Daniel 5:19-20

5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ¹  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ²  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind ³  became arrogant ⁴  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.

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¹ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

² tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

³ tn Aram “heart.”

⁴ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.