Daniel 4:2
in Daniel 4I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It hath seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me.
KJV
I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
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This verse in Daniel 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIf certain things are divinely represented to any man by means of imaginary likenesses, as happened to Nabuchodonosor, such a man is not to be considered a prophet, unless his mind be enlightened for the purpose of judgment; and such an apparition is something imperfect …
This site's exposition
Peace be multiplied
on Daniel 4:1-3
Nebuchadnezzar's own decree opens the chapter, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth, Peace be multiplied unto you, the pagan world's own chancery form turned to declare the God of Israel's signs and wonders; the bench notes this is the one chapter of Scripture written in a gentile emperor's first person throughout. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation states in verse three the doxology the whole chapter will earn the hard way, a confession placed at the start so the reader already knows where the king's long humbling ends.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Verses 1-3. "Nebuchadnezzar the king unto all the peoples, nations and languages who dwell upon the whole earth: peace be multiplied unto you. The Most High God hath performed signs and wonders towards me. Therefore I have thought it well to declare His signs, for they are great, and His marvels, for they are mighty, and His kingdom, because it is (the Vulgate omits "because it is") an eternal kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation."
And so at that time Nebuchadnezzar, after seeing the marvels which happened to the three boys and being pricked in heart, set forth through a decree to publically announce to all peoples, tribes, and tongues who were under him, that namely they who hear what occurred, should fear God and should glorify him, just as he himself also praised God and said, "His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his authority is from generation to generation." [Daniel 4:3]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I thought it good,....
He thought it seemly (so the word is), that it was his duty, and did well become him, that it was a debt he owed to God and the world, now that he had recovered from his distraction, to relate to distant places, and record for future ages, how justly God had humbled him and how graciously he had at length restored him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I thought it good--"It was seemly before me" (Ps 107:2-8). signs--tokens significant of God's omnipotent agency. The plural is used, as it comprises the marvellous dream, the marvellous interpretation of it, and its marvellous issue.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I thought it good to show - A part of the decree was a recital of the wonders wrought by the hand of the true God in his kingdom and on his person.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I thought it good - Margin, “it was seemly before me.” The marginal reading is more in accordance with the original (קדמי שׁפר shephar qâdâmay). The proper meaning of the Chaldee word (שׁפר shephar) is, to be fair or beautiful; and the sense here is, that it seemed to him to be appropriate or becoming to make this public proclamation. It was fit and right that what God had done to him should be proclaimed to all nations. To show the signs and wonders - Signs and wonders, as denoting mighty miracles, are not unfrequently connected in the Scriptures. See Exo 7:3; Deu 4:34; Deu 13:1; Deu 34:11; Isa 8:18; Jer 32:20. The word rendered “signs” (Hebrew: אות 'ôth - Chaldee: את 'âth) means, properly, “a sign,” as something significant, or something that points out or designates anything; as Gen 1:14, “shall be for “signs” and for seasons;” that is, signs of seasons. Then the word denotes an ensign, a military flag, Num 2:2; then a sign of something past, a token or remembrancer, Exo 13:9, Exo 13:16; Deu 6:8; then a sign of something future, a portent, an omen, Isa 8:18; then a sign or token of what is visible, as circumcision, Gen 17:11, or the rainbow in the cloud, as a token of the covenant which God made with man, Gen 9:12; then anything which serves as a sign or proof of the fulfillment of prophecy, Exo 3:12; 1Sa 2:34; and then it refers to anything which is a sign or proof of Divine power, Deu 4:34; Deu 6:22; Deu 7:19, “et al.” The Hebrew word is commonly rendered “signs,” but it is also rendered “token, ensign, miracles.” As applied to what God does, it seems to be used in the sense of anything that is significant of his presence and power; anything that shall manifestly show that, what occurs is done by him; anything that is beyond human ability, and that makes known the being and the perfections of God by a direct and extraordinary manifestation. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
was tranquil in my house [as translated,] was tranquil in my house.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָֽתַיָּא֙ | ʾataiya' | signs the | H852 → | 3 times |
| וְתִמְהַיָּ֔א | vetimhaiya' | and wonders the | H8540 → | 3 times |
| דִּ֚י | di | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| עֲבַ֣ד | ʾavad | he has done | H5648 → | 28 times |
| עִמִּ֔י | ʾimi | with me | H5974 → | 22 times |
| אֱלָהָ֖א | ʾelaha' | <the> God | H426 → | 95 times |
| עִלָּאָ֑ה | ilaya' | Most High the | H5943 → | 10 times |
| שְׁפַ֥ר | shefar | it seemed good | H8232 → | 3 times |
| קָֽדָמַ֖י | kadamai | before me | H6925 → | 42 times |
| לְהַחֲוָיָֽה׃ | lehachavayah | to declare | H2324 → | 14 times |
אָֽתַיָּא֙signs the
ʾataiya'H852 →3 times
וְתִמְהַיָּ֔אand wonders the
vetimhaiya'H8540 →3 times
דִּ֚יwhich
diH1768 →345 times
עֲבַ֣דhe has done
ʾavadH5648 →28 times
עִמִּ֔יwith me
ʾimiH5974 →22 times
אֱלָהָ֖א<the> God
ʾelaha'H426 →95 times
עִלָּאָ֑הMost High the
ilaya'H5943 →10 times
שְׁפַ֥רit seemed good
shefarH8232 →3 times
קָֽדָמַ֖יbefore me
kadamaiH6925 →42 times
לְהַחֲוָיָֽה׃to declare
lehachavayahH2324 →14 times
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
Psalms 66:16Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for me.
it leads to
- Psalms 71:15
My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.
- Psalms 34:11
Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
- Psalms 71:18
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
- Malachi 3:16
At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD…
- 1 John 1:3
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 71:15
Through
Daniel 3:26Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the…
it leads to
- Daniel 3:17
If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.
- Daniel 3:17
Through
Psalms 51:14Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:28
Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.
- 2 Samuel 12:9
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have…
- Psalms 35:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Daniel
This page draws on 9 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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.2.1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER FOUR; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary (church-history corpus).