Daniel's Counsel: A Call to Humble Repentance
Daniel 4:19-27
Dan.4.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אנת: PRON,2,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רבית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותקפת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ורבותך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- רבת: ADV
- ומטת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לשמיא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושלטנך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- לסוף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארעא: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Dan.4.17 (thematic): Both verses assert the sovereignty of the Most High over human kingdoms — God ‘rules the kingdom of men’ and determines who shall reign, echoing the theme of divine dominion over earthly rule.
- Dan.4.3 (verbal): Shares language of greatness and kingdom: Daniel (and later Nebuchadnezzar) celebrates the greatness of the ruler whose dominion endures, paralleling the emphasis on vast and exalted rule.
- Dan.2.37-38 (structural): Address to a king about his power and its divine origin: Daniel explains that the God of heaven gave Nebuchadnezzar dominion, linking human kingship with heavenly authorization as in Dan.4.19’s claim of wide dominion.
- Ps.103:19 (thematic): Affirms the LORD’s universal reign — ‘His throne is in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all’ — paralleling the claim that dominion extends from heaven to the ends of the earth.
Alternative generated candidates
- You are that king who has grown and become strong; your greatness has increased, your power has increased, your majesty has ascended to heaven and your dominion to the ends of the earth.
- It is you, O king, who have grown and become great and mighty; your greatness has increased, your majesty has risen — your dominion has reached to heaven and your rule to the ends of the earth.
Dan.4.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ודי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חזה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עיר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וקדיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נחת: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- שמיא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- גדו: ADJ,m,sg
- אילנא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחבלוהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ברם: CONJ
- עקר: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שרשוהי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בארעא: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שבקו: VERB,peal,perf,3,m,pl
- ובאסור: CONJ+VERB,peal,perf,3,m,sg
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פרזל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונחש: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בדתאא: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברא: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- ובטל: CONJ+VERB,peal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמיא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יצטבע: VERB,peal,impf,3,m,sg
- ועם: CONJ+PREP
- חיות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ברא: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- חלקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שבעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עדנין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יחלפון: VERB,qal,imprf,3,pl
- עלוהי: PREP,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Daniel 4:22 (quotation): Immediate interpretive parallel in the same chapter: the prophet explicitly identifies the great tree as the king (Nebuchadnezzar), echoing the image and its meaning.
- Daniel 2:37-38 (thematic): Both passages address the king's greatness and divine grant of dominion (the king as the head of gold / the tree's vast height and rule), highlighting human power as ordained by God and thus subject to God’s judgment.
- Ezekiel 31:3-9 (structural): Uses the image of a vast cedar reaching to the heavens and hosting birds to portray a mighty ruler/nation—very close imagery and theme of great height followed by downfall.
- Isaiah 14:12-15 (thematic): Portrays proud exaltation and a subsequent humbling—the motif of one who rises high and is cast down parallels the arrogance, cosmic reach, and eventual humiliation implied by the tree-king image.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the tree that you saw, whose foliage was fair and whose fruit was abundant, under which the beasts of the field lodged and among whose branches the birds of heaven dwelt —
- And the holy ones came down from heaven and said, “Cut down the tree, but leave the stump and its roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field. Let it be drenched with the dew of heaven; let its portion be with the beasts of the field; let its mind be changed from that of a man, and let a beast's mind be given to it; and let seven times pass over it.”
Dan.4.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פשרא: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וגזרת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עלאה: ADJ,m,sg
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מטת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- מרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Daniel 4:17 (verbal): Uses the same language about a decree of the Most High and affirms that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whom he wills—same theological claim about divine sovereignty.
- Daniel 4:25 (structural): Immediate parallel within the chapter: the prediction/decree is spelled out (humiliation of the king, living with beasts, 'seven times') as the fulfillment of the Most High's decision introduced in 4:21.
- Psalm 75:7 (thematic): Affirms the theme that God is the one who exalts and brings down rulers—'it is God who executes judgment'—paralleling the idea that the Most High's decree determines kingship.
- 1 Samuel 2:7–8 (thematic): Describes Yahweh's sovereign reversal of fortunes—raising the poor and bringing down the proud—and the giving of positions, resonating with Daniel's depiction of divine control over human rulers.
- Proverbs 21:1 (thematic): Portrays the king's heart as directed by the LORD like watercourses, echoing Daniel's claim that the Most High determines the rise and fall of earthly kings.
Alternative generated candidates
- a holy watcher descended from heaven and spoke: "Cut down the tree, but leave the stump and its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the beasts of the field, until seven times pass over it."
- This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king.
Dan.4.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולך: CONJ+PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- טרדין: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מן: PREP
- אנשא: VERB,hiph,impf,1,m,sg
- ועם: CONJ+PREP
- חיות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ברא: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- להוה: PREP,3,m,sg
- מדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועשבא: CONJ,VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- כתורין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יטעמון: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- ומטל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמיא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מצבעין: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- ושבעה: NUM,m,pl,abs
- עדנין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יחלפון: VERB,qal,imprf,3,pl
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- עד: PREP
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תנדע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שליט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עליא: ADJ,m,sg
- במלכות: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אנשא: VERB,hiph,impf,1,m,sg
- ולמן: CONJ+PREP
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יצבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יתננה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Dan.4.25 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same oracle restating the humiliation: the king will be driven from men, live with beasts, eat grass, and endure 'seven times' until he acknowledges the Most High's rule.
- Ps.47:7-8 (thematic): Affirms the Lord's sovereign rule over nations and kings—echoes Daniel's claim that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and assigns it as he wills.
- 1 Sam.2:7-8 (thematic): Speaks of Yahweh raising up and bringing down rulers, giving and taking away power—parallels the theme of divine sovereignty and reversal in Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation.
- Isa.14:12-15 (allusion): Describes the fall of a proud ruler from exaltation to humiliation; thematically mirrors Nebuchadnezzar's descent from royal throne to bestial existence as divine judgment.
- Luke 1:52 (thematic): Mary's song proclaims that God brings down the mighty and lifts up the lowly—a New Testament echo of the motif that God humbles proud rulers and reorders human authority.
Alternative generated candidates
- This is the king’s interpretation, and the decree of the Most High that has been issued concerning the king: you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; you shall be fed with grass like oxen, and you shall be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods will pass over you until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he wills.
- And you, O king, are grown and become strong: you shall be driven away from men and shall eat grass like oxen; you shall be drenched with the dew of heaven; seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules over the realm of mankind and gives it to whomsoever he will.
Dan.4.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ודי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- למשבק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עקר: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שרשוהי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אילנא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכותך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2ms
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- קימה: VERB,qal,ptc,f,sg
- מן: PREP
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תנדע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלטן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמיא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Dan.2.21 (verbal): Affirms the same divine sovereignty language — God changes times and removes and sets up kings; echoes the clause that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.
- Dan.5.21 (quotation): Narrates the fulfillment of the warning in 4: Nebuchadnezzar driven from men and living like an ox — repeats the humiliation and its purpose (that he might know God's sovereignty).
- Prov.21.1 (thematic): Expresses the principle of God’s control over human rulers — the king’s heart is like water in the hand of the LORD, who directs leaders’ actions, paralleling 'the Most High rules the kingdom of men.'
- Ps.75.7 (thematic): Speaks of God as the one who brings down and exalts rulers — similar theme of divine judgment and appointment of kings reflected in Daniel 4:23.
- Isa.40.23 (thematic): Declares that God makes princes nothing and brings rulers low, resonating with Daniel’s assertion that the Most High determines human authority and humbles proud rulers.
Alternative generated candidates
- And concerning the stump they said, "Leave the stump and roots of the tree in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field." Thus it shall be until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men.
- And the command to leave the stump — the banding and the roots in the earth — was proclaimed so that the sovereignty might be taken from you until you know that the heavens rule.
Dan.4.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- להן: PREP+PRON,3,f,pl
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכי: NOUN,pl,m,cons
- ישפר: VERB,qal,imf,3,m,sg
- עלך: PREP,2,m,sg
- וחטאך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,sg
- בצדקה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פרק: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- ועויתך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,sg
- במחן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ענין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הן: PART
- תהוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ארכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לשלותך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:16-17 (verbal): Calls for ceasing evil, learning to do good, seeking justice and defending the oppressed—language closely parallels the call to amend conduct by righteousness and relief of the oppressed.
- Ezekiel 18:21-22 (thematic): Promises life/avoidance of punishment when the wicked turn from sin and do what is right—matches the idea that repentance and righteousness can avert judgment and prolong well‑being.
- Proverbs 28:13 (thematic): States that whoever confesses and forsakes transgression will obtain mercy—parallels the counsel to remove sin by righteous acts to gain favor and lengthened prosperity.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (thematic): God’s healing/restoration follows humility, prayer, and turning from wicked ways—analogous to the plea that ethical reform will bring relief and prolonged rule.
- Jonah 3:10 (structural): After the people repented, God relented from the threatened disaster—an example of the pattern Daniel urges: repentance through righteous deeds can avert calamity.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor — perhaps there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.
- Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins with righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; perhaps there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.
Dan.4.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כלא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מטא: VERB,qal,impf,3,sg
- על: PREP
- נבוכדנצר: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Dan.4.33 (structural): Narrative fulfillment of the prediction in 4:25: Nebuchadnezzar is driven from men, lives like an animal, and eats grass for 'seven periods', reporting the same events foretold here.
- Dan.4.34-35 (thematic): Describes the theological outcome intended by the humiliation announced in 4:25—Nebuchadnezzar's ultimate acknowledgement of the Most High's sovereignty.
- Proverbs 16:18 (thematic): General proverb articulating the moral principle behind the judgment in 4:25: pride precedes downfall and humiliation.
- Luke 14:11 (thematic): New Testament teaching that 'whoever exalts himself will be humbled,' echoing the motif of divine humbling of proud rulers found in Dan.4:25.
- Isaiah 14:12-15 (allusion): Poetic depiction of a proud ruler's fall from high estate to humiliation; thematically parallels Nebuchadnezzar's downfall and demotion to a beast‑like state.
Alternative generated candidates
- All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar the king.
- All these matters came upon Nebuchadnezzar the king.
Dan.4.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לקצת: PREP
- ירחין: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תרי: NUM,m,pl
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- על: PREP
- היכל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכותא: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מהלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הוה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 14:12-15 (thematic): Both passages address the pride and consequent downfall of the ‘king of Babylon’ (or a proud ruler). Isaiah’s taunt against the king of Babylon echoes the theme of heavenly‑ordained humiliation and descent from exaltation found in Nebuchadnezzar’s story.
- Ezekiel 31:3-9, 16-18 (verbal): Ezekiel uses the image of a towering tree (and its felling) to describe the pride and collapse of a great ruler/nation—an image parallel to Daniel’s dream of the great tree that is cut down as a symbol of the king’s loss of status.
- Daniel 4:34-37 (structural): Later verses in the same chapter narrate Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration and his confession of God’s sovereignty, directly completing the episode begun in v.26 (the period of humbling and the king’s subsequent recovery).
- Luke 18:14 (thematic): Jesus’ maxim that ‘everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted’ summarizes the moral/theological principle enacted in Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation and later exaltation.
- Psalm 75:6-7 (thematic): These verses assert that elevation comes from God and that God brings down the proud—echoing Daniel’s portrayal of divine judgment and reversal of human greatness exemplified in the king’s humbling.
Alternative generated candidates
- At the end of twelve months, while the king was walking about the royal palace of the kingdom of Babylon,
- At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
Dan.4.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ענה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- הלא: PART
- דא: PRON,dem,m,sg
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רבתא: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אנה: ADV,interrog
- בניתה: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- מלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בתקף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חסני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- וליקר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 14:13-14 (thematic): Both depict the proud ruler of Babylon boasting of exaltation and power; Isaiah presents a taunt against the king's arrogant claims to ascend and be like God, paralleling Nebuchadnezzar's pride in his building and majesty.
- Ezekiel 28:2-5 (thematic): Ezekiel rebukes the sovereign of Tyre for proud speech and self-exaltation; like Daniel's account, it frames a ruler's boastful self-regard as grounds for divine judgment.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (verbal): A caution against saying 'My power and the might of mine hand' have gotten wealth—language and theme echo Nebuchadnezzar's attribution of Babylon's greatness to his own power rather than to God.
- James 4:13-16 (thematic): New Testament warning against boasting about future plans and assuming control—parallels Daniel's narrative in condemning confident assertions of human power and security.
- Jeremiah 51:53 (allusion): A prophetic oracle concerning the fall of Babylon contrasts the city's apparent greatness with its destined humiliation, providing background to the irony of Nebuchadnezzar's boast about building great Babylon.
Alternative generated candidates
- the king answered and said, "Is not this great Babylon — which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?"
- The king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
You are the king who has been exalted and made strong; your greatness has increased, your dominion has reached to the heavens, and your rule to the ends of the earth. And as for the tree that you saw—whose top reached to heaven and was visible to all the earth, whose foliage was fair and whose fruit was abundant, and in which was food for all—under it the beasts of the field lodged and among its branches the birds of heaven dwelt.
This is the interpretation, O king: a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven and said, 'Cut down the tree and lop off its branches; strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. But leave the stump with its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze among the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field until seven times pass over him; and let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let a beast’s mind be given to him,
until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.' This is the decree that has gone out concerning the king.
Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by doing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed—perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.
All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.
The king answered and said, 'Is not this great Babylon that I have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'