Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar · proper noun, a man's name
king
מַלְכָּ֗אmal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
all
לְֽכָלle.khol
H3606
properly · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
people
עַֽמְמַיָּ֞א'a.mai.Ya'
H5972
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
nations
אֻמַיָּ֧א'u.mai.Ya'
H524
a collection · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
languages
וְלִשָּׁנַיָּ֛אve.li.sha.nai.Ya'
H3961
speech · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
dwell
דָיְרִ֥יןda.'a.rin
H1753
to reside · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
all
בְּכָלbe.khol
H3606
properly · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
earth
אַרְעָ֖א'ar.'A'
H772
the earth · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
Peace
שְׁלָמְכ֥וֹןshe.la.me.Khon
H8001
prosperity · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
multiplied
יִשְׂגֵּֽאyis.Ge'
H7680
to increase · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Daniel 6:25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Daniel 3:4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of…
1 Chronicles 12:18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace…
Ezra 4:17 Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samari…
Daniel 3:29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Ab…
Ephesians 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ezra 5:7 They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:1-3
Here is, I. Something of form, which was usual in writs, proclamations, or circular letters, issued by the king, Dan 4:1. The royal style which Nebuchadnezzar makes use of has nothing in it of pomp or fancy, but is plain, short, and unaffected - Nebuchadnezzar the king. If at other times he made use of great swelling words of vanity in his title, how he laid them all aside; for he was old, he had lately recovered from a distraction which had humbled and mortified him, and was now in the actual contemplation of God's greatness and sovereignty. The declaration is directed not only to his own subjects, but to all to whom this present writing shall come - to all people, nations, and languages, t…
Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people - This is a regular decree, and is one of the most ancient on record; and no doubt was copied from the state papers of Babylon. Daniel has preserved it in the original language.
John Gill on Daniel 4:1
Nebuchadnezzar the king,..... This and the two following verses are annexed to the preceding chapter in the Hebrew Bible, and in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; as if the author of the division of the chapters thought that Nebuchadnezzar proposed by this public proclamation to celebrate the praise of the Lord, on account of the wonderful deliverance of the three Jews from the fiery furnace; whereas they are a preface to a narrative of a dream, and an event which concerned himself, and most properly begin a new chapter, as they do in the Syriac and Arabic versions. The edict begins, not with pompous and extravagant titles, as was the manner of the eastern monarchs, and still is, bu…
Daniel 4:1-3
1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
1. Nebuchadnezer rex omnibus populis, nationibus, et linguis; quae; habitant in tota terra, pax vobiscum. multiplicetur.
2. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
2. Signa et mirabilia quae fecit mecum Deus excelsus pulchrum coram me enarrare.
3. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
3. Signa ejus quam magna sunt! et mirabilia ejus quam fortia! regnum ejus regnum seculare, [203] et dominat…
The Church Fathers
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]
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." The epistle of Nebuchadnezzar was inserted in the volume of the prophet, in order that the book might not afterwards be thought to have been manufactured by some other author, as the accuser (Porphyry) falsely asserts, but the product of Daniel himself.
Again, observe also the piety of the Children: they showed no indignation, no anger, no gain-saying, but they came forth. Had they regarded it as an act of vengeance that they had been thrown into the furnace, they would have been grieved against the man who had cast them in; as it is, there is nothing of the kind; but, as though they were going forth from Heaven itself, so went they forth. And what the Prophet says of the Sun, that "He is as a bridegroom coming forth out of his chamber," one would not go amiss in saying also of them. But though he goes forth thus, yet came they forth there more gloriously than he, for he indeed comes forth to enlighten the world with natural light, they to enlighten the world in a different way, I mean, spiritually. For because of them the king straightway issued a decree, containing these words, "It hath seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me. How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders!" So that they went forth, shedding a yet more glorious radiance, beaming indeed in that region itself, but, what is more than all, capable, by means of the king's writings, of being diffused over the world and thus of dispelling the darkness which every where prevails.
Dictionary and topics
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
Babylon · .Extent of, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar — .Extent of, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
These verses form the introduction
(Note: The connection of these verses with the third chapter in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles is altogether improper. The originator of the division into chapters appears to have entertained the idea that Nebuchadnezzar had made known the miracle of the deliverance of the three men from the fiery furnace to his subjects by means of a proclamation, according to which the fourth chapter would contain a new royal proclamation different from that former one, - an idea which was rejected by Luther, who has accordingly properly divided the chapters. Conformably to that division, as Chr. B. Michaelis has well remarked, "prius illud programma in fine capitis…
In his pride, King Nebuchadnezzar convinced himself that he had built Babylon (4:30; cp. Gen 11:1-9). He disregarded the warning of the Most High God (Dan 4:24-27). He had still not learned the lesson God was teaching him through these experiences, that the God of Daniel stands outside the world of time and space, and no human is equal to him. So God’s decree of judgment fell upon Nebuchadnezzar (4:17, 25-26; see Prov 16:18).
Rashi on Daniel 4:1
was tranquil in my house [as translated,] was tranquil in my house.