Daniel 4:1-8

The King Acknowledges God

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: "May your 1peace abound!
2 "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the 2Most High God has done for me.
3 "How great are His 3signs And how mighty are His wonders! His 4kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation to generation.

The Vision of a Great Tree

4 "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and 5flourishing in my palace.
5 "I saw a 6dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the 7visions in my mind kept alarming me.
6 "So I gave orders to 8bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 "Then the 9magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its 10interpretation known to me.
8 "But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is 11Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is 12a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,

Daniel 4:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

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, Da 4:1-3 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, Da 4:4-9: the dream itself; which being told, astonished Daniel, the king being so much interested in it, Da 4:10-19, the interpretation of it, with Daniel's advice upon it, is in Da 4:20-27 the fulfilment of it, time and occasion thereof, Da 4:28-33. Nebuchadnezzar's restoration to his reason and kingdom, for which he praises God, Da 4:34-37.

Cross References 12

  • 1. Ezra 4:17; Daniel 6:25
  • 2. Daniel 3:26; Daniel 4:17, 24, 25, 32, 34
  • 3. Psalms 77:19; Psalms 105:27; Isaiah 25:1; Daniel 6:27
  • 4. Daniel 2:44; Daniel 4:34; Daniel 6:26
  • 5. Psalms 30:6; Isaiah 47:7, 8
  • 6. Daniel 2:3
  • 7. Daniel 2:1, 28; Daniel 4:10, 13
  • 8. Genesis 41:8; Daniel 2:2
  • 9. Genesis 41:8; Daniel 2:10, 27; Daniel 5:7
  • 10. Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 27:9, 10; Daniel 2:7
  • 11. Daniel 1:7; Daniel 2:26; Daniel 5:12
  • 12. Daniel 4:9, 18; Daniel 5:11, 14

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Ch 3:31 in Aram
  • [b]. Lit "tongue"
  • [c]. Or "welfare" or "prosperity"
  • [d]. Ch 4:1 in Aram
  • [e]. Lit "of my head"
  • [f]. Or "soothsayer priests," and so throughout the ch
  • [g]. Or "master astrologers"
  • [h]. Lit "before"
  • [i]. Or possibly "the Spirit of the holy God," and so throughout the ch
  • [j]. Lit "before"
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