off his sinful course of life; to
break off the yoke of his sins upon his neck; to cease from doing evil, and to
learn to do well:
and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; to his poor
subjects, and especially to the poor captives the Jews, Daniel might chiefly
bear upon his mind, whom the king had ill used, shown no compassion to, and had
greatly distressed; but is now counselled to relieve their wants, and give
generously to them out of the vast treasures he was master of:
if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity; peace or
prosperity; perhaps by such a conduct there may be a reprieve for a while, the
evil portended and threatened by this dream may be deferred for a time; and
though the decree of the most High cannot be altered, yet the execution of it
may be protracted, and prosperity be lengthened out. Daniel could not assure
the king of this; but as there was a possibility, and even a probability of it,
as in the case of Nineveh, and others, whose ruin was threatened, and yet upon
repentance was prolonged; it was highly advisable to try the experiment, and
make use of such a conduct, in hope of it; and the rather, since the
humiliation of princes, and their reformation, though but external, is observed
by the Lord, as in the case of Ahab. Aben Ezra, Jacchiades, and Ben Melech,
render it, "if it may be an healing of thine error"; that is, the
pardon of thy sins, that they may be forgiven thee; see Acts 8:22.
Daniel 4:28 28 All
this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.
YLT 28`All -- hath come on
Nebuchadnezzar the king.
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. All that was
signified in the dream, his madness, the removal of him from the administration
of government, and the brutal life he lived for seven years; for this was not a
mere parable or fiction, as some have thought, framed to describe the state and
punishment of a proud man, but was a real fact; though it is not made mention
of by any historians, excepting what has been observed before out of AbydenusF14Apud
Eubseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457. ; see Gill on Daniel 4:16, yet
there is no reason to doubt of the truth of it, from this relation of Daniel;
and is further confirmed by his observing the same to Belshazzar his grandson
some years after it was done, as a known thing, and as an unquestionable matter
of fact, Daniel 5:20.
Daniel 4:29 29 At
the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon.
YLT 29`At the end of twelve
months, on the palace of the kingdom of Babylon he hath been walking;
At the end of twelve months,.... After the dream, and
the interpretation of it; which, according to Bishop UsherF19Annales
Vet. Test. A. M. 3435. , Dean PrideauxF20Connexion, &c. part. 1.
p. 105. , and Mr. WhistonF21Chronological Tables, cent. 10. , was in
the year of the world 3435 A.M., and before Christ 569, and in the thirty sixth
year of his reign: one whole year, a space of time, either which God gave him
to repent in, or which he obtained by attending for a while to Daniel's advice:
he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon; or "upon
the palace"F23על היכל
"super palatium", Vatablus; "super palatio", Cecceius,
Michaelis. ; upon the roof of it, which in the eastern countries was usually
flat and plain; and so AbydenusF24Apud Euseb. ut supra. (Praepar.
Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457.) , in the above cited place, represents him, ως αναβας επι τα βασιληια, as
ascending upon his royal palace; when, after he had finished his oration on it,
he disappeared. From hence he could take a full view of the great city of
Babylon, which swelled him with pride and vanity, and which he expressed in the
next verse; See Gill on Daniel 4:4, where
also mention is made of his palace, the new one built by him. The old palace of
the kings of Babylon stood on the east side of the river Euphrates, over
against it, as Dean PrideauxF25Connexion, &c. part 1. B. 2. p.
102. observes; on the other side of the river stood the new palace
Nebuchadnezzar built. The old one was four miles in circumference; but this new
one was eight miles, encompassed with three walls, one within another, and
strongly fortified; and in it were hanging gardens, one of the wonders of the
world, made by him for the pleasure of his wife Amyitis, daughter of Astyages
king of Media; who being taken with the mountainous and woody parts of her
native country, and retaining an inclination for them, desired something like
it at Babylon; and, to gratify her herein, this surprising work was made: though
Diodorus SiculusF26Biliothec. I. 2. p. 98. says it was made by a
Syrian king he does not name, for the sake of his concubine; and whose account
of it, and which is given from him by Dean PrideauxF1Ibid. , and the
authors of the Universal HistoryF2Vol. 4. B. 1. ch. 9. p. 409, 410.
, is this, and in the words of the latter:
"these
gardens are said to contain a square of four plethra, or four hundred feet on
each side, and to have consisted of terraces one above another, carried up to
the height of the wall of the city; the ascent, from terrace to terrace, being
by steps ten feet wide. The whole pile consisted of substantial arches up on
arches, and was strengthened by a wall, surrounding it on every side, twenty
two feet thick; and the floors on each of them were laid in this order: first
on the tops of the arches was laid a bed or pavement of stones, sixteen feet
long, and four feet broad; over this was a layer of reed, mixed with a great
quantity of bitumen; and over this two courses of brick, closely cemented with
plaster; and over all these were thick sheets of lead, and on these the earth
or mould of the garden. This floorage was designed to retain the moisture of
the mould; which was so deep as to give root to the greatest trees, which were
planted on every terrace, together with great variety of other vegetables,
pleasing to the eye; upon the uppermost of these terraces was a reservoir,
supplied by a certain engine with water from the river, from whence the gardens
at the other terraces were supplied.'
And
it was either on the roof of the palace, as before observed, or perhaps it
might be upon this uppermost terrace, that Nebuchadnezzar was walking, and from
whence he might take a view of the city of Babylon; the greatness of which, as
set forth by him, he prided himself with, in the following words:
Daniel 4:30 30 The
king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal
dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
YLT 30the king hath answered and
said, Is not this that great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the
kingdom, in the might of my strength, and for the glory of mine honour?
The king spake and said,.... Either within
himself, or to his nobles about him; or perhaps to foreigners he had took up
with him hither to show the grandeur of the city:
is not this great Babylon, that I have built; he might well
call it great, for, according to AristotleF3Politic. l. 3. c. 3. ,
it was more like a country than a city; it was, as PlinyF4Nat. Hist.
l. 6. c. 26. says, sixty miles in compass within the walls; and HerodotusF5Clio,
sive l. 1. c. 178. affirms it was four hundred and fourscore furlongs round,
and such the "greatness" of it, and so beautified, as no other city
was he ever knew; See Gill on Jeremiah 51:58,
though the king seems to have gone too far, in ascribing the building of it to
himself; at least he was not the original builder of it; for it was built many
hundreds of years before he was born, by Nimrod or Belus, who were the same, Genesis 10:10, and
was much increased and strengthened by Semiramis, the wife of his son Ninus;
therefore to her sometimes the building of it is ascribed; but inasmuch as it
might be in later times greatly neglected by the Assyrian kings, Nineveh being
the seat of their empire; Nebuchadnezzar, when he came to the throne, and especially
after he had enriched himself with the spoils of the conquered nations, greatly
enlarged, beautified, and fortified it: and BerosusF6Apud Joseph.
Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 1. & contr. Allion, 1. 1. sect. 19. relates,
that he not only adorned the temple of Bel therewith, but of the city which was
of old he made a new one, and fortified it, built three walls within, and as
many without; and another royal palace contiguous to his father's, which
greatly exceeded it; and hanging gardens in it, which looked at a distance like
mountains, for the pleasure of his wife; and now, because he had done so much
to the repairing, enlarging, and fortifying of this city, he takes the honour
to himself of being the builder of it: and this was done, he says,
for the house of the kingdom; that it might be the
seat of the empire, and a proper place for the royal family to dwell in, to
have their palace, and keep their court in:
by the might of my power; through the great riches
he was possessed of, which he employed in many great works, as before related,
to the advantage of this city; he takes all to himself, and excludes all
instruments, and even God himself; though, unless the Lord build the city, in
vain the builders build, Psalm 127:1,
for the honour of my majesty? not so much for the
benefit of the city, for the good of his subjects, as for the honour and glory
of himself; to show his riches, power, and grandeur, and to make his name
immortal to future ages.
Daniel 4:31 31 While the word was
still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar,
to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!
YLT 31`While the word is [in] the
king's mouth a voice from the heavens hath fallen: To thee they are saying: O
Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom hath passed from thee,
While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven,.... Before the king had done speaking in the above boasting
manner, an articulate voice from heaven was heard by him, and all about him,
formed by the angels, and much like what the Jews call Bath Kol; see Acts 12:21, so
AbydenusF7Apud Euseb. ut supra. (Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p.
457.) , in the account he gives of Nebuchadnezzar's oration to the people,
relates, that when the king had spoke it, παραχρημα
ηφανιστο, immediately he disappeared:
saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom
is departed from thee; that is, the administration of it; for he was not deposed, or
declared to be no longer king; his office was not taken away from him, and
another king set upon the throne; only the administration was taken into other
hands, either of his wife or son, or his nobles; he being unfit for it, till
such time as his reason returned to him.
Daniel 4:32 32 And
they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the
beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times
shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of
men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
YLT 32and from men they are
driving thee away, and with the beast of the field [is] thy dwelling, the herb
as oxen they do cause thee to eat, and seven times do pass over thee, till that
thou knowest that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He
willeth He giveth it.
And they shall drive thee from men,.... According to the
interpretation of the dream given by Daniel, which this voice from heaven
confirms; See Gill on Daniel 4:25, where
the same things are said as here.
Daniel 4:33 33 That
very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from
men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his
hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
YLT 33`In that hour the thing
hath been fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar, and from men he is driven, and the herb
as oxen he eateth, and by the dew of the heavens his body is wet, till that his
hair as eagles' hath become great, and his nails as birds.'
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar,.... Whence it
appears that this was a true history, and a matter of fact; and not a parable
or allegory, as Origen thought, describing the fall of Lucifer or Satan; but
relates what befell Nebuchadnezzar himself: nor was the change real as to soul
and body; for then he would not have been the same person, not Nebuchadnezzar,
and so not he himself punished, but the beast into which he was changed: and
though there was a strange alteration, both in his body and mind; in some parts
of his body, and perhaps in his voice, in his senses of feeling, tasting, and
smelling, in his palate, and appetite, and stomach; in his rational powers,
understanding, judgment, and memory; so that he acted like a beast, and
choosing to live as one; yet so as to retain the essential parts of a man; his
case was, that at once he fell raving mad and distracted, when they first bound
him with chains, that he might not hurt himself and others, and afterwards
turned him loose into the woods among the wild beasts; or perhaps into one of
his parks, among the deer, hares, foxes, and such like creatures; whither he
might incline to go, fancying himself to be a beast, and delight to be among
them:
and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen; which he did
by choice: so Aben Ezra reports of one in the island of Sardinia, who fled from
his parents, and lost his reason, and lived among deer for many years, and went
upon his hands and feet like them; and the king of the island going a hunting
one day, caught many deer, and among them this man, that was taken for one: his
parents came and owned him, and spoke to him, but he answered not; they set
before him bread and wine, to eat and drink, but he refused; they then gave him
grass with the deer and he ate that; and in the middle of the night made his
escape to the deer or the field again.
And his body was wet with the dew of heaven: lying all
night in the woods or fields without clothing:
till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers: thick, black,
and strong; the hairs of his head having not been cut, not his beard shaved for
seven years: the Septuagint and Arabic versions read, "as lions":
and his nails like birds' claws: the nails of his fingers
and toes were hard, long, and sharp, like theirs, having not been cut during
this time; this shows that the seven times are not to be understood of weeks or
months, but of years. Some have understood all this as a real metamorphosis,
and that Nebuchadnezzar was changed into a beast; the upper part of him was the
form of an ox, and the lower part that of a lion, as EpiphaniusF8De
Prophet. Vit. & Inter. C. 10. ; so CyrilF9Cateches. 2. sect. 11.
says of him, that he was changed into a beast, lived in a desert, had the nails
and hair of a lion, ate grass like an ox; for he was a beast, not knowing who
gave him the kingdom; and so others; closely adhering to the letter of the
text, but wrongly, for reasons before given: nor is it to be ascribed merely to
any natural disease of body, or melancholy in him, by which the fancy may be so
disturbed, as for a person to imagine himself a beast; for though this was the
case, yet not through any diseases, such as is called the lycanthropy; an much
less to any witchcraft, or any diabolical art, exercised on him; but to the
mighty hand of God, taking away the use of his reason, and throwing him into
madness and distraction for the demonstration of his power, and humbling the
pride of an insolent monarch; not but that God could, if it had been his
pleasure, have changed him into a brute, as he turned Lot's wife into a pillar
of salt; and as a certain wicked nobleman in Muscovy was turned into a black
dog, barking and howling, upon uttering horrible blasphemies against God for
some judgment upon him, as ClureriusF11Apud Bucheim Dissertat. de μεταμορφωσει Reg. Nebuchad. in
Thesaur. Philol. Dissert. tom. 1. p. 890. relates, who had it, he says, from
both ear and eye witnesses of it; but such a judgment was not inflicted on
Nebuchadnezzar, not are such things usual. HerodotusF12Melpomene,
sive l. 4. c. 105. reports, though he himself did not credit it, of some people
among the Scythians, that were every year, for a few days, changed into wolves,
and then returned to their former shape again; and Pomponius MelaF13De
Situ Orbis, l. 2. c. 1. relates the same of the same people; and the poets
frequently speak of such transmutations; but these are all fictions and
delusions.
Daniel 4:34 34 And
at the end of the time[b] I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me;
and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from
generation to generation.
YLT 34`And at the end of the days
I, Nebuchadnezzar, mine eyes to the heavens have lifted up, and mine
understanding unto me returneth, and the Most High I have blessed, and the
Age-during Living One I have praised and honoured, whose dominion [is] a
dominion age-during, and His kingdom with generation and generation;
And at the end of the days,.... Of the time fixed in
the dream; that is, at the end of seven years, as Jarchi rightly interprets it;
this according to Bishop UsherF14Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3442. ,
Dean PrideauxF15Connexium, &c. part. 1. p. 106. , and Mr.
WhistonF16Chronological Tables, cent. 10. , was in the year of the
world 3442 A.M., and before Christ 563, in the forty second year of his reign;
after which he lived but one year, reigning from the death of his father forty
three years, and according to the Jewish accounts forty five; they reckoning
from the beginning of his partnership in the kingdom with his father, and his
first coming with an army into Syria.
I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven: for, during
the seven years he ate grass like an ox, his eyes were fixed upon the earth,
looking out for his food, and especially if he went on all four, as the beasts
do; but now standing upright, in his erect form as a man, he looked upwards;
though this phrase does not merely design his looking up to the heavens, and
viewing them from his bodily eyes; but his sense and consideration of the
divine Majesty in heaven, his praying to him, lifting up the eyes being a
prayer gesture, and his devotion towards him;
and mine understanding returned to me; his
understanding as a man, which he had been deprived of during this time; and so
came to know in what state and condition he was, by whom brought into it, and
for what reason;
and I blessed the most High; the most high God, he
whose name alone is Jehovah, the God of gods, who is higher than the highest;
him the king blessed for returning his understanding and reason to him, and
restoring him to his senses; for which he had just cause to be thankful, for a
greater blessing cannot be enjoyed;
and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever; the living
and true God, the author of life to all that have it, and who upholds in it;
who lives in and of himself, and for evermore; which no mere man, even the most
exalted and dignified, does:
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from
generation to generation; See Gill on Daniel 4:3.
Daniel 4:35 35 All
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His
will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the
earth.
No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have
You done?”
YLT 35and all who are dwelling on
the earth as nothing are reckoned, and according to his will He is doing among
the forces of the heavens and those dwelling on the earth, and there is none
that doth clap with his hand, and saith to Him, What hast Thou done?
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing,.... That is,
by the most high God, in comparison of him; and that not only the common
people, but magistrates, princes, and kings, and even so great a monarch as
Nebuchadnezzar; they are like mere nonentities, nothing as to existence,
substance, greatness, glory, and duration, when compared with him: for this is
to be understood not absolutely as in themselves; for as such they are
something; their bodies are something in their original, and especially in
their make, form, and constitution, and even in their dissolution; and their
souls are yet more valuable, are of more worth than the whole world, being
immaterial and immortal; but comparatively with respect to God, in whom they
live, and move, and have that being they have, and by whom they are supported
in it; al whose glory and grandeur is fading and passing away, and continuance
is but very short; and all nothing with God, the Being of beings, whose glory
is inconceivable, and with whom a thousand years are as one day, and who is
from everlasting to everlasting: and this meant chiefly of the rational
inhabitants of the earth; not of the beasts of the field, the cattle on a
thousand hills, and the innumerable reptiles of the earth, which also are the
inhabitants of it; but of men, the principal ones, and of all of these, high
and low, rich and poor, bond and free; not as in their own account, and that of
others; for they are something in their own esteem, and seem so in the eyes of
others, who judge according to the outward appearance; but they are nothing in
the account of God: and as this is true of them in things natural and civil, it
is much more so in things spiritual, or relating to everlasting salvation: in
these men are nothing, and counted as nothing; no use is made of them, or any
account is had of anything done by them; these have no causal influence in
their salvation; they are nothing in God's choice of them to eternal life,
which is all of mere sovereign grace; nothing in redemption, which is only by
Jesus Christ; nothing in regeneration, which is alone by the Spirit and grace
of God; nothing in justification, which is not by the works of the law, but by
the righteousness of Christ; in short, they are nothing in their salvation from
first to last, which is all of grace, and not of works. Jarchi and Saadiah
interpret this of an atom or mote in a sunbeam, which is seen flying about, but
cannot be laid hold on, having no substance, and disappears when the sun shines
not; see Isaiah 40:15.
And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth; he orders the angels,
which are the host of heaven, to stand or go where he pleases; and he disposes
of men on earth, and puts them into such stations, and such conditions and
circumstances, and appoints them such business and services, as he thinks meet.
The angels are "the army of heaven", or the heavenly host; so called
for their number, there being legions of them, even an innumerable company; and
for their military use, being employed to fight for the people of God, to
encamp about them, and protect them: those who formerly belonged to them, that
sinned against God, he cast them down to hell, without showing them any mercy;
and the rest he chose and confirmed in Christ, and all according to his
sovereign will; and these he makes use of according to his pleasure, to
minister to the heirs of salvation in life, to convoy their souls to heaven at
death, and to gather in all the elect at the last day. The "inhabitants of
the earth" are the men of it, as before, with whom he does as he pleases
in things temporal and civil, making some rich, and others poor; raising some
to great honour and dignity, while others live in meanness, poverty, and
disgrace: and in things spiritual; he loves whom he will; he chooses whom he
pleases; he redeems whom he wishes from among men; he regenerates and calls by
his grace, of his own will; and reveals Christ, and the great things of the
Gospel, to whom it seems good in his sight; he does what he will with his own;
he bestows grace and glory on whomsoever be pleases, as free grace gifts,
without any merit of the creature, according to his sovereign will and
pleasure.
And none can stay his hand: stop his power, resist
his will, or hinder him from acting, or cause him to cease from his work, which
he is bent upon; his will in both worlds is sovereign and arbitrary, and his
power uncontrollable. It was so in creation, he said, and it was done; it is so
in providence, he does what he pleases; there is nothing done without his
knowledge and will, and there is no counsel against the Lord: it is so in his
works of grace; in the great work of redemption; no difficulties could
discourage or hinder Christ from the performance of that arduous work, he being
the mighty God: and in the work of grace upon the heart of a sinner, when God
begins to work, none can let; not corruptions within, nor Satan without; nor
can anything hinder the carrying of it on; not indwelling sin, nor the snares
of the world, nor the temptations of Satan. The purposes of God cannot be
disannulled; his hand cannot be held, stopped, or turned back from the execution
of them; he will do his will and his work in the world, and in his churches,
and on particular persons, maugre all the opposition of men and devils.
Or say unto him, what dost thou? what is this thou hast
done? and wherefore hast thou done it? why was it not done in another form and
manner, and for other ends and purposes? see Isaiah 45:9, all
such like questions are vain and foolish, and are despised by the Lord; he
gives no account of his matters unto the children of men. Some may with wonder
say, "what has God wrought!" but none ought to say, in a complaining
and murmuring way, "what dost thou?" and should they, it is of no
avail, he will do what he pleases.
Daniel 4:36 36 At
the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my
honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I
was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me.
YLT 36`At that time my
understanding doth return unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honour
and my brightness doth return unto me, and to me my counsellors and my great
men do seek, and over my kingdom I have been made right, and abundant greatness
hath been added to me.
At the same time my reason returned unto me,.... Or,
"my understanding"F17מנדעי
"intellectus meus", Cocceius, Michaelis. ; this he repeats, not only
to express the certainty of it, but the sense he had of the greatness of the
favour, and of which what he said at this time is a full proof:
and for the glory of my kingdom mine honour and brightness
returned unto me: or "form"F18זיוי,
η μορφη μου, Sept.;
"forma mea", Tigurine version, "figura mea", Munster. , as
the Septuagint; his majestic form, that royal majesty, that appeared in his
countenance formerly, returned again; which graced him as a king, and made for
the glory of his kingdom, and the administration of his office. Jarchi renders
it, "and to the glory of my kingdom I returned"; and to the same
purpose the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions. This whole clause is
wanting in the Syriac version. Jarchi interprets "brightness" of the
form of his countenance; and Jacchiades of the light of it, the sparkling
lustre and majesty of it. A strange change and alteration this!
And my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; who very
likely had the administration of government in their hands during this time;
and as the dream, and the interpretation, were publicly known, and they had
seen the first part of it fulfilled in the king's madness and miserable state,
they had reason to believe the latter part also, and therefore waited for the
accomplishment of it at the end of seven years; when they sought for him, and
sought unto him, very probably by the direction of Daniel, who was at the head
of them; and this may be the reason why another prince was not set upon the
throne, because they expected his return to it at the expiration of these
years; and in the mean while held the reins of government in their own hands,
but now delivered them up to him:
and I was established in my kingdom; as Daniel had told him,
in the interpretation of his dream, that his kingdom should be sure to him, Daniel 4:26,
and excellent majesty was added unto me; or, more
majestyF19רבו יתירא
"magnificentia amplior", Pagninus, Montanus; "amplitudo
major", Junius & Tremellius; "magnificentia major",
Piscator; "majestas amplior seu major", Michaelis. ; he had more
honour and grandeur than he had before; more respect was shown him, and homage
paid him: his latter end, like Job's, was greater than his beginning.
Daniel 4:37 37 Now
I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose
works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is
able to put down.
YLT 37`Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, am
praising and exalting and honouring the King of the heavens, for all His works
[are] truth, and His paths judgment, and those walking in pride He is able to
humble.'
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of
heaven,.... Now he knew that the heavens ruled, and that there was a God
and a King there, above all gods and kings; who had brought him low, and raised
him up again, and to whom were owing all his present glory and magnificence,
and therefore worthy of his highest praises; and which he in the most public
manner gave by words before his lords and counsellors, and by writing under his
own hand, by this edict and proclamation:
all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: everything he
does in providence, and every step he takes therein, are according to truth and
righteousness; he is true to his word, and righteous in his works, as he had
been to him:
and those that walk in pride he is able to abase; not only that
show it now and then, but always, and in everything; in their looks and
gestures, in their talk and walk, and throughout the whole of their
conversation; in whom it is public, visible, notorious, and constant; but let
them carry their heads ever so high, and be as proud and haughty as they will,
God is able to humble them; he has various ways of doing it. Such as are proud
of their outward beauty, or the strength of their bodies, he can, by sending a
disease upon them, make their beauty to consume like a moth, and weaken their
strength in the way; such as are elated with their wealth and substance, and
with honours conferred upon them, or dignity they are raised to, he can soon
strip them of all their riches by one providence or another, and bring down
those that stand in slippery places of honour and dignity to destruction in a
moment; and such as pride and plume themselves with their wit and knowledge,
the natural endowments of their mind, he can take away their reason and
understanding from them, as he did from this monarch, and put them upon a level
with brutes: such who behest of their own righteousness and good works, and
trust in themselves, that they are righteous and holy persons, and despise
others; and think to be justified and saved by them, and not to be beholden to
any other, but be their own saviours; these the Lord, by his Spirit, can
humble, by showing them the impurity of their nature; their impotence to that
which is spiritually good; the imperfection of their best righteousness to
justify them in his sight; so that they shall appear to be polluted and defiled
creatures, who thought themselves very holy; and to be very weak and
insufficient of themselves, to do anything spiritually good, who gloried in the
power and strength of their free will; and see that their best works are no
other than filthy rags, and to be renounced in the business of their
justification and salvation: in short, he humbles by showing them that all
their temporal good things are owing to the good providence of God, and are
dependent on it; and that all they have in spirituals is owing to the grace of
God, and not to any desert of theirs; in consequence of which they become meek
and lowly, and walk humbly with their God, who before walked in the pride of
their hearts, and in the vanity of their minds. And a power to do this is
peculiar to God himself; none but God can look upon him that is proud, and
abase him, and bring him low; and sooner or later, by one means, or in one way
or another, he will stain the pride of all glory: it is his usual way to abase
him that exalts himself, and exalt him that humbles himself; see Job 40:11, pride
being a most hateful sin to him, contrary to his nature and glory, to his grace
and to his Gospel; the first sin of angels and men. And of abasement and
humiliation of such proud ones, Nebuchadnezzar was an instance in various
respects; who was one of the proudest monarchs upon earth, yet was humbled with
a witness; but, after all, whether truly converted, is a question.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)