Daniel 4:30

30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

Daniel 4:30 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
English Standard Version (ESV)
30 and the king answered and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?"
New Living Translation (NLT)
30 As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
The Message Bible (MSG)
30 and boasted, "Look at this, Babylon the great! And I built it all by myself, a royal palace adequate to display my honor and glory!"
American Standard Version (ASV)
30 The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
30 The king thought, "Look how great Babylon is! I built the royal palace by my own impressive power and for my glorious honor."
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
30 the king exclaimed, "Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built by my vast power to be a royal residence and to display my majestic glory?"
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
30 I said, "Isn't this the great Babylon I have built as a place for my royal palace? I used my mighty power to build it. It shows how glorious my majesty is."

Daniel 4:30 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 4:30

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 Aristotle F3, it was more like a country than a city; it was, as Pliny F4 says, sixty miles in compass within the walls; and Herodotus F5 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 Berosus F6 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, ( Psalms 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 Politic. l. 3. c. 3.
F4 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26.
F5 Clio, sive l. 1. c. 178.
F6 Apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 1. & contr. Allion, 1. 1. sect. 19.

Daniel 4:30 In-Context

28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,
30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
31 Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.
32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 13:19
  • 2. S Isaiah 10:13; S Isaiah 37:24-25; Daniel 5:20; Habakkuk 1:11; Habakkuk 2:4
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