Daniel 4:32
in Daniel 4You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and thou shalt be driven from men; and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
KJV
And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
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This verse in Daniel 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseVerses 31, 32. "While the saying was yet in the king's mouth, a voice from heaven assailed him: 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, thy kingdom shall pass away (variant reading: is passing away) from thee and they shall cast thee forth from among mankind.'" His arrogant boasting is immediately punished by the Lord. For this reason the execution of the sentence is not delayed, lest mercy towards the poor seem to have profited him not at all.
This site's exposition
while the word was in the king's mouth
on Daniel 4:31-33
While the word was in the king's mouth a voice falls from heaven, the kingdom is departed from thee, judgment arriving mid-sentence to answer pride at the exact moment it is spoken. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, the bench marking the speed as itself part of the lesson, no gradual decline but an immediate reversal, hairs grown like eagles' feathers and nails like birds' claws describing a man left to the wild with no human care at all.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And on account of this Scripture says, "He shall lie outside in the grass and in the dew of heaven and with the beasts and his portion shall be in the grass of the earth.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they shall drive thee from men,.... According to the interpretation of the dream given by Daniel, which this voice from heaven confirms; See Gill on Dan 4:25, where the same things are said as here.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They shall make thee, etc. - Thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen. The madness that fell upon him induced him to forsake society, and to run to the woods and deserts, where he lived like a wild beast, his hairs growing long and thick, so as to be a substitute for clothing; and his nails strong and hooked, that he might the better climb trees and grub up the ground, in order to get roots and earth-nuts. It was the mercy of God that thus clothed and accoutred him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And they shall drive thee from men ... - See the note at Dan 4:25.
The words behind it
28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and away from | H4481 → | 109 times |
| אֲנָשָׁא֩ | ʾanasha' | <the> humankind | H606 → | 25 times |
| לָ֨ךְ | lakh | <obj.> you | ||
| טָֽרְדִ֜ין | taredin | [they are] about to chase | H2957 → | 4 times |
| וְֽעִם־ | veim- | and [will be] with | H5974 → | 22 times |
| חֵיוַ֧ת | cheivat | [the] animal[s] of | H2423 → | 20 times |
| בָּרָ֣א | bara' | field the | H1251 → | 8 times |
| מְדֹרָ֗ךְ | medorakh | dwelling place your | H4070 → | 4 times |
| עִשְׂבָּ֤א | ʾisba' | <the> grass | H6211 → | 12 times |
| כְתוֹרִין֙ | khetorin | like oxen | H8450 → | 7 times |
| לָ֣ךְ | lakh | to you | ||
| יְטַעֲמ֔וּן | yetaamun | they will feed | H2939 → | 3 times |
| וְשִׁבְעָ֥ה | veshivah | and seven | H7655 → | 6 times |
| עִדָּנִ֖ין | ʾidanin | times | H5732 → | 13 times |
| יַחְלְפ֣וּן | yachlefun | they will pass | H2499 → | 4 times |
| עֲלָ֑ךְ | alayikh | over you | H5922 → | 104 times |
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | until | H5705 → | 35 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| תִנְדַּ֗ע | tinda' | you will know | H3046 → | 47 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| שַׁלִּ֤יט | shalit | [is] having mastery | H7990 → | 10 times |
| עִלָּיָא֙ | ilaya' | Most High the | H5943 → | 10 times |
| בְּמַלְכ֣וּת | bemalkhut | over [the] kingdom of | H4437 → | 57 times |
| אֲנָשָׁ֔א | ʾanasha' | <the> humankind | H606 → | 25 times |
| וּלְמַן־ | uleman- | and to whomever | H4479 → | 10 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | whom | H1768 → | 345 times |
| יִצְבֵּ֖א | yitzbe' | he will be pleased | H6634 → | 10 times |
| יִתְּנִנַּֽהּ׃ | yiteninah | he will give it | H5415 → | 7 times |
וּמִן־and away from
umin-H4481 →109 times
אֲנָשָׁא֩<the> humankind
ʾanasha'H606 →25 times
לָ֨ךְ<obj.> you
lakh
טָֽרְדִ֜ין[they are] about to chase
taredinH2957 →4 times
וְֽעִם־and [will be] with
veim-H5974 →22 times
חֵיוַ֧ת[the] animal[s] of
cheivatH2423 →20 times
בָּרָ֣אfield the
bara'H1251 →8 times
מְדֹרָ֗ךְdwelling place your
medorakhH4070 →4 times
עִשְׂבָּ֤א<the> grass
ʾisba'H6211 →12 times
כְתוֹרִין֙like oxen
khetorinH8450 →7 times
לָ֣ךְto you
lakh
יְטַעֲמ֔וּןthey will feed
yetaamunH2939 →3 times
וְשִׁבְעָ֥הand seven
veshivahH7655 →6 times
עִדָּנִ֖יןtimes
ʾidaninH5732 →13 times
יַחְלְפ֣וּןthey will pass
yachlefunH2499 →4 times
עֲלָ֑ךְover you
alayikhH5922 →104 times
עַ֣דuntil
ʾadH5705 →35 times
דִּֽי־that
di-H1768 →345 times
תִנְדַּ֗עyou will know
tinda'H3046 →47 times
דִּֽי־that
di-H1768 →345 times
שַׁלִּ֤יט[is] having mastery
shalitH7990 →10 times
עִלָּיָא֙Most High the
ilaya'H5943 →10 times
בְּמַלְכ֣וּתover [the] kingdom of
bemalkhutH4437 →57 times
אֲנָשָׁ֔א<the> humankind
ʾanasha'H606 →25 times
וּלְמַן־and to whomever
uleman-H4479 →10 times
דִּ֥יwhom
diH1768 →345 times
יִצְבֵּ֖אhe will be pleased
yitzbe'H6634 →10 times
יִתְּנִנַּֽהּ׃he will give it
yiteninahH5415 →7 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
Jeremiah 27:5By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
it leads to
- Daniel 4:17
This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:15
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- Psalms 115:15–16
May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
- Psalms 146:5–6
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
- Daniel 4:17
Through
Joshua 4:24He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”
it leads to
- Psalms 106:8
Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.
- 1 Kings 8:42–43
for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
- Psalms 89:13
Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand. Your right hand is exalted.
- Psalms 106:8
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 3.9.3-4; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER FOUR; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).