Daniel 4:1-3

4:1 (3:31) ¹  “King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and language groups that live in all the land: Peace and prosperity! ²  4:2 I am delighted to tell you about the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for me.

4:3 “How great are his signs!

How mighty are his wonders!

His kingdom will last forever, ³ 

and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”

Daniel 4:25-27

4:25 You will be driven ⁴  from human society, ⁵  and you will live ⁶  with the wild animals. You will be fed ⁷  grass like oxen, ⁸  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ⁹  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes. 4:26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven ¹⁰  rules. 4:27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.” ¹¹ 

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¹ sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:37 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:31 AT, 4:2 ET = 3:32 AT, 4:3 ET = 3:33 AT, 4:4 ET = 4:1 AT, etc., through 4:37 ET = 4:34 AT. Thus Dan 3:31-33 of the Aramaic text appears as Dan 4:1-3 in the English Bible, and the corresponding verses of ch. 4 differ accordingly. In spite of the division of the Aramaic text, a good case can be made that 3:31-33 AT (= 4:1-3 ET) is actually the introduction to ch. 4.

² tn Aram “May your peace increase!”

³ tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”

⁴ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

⁵ tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

⁶ tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

⁷ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

⁸ sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder known as boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.

⁹ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁰ sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Cf. the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).

¹¹ tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”