Daniel 2:46
in Daniel 2At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.
KJV
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseVerse 47. "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshipped Daniel, and ordered sacrifices and incense to be offered up to him. Therefore the king spoke and said to Daniel." Porphyry falsely impugns this passage on the ground that a very proud king would never worship a mere captive, as if, forsooth, the Lycaonians had not been willing to offer blood sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas on account of the mighty miracles they had wrought (Acts 14:8-18).
This site's exposition
fell upon his face
on Daniel 2:46-49
Nebuchadnezzar falls upon his face and worships Daniel, commanding an oblation and sweet odours offered to him, an act the bench reads as sincere but badly aimed, honor owed to the God who revealed the secret paid instead to the man who reported it. The king's own confession, of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, is the chapter's answer to its opening impossibility, spoken in the conqueror's own mouth rather than argued by his captives. Daniel is made ruler over the whole province of Babylon and secures the same standing for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, while he himself sits in the gate of the king, the seat of daily judgment, closing the chapter with the four exactly where chapter one's test first aimed them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, HOMILY 26:6-7 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
The people who were in Babylon say this: being there, I will remember you. Therefore, let us also, as being in Babylon, [do the same]. For although we are not sitting among warlike foes, yet we are among "enemies." For some indeed were captives but did not feel their captivity, as Daniel, as the three children; who, even while they were in captivity became in that very country more glorious even than the king who had made them captive.… Do you see how great is virtue? When they were in actual captivity, he waited on them as masters. He therefore was the captive, rather than they.… Do you see that the really splendid things are those that relate to God, whereas human things are a shadow?… Let us fear God, beloved, let us fear [him]: even should we be in captivity, we are more glorious than all people. Let the fear of God be present with us, and nothing will bring us grief, even though they speak of poverty, or of disease, or of captivity, or of slavery or of any other grievous thing. In fact, even these very things will themselves work together for us the other way. These men were captives, and the king worshiped them. Paul was a tent maker, and they sacrificed to him as a god.
Nebuchadnezzar, after hearing these things, and after remembering the dream, recognized that what was spoken by Daniel was true, and, "he fell on his face and he worshipped Daniel and commanded slaves to offer gifts and perfumes to him." [Daniel 2:46] How strong is the grace of God, beloved, so that shortly before he was about to be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon, the king fell on his face and no longer worshipped this man as a man but as God and commanded slaves to offer gifts and perfumes to him. For also long ago the Lord announced the same thing to Moses saying, "Behold, I have given you as God to Pharaoh," [Exodus 7:1] so that through the signs which happened under him in Egypt, Moses no longer was acknowledged as a man, but as God worshipped by the Egyptians.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v11
That they should offer - This was strange, that so great a monarch should thus worship his vassal, which he did in consternation and admiration. But doubtless Daniel put a stop to it: though he could not hinder the king in his prostration, and in his word of command. And the king being instructed of Daniel, gives God all the glory in the next words.
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fell upon . . . face, and worshipped Daniel--worshipping God in the person of Daniel. Symbolical of the future prostration of the world power before Messiah and His kingdom (Php 2:10).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The king - fell upon his face - Prostrated himself: this was the fullest act of adoration among the ancients. Worshipped Daniel - Supposing him to be a god, or Divine being. No doubt Daniel forbade him; for to receive this would have been gross idolatry.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face - This was the common method of signifying profound respect among the Orientals. Compare Gen 17:3; Gen 50:18; Lev 9:24; Num 14:5; Jos 5:14; Jdg 13:20; Rev 11:16. And worshipped Daniel - The word rendered “worshipped” here (סגד segid), in the Chaldee portions of the Bible is uniformly rendered “worship,” Dan 2:26; Dan 3:5-7, Dan 3:10-12, Dan 3:14-15, Dan 3:18, Dan 3:28. It occurs nowhere else, and in every instance, except in the one before us, is employed with reference to the homage paid to an idol, all the other cases occurring in the third chapter respecting the image that was set up by Nebuchadnezzar. The corresponding Hebrew word (סגד sâgad) occurs only in Isa 44:15, Isa 44:17, Isa 44:19; Isa 46:6; and is, in every instance, rendered “fall down,” also with reference to idols. The proper idea, therefore, of the word here is, that the monarch meant to render “religious” homage to Daniel, or such adoration as was usually paid to idols. This is confirmed by witat is immediately added, that he commanded that an oblation should be made to him. It is not, however, necessary to suppose that Daniel “received” or “approved” this religious homage of the king, or that he left the impression on his mind that he was “willing” to be honored as a god. The prostration of the king before him, of course, he could not prevent. The views and feelings which the monarch had in doing it he could not prevent. The command to present an “oblation and sweet odors to him” he could not prevent. […]
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֵּ֠אדַיִן | bedayin | <in> then | H116 → | 57 times |
| מַלְכָּ֤א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּר֙ | nevukhadnetzar | Nebuchadnezzar | H5020 → | 31 times |
| נְפַ֣ל | nefal | he fell | H5308 → | 11 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5922 → | 104 times |
| אַנְפּ֔וֹהִי | ʾanpohi | face his | H600 → | |
| וּלְדָנִיֵּ֖אל | uledaniyel | and to Daniel | H1841 → | 57 times |
| סְגִ֑ד | segid | he paid homage | H5457 → | 12 times |
| וּמִנְחָה֙ | uminchah | and offering | H4504 → | |
| וְנִ֣יחֹחִ֔ין | venichochin | and soothing offerings | H5208 → | |
| אֲמַ֖ר | ʾamar | he said | H560 → | 71 times |
| לְנַסָּ֥כָה | lenasakhah | to offer in sacrifice | H5260 → | |
| לֵֽהּ׃ | leh | to him |
בֵּ֠אדַיִן<in> then
bedayinH116 →57 times
מַלְכָּ֤אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּר֙Nebuchadnezzar
nevukhadnetzarH5020 →31 times
נְפַ֣לhe fell
nefalH5308 →11 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
אַנְפּ֔וֹהִיface his
ʾanpohiH600 →
וּלְדָנִיֵּ֖אלand to Daniel
uledaniyelH1841 →57 times
סְגִ֑דhe paid homage
segidH5457 →12 times
וּמִנְחָה֙and offering
uminchahH4504 →
וְנִ֣יחֹחִ֔יןand soothing offerings
venichochinH5208 →
אֲמַ֖רhe said
ʾamarH560 →71 times
לְנַסָּ֥כָהto offer in sacrifice
lenasakhahH5260 →
לֵֽהּ׃to him
leh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 10:25As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
it leads to
- Acts 14:11–13
When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 19:10
So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus.…
- Revelation 22:8–9
And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these…
- Matthew 8:2
Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
- Daniel 2:30
And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you…
- Acts 14:11–13
Through
Leviticus 26:31I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.
it leads to
- Genesis 8:21
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth.…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 2:3
and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by…
- Genesis 8:21
Through
Ezra 6:10Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
it leads to
- Ezra 7:23
Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?
- Ezra 7:23
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.8; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TWO; John Chrysostom, ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, HOMILY 26:6-7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.