Daniel 4:15
in Daniel 4But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
KJV
Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
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This verse in Daniel 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAfter he was banished by them, he fled to the desert and his kingdom and the authority and majesty which he had formerly were taken, because he boasted and said, "Who is the god, who shall take you from my hands?" [Daniel 3:15] Later stooping piteously to the earth, and wailing in the mountains, he lived with the beasts, fearing his satraps, lest he be killed by them.
This site's exposition
a watcher and an holy one
on Daniel 4:13-15
A watcher and an holy one comes down from heaven with a sentence rather than a warning, hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, and the bench reads watcher as this book's own term for the angelic order that later Jewish literature expands well beyond what Daniel states. The stump of his roots left in the earth, banded with iron and brass, is mercy inside the judgment, Keil notes, a guarantee written into the sentence itself that the kingdom will return once the lesson is learned.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, that through the scent of water it will bud, Job xiv. (3.) The meaning of this is explained by the angel himself to Nebuchadnezzar,
Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth - As of a tree that is not wholly dead, but which may send up suckers and shoots again. See the note at Isa 11:1. In Theodotion this is, τὴν φυήν τῶν ῥιξῶν tēn phuēn tōn rizōn - the nature, germ.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
stump--The kingdom is still reserved secure for him at last, as a tree stump secured by a hoop of brass and iron from being split by the sun's heat, in the hope of its growing again (Isa 11:1; compare Job 14:7-9).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Leave the stump - Let him not be destroyed, nor his kingdom alienated.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
the edict a decree, but since they take counsel from the Holy One, blessed be He, before they issue the decree, he calls it a question.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרַ֨ם | beram | nevertheless | H1297 → | 5 times |
| עִקַּ֤ר | ʾikar | [the] stump of | H6136 → | 3 times |
| שָׁרְשׁ֙וֹהִי֙ | shareshohi | roots its | H8330 → | 3 times |
| בְּאַרְעָ֣א | beara' | in ground the | H772 → | 21 times |
| שְׁבֻ֔קוּ | shevuku | leave! | H7662 → | 5 times |
| וּבֶֽאֱסוּר֙ | uveesur | and with a fetter | H613 → | |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| פַרְזֶ֣ל | farzel | iron | H6523 → | 20 times |
| וּנְחָ֔שׁ | unechash | and bronze | H5174 → | 9 times |
| בְּדִתְאָ֖א | bedita' | in grass the | H1883 → | |
| דִּ֣י | di | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| בָרָ֑א | vara' | field the | H1251 → | 8 times |
| וּבְטַ֤ל | uvetal | and with [the] dew of | H2920 → | 5 times |
| שְׁמַיָּא֙ | shemaiya' | heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| יִצְטַבַּ֔ע | yitztaba' | let it become wet | H6647 → | 5 times |
| וְעִם־ | veim- | and [be] with | H5974 → | 22 times |
| חֵיוְתָ֥א | cheivta' | animal[s] the | H2423 → | 20 times |
| חֲלָקֵ֖הּ | chalakeh | portion its | H2508 → | |
| בַּעֲשַׂ֥ב | baasav | in [the] grass of | H6211 → | 12 times |
| אַרְעָֽא׃ | ʾara' | earth the | H772 → | 21 times |
בְּרַ֨םnevertheless
beramH1297 →5 times
עִקַּ֤ר[the] stump of
ʾikarH6136 →3 times
שָׁרְשׁ֙וֹהִי֙roots its
shareshohiH8330 →3 times
בְּאַרְעָ֣אin ground the
beara'H772 →21 times
שְׁבֻ֔קוּleave!
shevukuH7662 →5 times
וּבֶֽאֱסוּר֙and with a fetter
uveesurH613 →
דִּֽי־of
di-H1768 →345 times
פַרְזֶ֣לiron
farzelH6523 →20 times
וּנְחָ֔שׁand bronze
unechashH5174 →9 times
בְּדִתְאָ֖אin grass the
bedita'H1883 →
דִּ֣יof
diH1768 →345 times
בָרָ֑אfield the
vara'H1251 →8 times
וּבְטַ֤לand with [the] dew of
uvetalH2920 →5 times
שְׁמַיָּא֙heavens the
shemaiya'H8065 →38 times
יִצְטַבַּ֔עlet it become wet
yitztaba'H6647 →5 times
וְעִם־and [be] with
veim-H5974 →22 times
חֵיוְתָ֥אanimal[s] the
cheivta'H2423 →20 times
חֲלָקֵ֖הּportion its
chalakehH2508 →
בַּעֲשַׂ֥בin [the] grass of
baasavH6211 →12 times
אַרְעָֽא׃earth the
ʾara'H772 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.9.2-5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.