Daniel 4:22
in Daniel 4you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
KJV
It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
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This verse in Daniel 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIt is thou, O king, that art grown, and become strong,.... Here begins the interpretation of the dream: the tree was an emblem of King Nebuchadnezzar, of his greatness, and growing power and strength: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven; he overtopped all the kings of the earth, exceeding them in honour and power, and aspired to deity itself; See Gill on Dan 4:11. and thy dominion to the end of the earth; as far as Hercules's pillars, as Strabo (q) says he came.
This site's exposition
astonied for one hour
on Daniel 4:19-22
Daniel is astonied for one hour, the bench reading his silence as compassion rather than confusion, a man who already sees the judgment and dreads to speak it to the king who has been kind to him. My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee is not evasion but genuine reluctance, and when Daniel does speak the identification is immediate and unadorned, it is thou, O king, no allegory softening what the tree's greatness and the axe both mean. Gill notes that Daniel's grief here matches the compassion other prophets show even while delivering a sentence they cannot alter.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And willing enough would the king be to hear this (as, before, to hear, Thou art the head of gold ), but for that which follows. He shows the king his present prosperous state in the glass of his own dream; " Thy greatness has grown and reaches as near to heaven as human greatness can do, and thy dominion is to the end of the earth, " ch. ii.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
While pitying the king, he uncompromisingly pronounces his sentence of punishment. Let ministers steer the mean between, on the one hand, fulminations against sinners under the pretext of zeal, without any symptom of compassion; and, on the other, flattery of sinners under the pretext of moderation. to the end of the earth-- (Jer 27:6-8).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It is thou, O king - It is a representation of thyself. Compare Dan 2:38. That art grown and become strong - Referring to the limited extent of his dominion when he came to the throne, and the increase of his power by a wise administration and by conquest. For thy greatness is grown - The majesty and glory of the monarch had increased by all his conquests, and by the magnificence which he had thrown around his court. And reacheth unto heaven - An expression merely denoting the greatness of his authority.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַנְתְּ | ʾantah | [is] you | H607 → | 15 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1932 → | 22 times |
| מַלְכָּ֔א | malka' | king O | H4430 → | 180 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| רְבַ֖ית | revait | you have grown great | H7236 → | 6 times |
| וּתְקֵ֑פְתְּ | utekefet | and you have grown strong | H8631 → | 5 times |
| וּרְבוּתָ֤ךְ | urevutakh | and greatness your | H7238 → | 5 times |
| רְבָת֙ | revat | it has grown great | H7236 → | 6 times |
| וּמְטָ֣ת | umetat | and it has reached | H4291 → | 8 times |
| לִשְׁמַיָּ֔א | lishmaiya' | to heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| וְשָׁלְטָנָ֖ךְ | veshaltanakh | and dominion your | H7985 → | 14 times |
| לְס֥וֹף | lesof | [is] to [the] end | H5491 → | 5 times |
| אַרְעָֽא׃ | ʾara' | earth the | H772 → | 21 times |
אַנְתְּ[is] you
ʾantahH607 →15 times
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1932 →22 times
מַלְכָּ֔אking O
malka'H4430 →180 times
דִּ֥יwho
diH1768 →345 times
רְבַ֖יתyou have grown great
revaitH7236 →6 times
וּתְקֵ֑פְתְּand you have grown strong
utekefetH8631 →5 times
וּרְבוּתָ֤ךְand greatness your
urevutakhH7238 →5 times
רְבָת֙it has grown great
revatH7236 →6 times
וּמְטָ֣תand it has reached
umetatH4291 →8 times
לִשְׁמַיָּ֔אto heavens the
lishmaiya'H8065 →38 times
וְשָׁלְטָנָ֖ךְand dominion your
veshaltanakhH7985 →14 times
לְס֥וֹף[is] to [the] end
lesofH5491 →5 times
אַרְעָֽא׃earth the
ʾara'H772 →21 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
Matthew 14:4because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:21
If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.
- Leviticus 18:16
You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.
- Leviticus 20:21
Through
Psalms 108:4For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:5
Your loving devotion, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
- Ephesians 2:4–7
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Psalms 103:11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
- Psalms 36:5
Through
2 Samuel 12:7Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:13
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…
- Matthew 14:14
When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.
- 2 Samuel 22:1
And David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
- 1 Samuel 16:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.