¹ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597 b.c.

² sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571 b.c.

² sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

³ sn This statement is rhetorical, emphasizing the totality of Nebuchadnezzar’s dominion. Neither here nor in Dan 2:38 is it to be understood literally.

¹ tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the verse-dividing atnakh from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

¹ tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.”

² sn There is no need to think of Nebuchadnezzar’s image as being solid gold. No doubt the sense is that it was overlaid with gold (cf. Isa 40:19; Jer 10:3-4), with the result that it presented a dazzling self-compliment to the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements.

² sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 b.c.

¹ sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn The language may anticipate Nebuchadnezzar’s utilization of trees from the Lebanon forest in building projects. Lebanon and its animals probably represent the western Palestinian states conquered by the Babylonians.

⁵ sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.

³ sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.

¹ tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”

² sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹ sn The dating formulas indicate that the date was 588/87 b.c. Zedekiah had begun to reign in 598/97, and Nebuchadnezzar had begun to reign in 605/604 b.c. The dating of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule here includes the partial year before he was officially crowned on New Year’s day. See the translator’s note on 25:1 for the method of dating a king’s reign.

² 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.

² tn Aram “Nebuchadnezzar the king.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the relative pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ sn According to a number of patristic authors, the image represented a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This is not clear from the biblical text, however.