Bible Commentaries
Daniel 4

Verse 1

Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

Nebuchadnezzar the king. — This bare title seemed sufficient to him who came now newly out of the furnace of sharp affliction, whereby he was tamed and taken a link lower, as we say.

Unto all people, nations, and languages. — This epistolary narrative or proclamation was sent abroad a year or two before his death. And here observe, saith one, Mr Huet. an omission of twenty-seven years’ history, wherein the Church in Babylon had her halcyons; the emperor being exercised in foreign wars, and the nobles disheartened from attempting anything against those four worthies, as having had formerly such ill success.

That dwell in all the earth. — Thus this great king is made a catholic preacher of humility and moderation of mind.

Peace be multiplied unto you. — Courtesy and kind language in great ones draweth all hearts unto them, as fair flowers do the eyes of beholders in the springtide.

Verse 2

I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.

I thought it good. — Chald., It was meet (or seemly) before me; It was my duty, so Junius.

To show the signs and wonders. — "Signs" they were, because evident testimonies of God’s wisdom, justice, power; "wonders," because worthy to be wondered at.

Verse 3

How great [are] his signs! and how mighty [are] his wonders! his kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion [is] from generation to generation.

How great are his sons! — Mark how he is enlarged here; so should we. If David had had the thing in hand, he would have cried out also, "For his mercy endureth for ever." But Nebuchadnezzar celebrateth his kingdom only; and that also he had learned of Daniel. Daniel 2:46-47

Verse 4

I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:

I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house. — Having subdued all mine enemies round about. But in the year of my triumph, behold a vision of my downfall. Suspecta nobis debet esse tranquillitas.

And flourishing in my palace. — But flourishing estates free not the mind of burdensome cares. Ecclesiastes 5:12

Verse 5

I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

I saw a dream, which made me afraid. — It is seldom seen that God alloweth unto the greatest darlings of the world a perfect contentment; something they must complain of that shall give an unsavoury verdure to their sweetest morsels, and make their very felicity miserable.

Verse 6

Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise [men] of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon. — Whom yet he had formerly found to be no better than braggarts and impostors. Was this man truly converted?

Verse 7

Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

Then came in the magicians. — As if they would do the deed. Seducers make up with boldness what they want of true worth. 2 Peter 2:19

Verse 8

But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, [saying],

But at last Daniel came in before me. — And why "at last?" Why was he not sooner sent for? If the soothsayers and sorcerers could have served the turn, Daniel had never been sought to. This is the guise of graceless men; they run not to God till all other refuges fail them.

According to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. — Is this the language of a true convert? Should not former sinful practices be looked upon with a lively hatred, and mentioned with utter distaste?

Verse 9

O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.

Because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. — The spirit of divination and prophecy.

And no secret troubleth thee. — Chald., Puts thee to business. Now he who had slighted Daniel before, to get what he desired, abaseth himself below the dignity of a king to him.

Verse 10

Thus [were] the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof [was] great.

Thus were the visions of my head in my bed. — He readily remembereth this dream of his, and roundly relateth it; the more to befool the wise men, since the Scripture, whereof they were ignorant, but Daniel well versed in, revealeth sufficient direction for the interpretation thereof - sc., Ezekiel 31:1-12 . The wisdom of this world is not unlike the pains taken by moles, which dig dexterously under ground, but are blind against the sunlight.

Verse 11

The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:

The tree grew, and was strong. — See Ezekiel 17:12 ; Ezekiel 17:24 . Plato compareth a man to a tree inverted, with the root above and the branches below. He also calleth him φυτον ουρανιον , a heavenly plant. Homer calleth great men γεγενημενα εχ Dιος ερνη .

Verse 12

The leaves thereof [were] fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it [was] meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit. — But because pride harboured under these leaves and poisoned these fair fruits, they were broken down and trod under foot.

The beasts of the field had shadow under it. — Great is the benefit of civil government, and far extending. But most men content themselves with a natural use of it, as beasts of the field do of their food, without improvement of any higher good.

Verse 13

I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;

And, behold, a watcher and an holy one, — i.e., A holy angel, active and watchful to know and do the will and commands of God for the good of the Church. Hence angels are said to be full of eyes, Ezekiel 1:18 and to stand always beholding the face of God, Matthew 18:10 as waiting an employment. How ready was that angel here Daniel 4:31 to interrupt the proud king from heaven, and to tell him his doom! So in the next words.

Verse 14

He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:

Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches. — One angel seems to call to another to expedite the execution, so earnest they are in the Church’s revenge. Revelation 18:21

Let the beasts get away. — Let this great conqueror be stripped at once of his train and dignity. The Duke of Florence gave for his ensign a great tree with many spreading boughs, one of them being cut off, with this posy, Uno avulso non deficit alter; but here it was otherwise.

Verse 15

Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and [let] his portion [be] with the beasts in the grass of the earth:

Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots. — Which, having life still in it, may shoot out again. Pintus in loc.

Even with a band of iron and brass. — Hic ab arbore desilit angelus ad personam. This band intimateth Nebuchadnezzar’s madness; for mad folk use to be bound.

Let his portion be with the beasts. — Turn him agrazing among beasts, for his beastly conditions.

Verse 16

Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

Let his heart be changed, — i.e., Obbrutescat, nihil humanum sapiat; a fearful judgment, and yet such as reprobates are usually delivered up to. Romans 1:24

And let a beast’s heart be given him. — Let his fantasy and appetite be so changed, that, upon a strong imagination that he is a beast, he may have affections carrying him in all things to do accordingly. Little is said of this in human history. The Chaldee chronicles are lost. Alpheus (as he is cited by Eusebius) Lib. ix. de Praepar. Ev. briefly saith that Nebuchadnezzar, rapt with madness, presently vanished out of the company of men, after that he had first foretold the overthrow of the Chaldean monarchy. The Chaldeans in Abidenus’ fragments record that he was blasted by some god, and spake of Babel’s fall by the Persians. Brought., Conc. of Script.

And let seven times to pass over him, — i.e., Seven years; like as Solomon’s temple, that seven years’ work of many thousands, was by him destroyed.

Verse 17

This matter [is] by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

This matter is by the decree of the watchers, — i.e., Of God surrounded with his holy angels as his assessors and approvers of the divine decree.

And the demand by the word of the holy ones. — Petitio haec - scil., that the tree may be cut down. It is hereby intimated, saith Piscator, that the angels, in the consultation held for the punishing of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride, petitioned God that it might be so.

Verse 18

This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise [men] of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou [art] able; for the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee.

This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. — Such as would have resolution, must fully relate their doubts. Genesis 41:17

Verse 19

Then Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream [be] to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar. — Which name he took no felicity at all in, but the contrary. Nevertheless, for the Chaldeans’ sake, in whose tongue he wrote these things, and at whose good he therein aimed, he here addeth it.

Was astonished for an hour. — So was not Nebuchadnezzar, who was the man concerned. Ea fere est improbarum securitas; the godly, who have less cause, are frightened often, when the wicked are hardened. See Habakkuk 3:16 . See Trapp on " Habakkuk 3:16 " But they who tremble not in time of threatening, shall be crushed to pieces in time of punishing. Bradford.

My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee. — Daniel, after a certain pause makes this mannerly preamble to the interpretation of the dream, which could not be very pleasing. But truth must be spoken, however it be taken. So Philo brings in Joseph prefacing to the interpretation of Pharaoh’s baker’s dream, Utinam tale somnium non vidisses, …, I would, sir, you had not so dreamed; but since you have, I mast deal plainly with you.

Verse 20

The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;

The tree that thou sawest. — See on Daniel 4:11 .

Verse 21

Whose leaves [were] fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it [was] meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:

Whose leaves were fair. — See on Daniel 4:12 .

Under which the beasts of the field dwelt, … — A king should to all his subjects, high and low, extend his favour according to every one’s quality and degree.

Verse 22

It [is] thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

It is thou, O king, — i.e., It is that great empire which thou boldest and rulest.

Verse 23

And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and [let] his portion [be] with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;

And whereas the king, … — See Daniel 4:13 .

Hew the tree down. — Sin ever endeth tragically.

Yet leave the stump. — Reserve him for a kingly state again, like as he had left a stump in Judah, spared the kingly seed, showed pity to the remnant of the Lord. The least favour that is shown to the godly shall be repaid double. Jeremiah 34:17

Verse 24

This [is] the interpretation, O king, and this [is] the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

This is the interpretation. — See Daniel 4:19 .

Verse 25

That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

That they shall drive thee. — He saith not who, whether angels or men, nor whither, for avoiding of envy and displeasure. This was a high point of heavenly wisdom, which adviseth to observe,

“ Quis, quid, ubi, quibus auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando. ”

Nebuchadnezzar, who had driven so many before him out of their countries, is now, by a just judgment of God, himself driven out from company, lest, being mad, he should do much mischief: for his brutish conditions, he had now the brutes for his companions. He was wont to be fed with dainty fare; he now eateth grass as an ox. For his purple robe, horrido pilo totus obtegitur, he is all covered with hair; and for his precious ointments he is wet with the dew of heaven, ferinae vitae damnatus. Oecolampadius; Diod. His disease, say some, was the lycanthropy; not a frenzy only, as that of Ericus, King of Sweden, who, being expelled his kingdom, for grief fell mad; Willet. for, besides the brutish change of his mind, his body was much changed in feeding and living among wild beasts. Deformed he was, not transformed, so that the beasts took him for a beast, as going upon all four, and feeding as they did, although in shape differing from them, as a monster among them. But when all is said that can be said, sure it is that this change was supernatural, as appeareth by the occasion, manner, degree, time, …, every circumstance seeming a new creation. Mr Huet.

And seven times shall pass over thee. — For the glory of God’s justice in his expulsion, and of his mercy in his restoration. See Daniel 4:16 .

Till thou know. — God will be sure to tame his rebels, for is it fit that he should lay down the bucklers first?

Verse 26

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

And whereas they commanded. — See Daniel 4:15 ; and further observe how God tempereth his judgments with mercy, and that out of his mere philanthropy.

That the heavens, — i.e., The God of heaven. Luke 15:21 Matthew 21:25

Verse 27

Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee. — Happy was Nebuchadnezzar in such a faithful counsellor at hand to advise him; more happy than his successors Cyrus and Cambyses were in Croesus, King of Lydia, who yet more enriched them by his counsel than by all the wealth they had from him. But Nebuchadnezzar was as yet uncounsellable, till God had tamed and humbled him.

Break off thy sins by righteousness. — Be abrupt in the work, for delays are dangerous; Hebrews 3:7 ; Hebrews 3:13 cut the cart ropes of vanity as soon as may be, lest they pull down upon us heaviest judgments. For the diversion of God’s anger, get sin removed: Anticipa iudicium eius vera rescipiscentia. - Jun. take the bark from the tree, and the sap can never find the way to the boughs.

And thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. — Nebuchadnezzar had been an open oppressor, Daniel therefore preacheth unto him of righteousness and mercy. So Paul discoursed of "righteousness, and temperance, and the judgment to come" Acts 24:25 before Felix (who was inexplebilis gurges, saith Tacitus, a covetous wretch) and Drusilla, a filthy adulteress. Let this be a mirror for ministers.

If it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. — An futura sit prorogatio. Et sane fuit aliqua prorogatio, nempe per annum. Repentance ever findeth favour, yea, the very shadow of it, as in Ahab. 1 Kings 21:29 Jerome thinks it probable that Nebuchadnezzar did for a time as Daniel had advised him, and had therefore for a temporary repentance a temporary tranquillity. Chrysostom’s note upon this text is, Prolata est sententia ut non fiat. God is iudex liber, non iuratus, as Zanchy saith well, he punisheth as he pleaseth.

Verse 28

All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.

All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. — Because he repented not, or not thoroughly, as he had been advised, being left of God to his own heart. There is an infallibility in the curses as well as in the promises; they will surely light. Isaiah 14:23-24

Verse 29

At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

At the end of twelve months he walked, — scil., A year after the dream, the interpretation thereof, and the good counsel given him thereupon. It is some wonder how he could so soon forget all; but the world, with the lusts thereof, had hardened his heart.

In the palace of the kingdom. — His idle walk, and his stately palace, were some occasion of his pride and fall. He walketh and stalketh, musing of nothing but his own greatness only.

Verse 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?

The king spake and said. — No man asking him any question, but himself trumpeting out his own praises. Ordinarily the greatest wealth is tumoured up with the greatest swelth against the Lord. Great means make great minds; yet what hath this proud prince in him of a man more than his voice and shape?

Is not this great Babylon Urbem suam opponit coelo, eamque pro coelo habet. that I have built? — Why, no; it was built over a thousand years before you were born: Joseph. Antiq., lib. xvi. cap. 1l. you have only beautified and fortified it. It is God that buildeth the city. Psalms 127:1 And they were your ancestors, Nimrod and Ninus, whom he made use of for that purpose. Why, then, should you rob him of his glory, and them of their right, by your arrogance? The proud man, Sejanus-like, sacrificeth only to himself, and, Polyphemus-like, setteth up himself for the sole doer. God is not in all his thoughts. Psalms 10:4 And for his words, hear Nebuchadnezzar here, or Mezentius in Virgil,

“ Dextra mihi Deus, et telum quod missile libro. ”

- Aeneid.

Or that of Grevinchovius, the Arminian, Ego meipsum discerno, atque in eo cur non mihi liceat ut de meo gloriarer? I do by my freewill make myself to differ from others, and why may not I boast of such a thing as of mine own, in answer to that of the apostle, "Who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou which thou hast not received?" Wittily doth Luther call those braggers faeces or dregs, who have much in their mouths, haec ego feci, This was my doing; and worthily is that speech of Charles V emperor commended, Veni, vidi, sed vicit Christus, A Lap. in 2 Samuel 17:1 . beyond that of Julius Caesar, Veni, vidi, vici, because he ascribeth to Christ the honour of his conquest.

For the house of the kingdom. — The palace indeed he had built, though not the city, and therein he now prideth himself. The bramble thinks it a goodly thing to reign, and hath great thoughts and words too of his shadow, and yet all is but a shadow. The Turks build no stately edifices, besides their mosques or churches, because their abode upon earth is to be but short, they say, and therefore any dwelling may serve turn. That was a memorable speech of the forementioned Charles V, to whom, when the Duke of Venice had shown his princely palace, like a paradise upon earth, and now expected that the emperor should have exceedingly praised it, all that he said to it was this, Haec sunt quae nos invitos faciunt mori. These are the things that make us loath to depart out of the world. And no less memorable was that saying of another to a great lord who had showed him his stately house and pleasant garden, You had need, my lord, make sure of heaven; or else, when you die, you will be a very great loser.

By the might of my power. — See Habakkuk 1:16 . See Trapp on " Habakkuk 1:16 "

Verse 31

While the word [was] in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, [saying], O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

While the word was in the king’s mouth. — So quick is God usually in his executions, when men are once come to the height of pride, and do invade his glory, affront his majesty. Jeremiah 44:22 Acts 12:23

There fell a voice from heaven. — By the ministry of the angels, who do extremely hate proud persons, and are ready to speak and act aught against them.

O king Nebuehadnezzar. — Not now Nebuchadnezzar my servant, as once, but mine opposite, and therefore the object of my wrath. Alexander the Great rewarded his soldier that fetched his crown out of the water, but then hanged him for putting it on his own head. God will punish those eternally that rob him of his due glory.

Verse 32

And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling [shall be] with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

And they shall drive thee. — See on Daniel 4:25 , See Trapp on " Daniel 4:25 " that new impieties work out old threatened curses, which seldom rot in the air, as we use to say of winter.

Verse 33

The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ [feathers], and his nails like birds’ [claws].

The same hour was the thing fulfilled. — When least expected. The like befell the old world, Sodom, Pharaoh, Julian, … See 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 . As they say of the metal they make glass of, it is nearest melting when it shineth brightest; so are the wicked nearest destruction when at greatest lustre.

And he was driven from men. — By his own courtiers and subjects. In him it well appeared that mortality was but the stage of mutability. The like was to be seen in Nero, and many other Roman and Greek emperors; in Belisarius, Bajazet, our Richard II, and Henry VI, who, having been the most potent monarch for dominions that ever England had, was at last not the master of a mole hill, nor owner of his own liberty. Of Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, grandchild to John of Gaunt, mention hath been made before. Within our remembrance, in the reign of King James, the Lord Cobham, having been a man of seven thousand pounds a year, and of a personal estate of thirty thousand pounds, came nevertheless to a miserable end; for before his death he was lousey for want of apparel and linen, and had starved, had not a trencher scraper, some time his servant at court, relieved him with scraps, in whose house he died, being so poor a place that he was forced to creep up a ladder through a little hole into his chamber. Court of King James, p. 37. The like strange change befell Sir Edward Greenill, of Milcot, in Warwickshire, whom I very well knew.

And did eat grass as oxen. — By a singular judgment of Almighty God, who came down from heaven, as it were, to fight a duel with this most proud man, inspectante toto mundo, in the view of all the world. Rollock.

And his body was wet with the dew of heaven. — Beside the brutish change of his mind, his body was much changed by the inclemency of the air, and by his feeding and living among wild beasts. Yet was he not in truth changed into a beast, as Bodin thinketh, so as that upward he was like an ox, and in his hinder parts like a lion, as others have fabled. The substance of his body was not changed, but only the quality of his substance and of his shape. Rupertus well concludeth that this was the greatest change that is mentioned in Scripture, excepting only that of Lot’s wife, who was changed into a pillar of salt.

Till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers. — Thick and black.

And his nails like bird’s claws. — Long and sharp; so that in his shape he came nearer to a wild beast than to a man.

Verse 34

And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom [is] from generation to generation:

And at the end of the days. — When my pride was now subdued, but hardly to sound conversion.

I Nebuehadnezzar lift up mine eyes. — Happy he if with Simeon his eyes had seen God’s salvation. Many are humbled but not humble, low but not lowly.

And mine understanding returned. — The use of his reason, whereof he had been bereft, and an opinion put into him that he was a beast. Mad men are apt to think themselves kings, horses, or other creatures than they are.

Whose dominion is everlasting. — A natural man will sooner confess God to be true, just, powerful, wise, …, than merciful, and all because the love of God is not shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost. Romans 5:5

Verse 35

And all the inhabitants of the earth [are] reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and [among] the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. — He who hath seen any part of God’s greatness will soon see his own vileness and the world’s nothingness. Disce hominis ουδενειαν , et ut ira dicam nihilitatem.

Verse 36

At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

At the same time. — When God had hid pride from me, which could not be soon nor easily done; as when some vital part is corrupted, the cure is difficult and long in doing.

And my counsellors and my lords. — Who had ruled the kingdom in the interim, among whom Daniel haply was chief.

Verse 37

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works [are] truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise. — God, as he is the first author of all, so to him as to the utmost end, quasi circulo quodam confecto, all honour ought to return.

All whose works are truth, — i.e., Right and righteous.

And those that walk in pride he is able to abase. — See Daniel 4:33 .

“ Ingentes quercus, annosas fulminat ornos. ”

- Claudian