Daniel 4:17 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 4:17
This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
a word · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
decree
בִּגְזֵרַ֤תbig.ze.Rat
H1510
a decree · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
watchers
עִירִין֙'i.Rin
H5894
a watcher · noun, common masculine plural absolute
demand
שְׁאֵֽלְתָ֑אshe.'e.le.Ta'
H7595
properly · noun, common feminine singular determined + particle of affirmation
word
וּמֵאמַ֥רu.me.Mar
H3983
something (authoritatively) said · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct
ones
קַדִּישִׁ֖יןka.di.Shin
H6922
sacred (ceremonially or morally) · adjective, masculine plural absolute
to
עַד'ad-
H5705
as far (or long · preposition
intent
דִּבְרַ֡תdiv.Rat
H1701
a reason · noun, common feminine singular construct
living
חַ֠יַּיָּאChai.yai.ya'
H2417
alive · adjective, masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
know
יִנְדְּע֣וּןyin.de.'Un
H3046
to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
High
עִלָּאָ֜הi.la.ya'
H5943
supreme (i.e. God) · adjective, both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
ruleth
שַׁלִּ֨יטsha.Lit
H7990
mighty · adjective, both genders singular absolute
kingdom
בְּמַלְכ֣וּתbe.mal.Khut
H4437
dominion (abstractly or concretely) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
men
אֲנָשָׁ֗א'e.no.sha'
H606
a man · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
giveth
יִתְּנִנַּ֔הּyi.te.ni.Nah
H5415
give · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
whomsoever
וּלְמַןu.le.man-
H4479
who or what (properly · conjunction + preposition + interrogative pronoun
will
יִצְבֵּא֙yitz.Be'
H6634
to please · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
up
יְקִ֥יםye.Kim
H6966
to rise (in various applications · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
over
עֲלַֽהּa.lai.yah
H5922
above · preposition + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
basest
וּשְׁפַ֥לu.she.Fal
H8215
low · conjunction + adjective, both genders singular construct
men
אֲנָשִׁ֖ים'a.na.Shim
H606
a man · noun, common masculine plural absolute
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 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them th…
Daniel 4:25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen,…
1 Samuel 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the…
Psalms 75:6-7 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
Jeremiah 27:5-7 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto…
Daniel 5:18-21 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
Psalms 113:7-8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
1 Corinthians 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:4-18
Nebuchadnezzar, before he relates the judgments of God that had been wrought upon him for his pride, gives an account of the fair warning he had of them before they came, a due regard to which might have prevented them. But he was told of them, and of the issue of them, before they came to pass, that, when they did come to pass, by comparing them with the prediction of them, he might see, and say, that they were the Lord's doing, and might be brought to believe that there is a divine revelation in the world, as well as a divine Providence, and that the works of God agree with his word.
Now, in the account he here gives of his dream, by which he had notice of what was coming, we may observe,…
demand--that is, determination; namely, as to the change to which Nebuchadnezzar is to be doomed. A solemn council of the heavenly ones is supposed (compare Job 1:6; Job 2:1), over which God presides supreme. His "decree" and "word" are therefore said to be theirs (compare Dan 4:24, "decree of the Most High"); "the decree of the watchers," "the word of the holy ones." For He has placed particular kingdoms under the administration of angelic beings, subject to Him (Dan 10:13, Dan 10:20; Dan 12:1). The word "demand," in the second clause, expresses a distinct idea from the first clause. Not only as members of God's council (Dan 7:10; Kg1 22:19; Psa 103:21; Zac 1:10) do they subscribe to His "d…
This matter is by the decree of the watchers - See on Dan 4:13 (note).
The Most High ruleth - He never leaves the government of the world to man, to second causes, or to fortuitous occurrences. What are thus called are his agents; they are no moving causes.
And setteth up - the basest of men -
"Tyrants and kings from Jove proceed
Those are permitted, these decreed."
The throne ennobles no man: to be properly filled, the man must be noble. Some of the greatest and some of the meanest of men have sat on the throne. Kings differ in education, seldom in intellect, from the common mass of men; the power and authority are from God. The king himself may be given either in mercy or in wrath. When J…
The Church Fathers
Verse 17. "In the decision of the watchmen, i.e., the angels, lies the decree and the speech and the petition of the holy ones." Moreover it is both Greek and Latin usage to call the rainbow iris, because it is said to descend to earth in a multicolored arch.
This is what the angel means, that the fate of the tree will come to pass for this purpose, for everyone to know through this that there is one God, Lord and King, who appoints kings on the earth and entrusts the kingdom to whomever he wishes. In fact, to bring out his own authority, he appoints as king the one who is at one time the most insignificant and thought to be of no value and makes those of greatest rank obey him.
The dream which was seen by Nebuchadnezzar was displayed as a punishment for the king himself, whose heart was exalted and lifted up against God, having set up a golden image and having forced all to be idolaters, it was shown to him through a vision that even he might see that he has the lot of being under the authority of God, even if he seems to at some time reign over all the kings of the earth. And so that it may be shown that the kingdom which was given to him was from God, Daniel said to him, "You O king, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong and powerful and honorable kingdom in every place where the sons of men dwell." [Daniel 2:37-38] And the king himself, having been amazed at the dream which Daniel interpreted, spoke similarly, "In truth your God, he is God of gods and Lord of lords because he is able to reveal this mystery." [Daniel 2:47] And so when he forgot the first matters and he was later arrogantly lifted up, he received this punishment from God as an example and a model which was meant for all human tyrants and kings, so as they who think they are above man may not brag, and that they who are lifted up may not boast against God, but they may foresee their danger and may fear God, seeing that they also have a Lord in the heavens. For also Antiochus who was called Epiphanes, who became the king of Syria, who tortured the slaves of God with various torments, and having undertaken baser things at last even he came upon the deserved retribution from God and was punished with divine scourges, and he was not even able to endure his own stench, but while he was still living, worms swarmed from his impious eyes, and though proclaiming many entreaties and confessions to God, his salvation did come upon him. Who also having despaired of himself and coming to the knowledge of the rest of mankind, when he was about to die he spoke in this way, "It is just to be subject to God, and a man who is mortal should not consider himself equal to gods." [2 Maccabees 9:12] So that as many kings reverently and God-lovingly are turned back from sin, these also are honored by God, but as many are lifted up in accordance with their pride, these receive deserved and righteous retribution from God. In which manner also Sennacherib, who boasted of his own great might and reproached God with lying words, was struck by an angel and on one…
Dictionary and topics
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
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.…
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).
This matter is by the decree of the watchers,.... That is, the cutting down the tree, and what is signified by it, was with the advice, consent, and approbation of the watchers, by whom is generally understood angels; not that they were the authors of this decree, but approvers of it; and were ready, not only to subscribe it, but to execute it; it being against a wicked man, and an oppressor of the Lord's people: they are represented as assessors with God; called into a consultation with him; alluding to the manner of kings and princes, who have their privy council, whom they advise with on occasion; though, properly speaking, nothing of this nature is to be attributed to God, only after the…
Daniel 4:17
17. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
17. In decreto vigilum verbum, [213] et in sermone sanctorum postulatio, ut cognoscant viventes, quod dominator sit excelsus in regno hominum: et cui voluerit tradet illud, et humilem, [214] hominum [215] eriget super ipsum.
In this verse God confirms what he had shewn to the king of Babylon by means of a dream. He says, then, the king was instructed in a certain thing; since it had been so determined before God and hi…
The divine messenger concludes his announcement with the words that the matter was unchangeably decreed, for this purpose, that men might be led to recognise the supremacy of the Most High over the kings of the earth. The first two passages have no verb, and thus the verb. substant. must be supplied. Accordingly we must not translate: by the decree of the watchers is the message, i.e., is it delivered (Kran.), nor: the decree is included in the fate, the unalterable will of Heaven (Hv.); but בdenotes the department within which the גּזרה lies, and is to be translated: "the message consists in, or rests on, the decree of the watchers." גּזרה, the unchangeable decision, the decretum divinum, q…
the Most High rules: God distributes kingship and kingdoms to whomever he will, even to the lowliest (e.g., Joseph, Gen 41:41-57; David, 1 Sam 16—2 Sam 5).
Rashi on Daniel 4:16
Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was bewildered He was silent.
and his thoughts [as translated,] and his thoughts.
alarmed him for he was afraid to interpret the dream for him.
My lord Aram. מָרִאי. Our Rabbis said (Shevu. 35b): “My Lord, may the dream be for Your enemies,” refers to God. He raised his eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, “May this dream be fulfilled upon this enemy of Yours.” But if you say that he said it to Nebuchadnezzar, was not Israel his enemy? Is it possible that he would curse them?
for your foes Aram. לְעָרָךְ, like (Sam. 28:16): “and has become [the supporter of] your foes (עָרֶךָ).”
