Discovery BoxDaniel 4:17 
Context4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;
this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,
so that 1 those who are alive may understand
that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, 2
and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.
He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’
Daniel 4:25
Context4:25 You will be driven 3 from human society, 4 and you will live 5 with the wild animals. You will be fed 6 grass like oxen, 7 and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before 8 you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.
1 tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).
2 tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”
3 tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.
4 tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.
5 tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.
6 tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”
7 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.
8 tn Aram “until.”
