Daniel 4:32

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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
drive	טָֽרְדִ֜ין ta.re.Din	H2957	to expel · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
from	וּמִן u.min-	H4481	properly · conjunction + preposition
men	אֲנָשָׁא֩ 'a.na.Sha'	H606	a man · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
dwelling	מְדֹרָ֗ךְ me.do.Rakh	H4070	a dwelling · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
with	וְֽעִם ve.'im-	H5974	adverb or preposition · conjunction + preposition
beasts	חֵיוַ֧ת chei.Vat	H2423	an animal · noun, common feminine singular construct
field	בָּרָ֣א ba.Ra'	H1251	a field · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
eat	יְטַעֲמ֔וּן ye.ta.'a.Mun	H2939	to taste · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
grass	עִשְׂבָּ֤א 'is.Ba'	H6211	a moth · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
oxen	כְתוֹרִין֙ khe.to.Rin	H8450	a bull · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
seven	וְשִׁבְעָ֥ה ve.shiv.'Ah	H7655	seven (as the sacred full one) · conjunction + cardinal number, feminine singular absolute
times	עִדָּנִ֖ין 'i.da.Nin	H5732	a set time · noun, common masculine plural absolute
pass	יַחְלְפ֣וּן yach.le.Fun	H2499	to pass on (of time) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
over	עֲלָ֑ךְ a.la.yikh	H5922	above · preposition + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
until	עַ֣ד 'ad	H5705	as far (or long · preposition
know	תִנְדַּ֗ע tin.Da'	H3046	to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
High	עִלָּיָא֙ i.la.ya'	H5943	supreme (i.e. God) · adjective, both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
ruleth	שַׁלִּ֤יט sha.Lit	H7990	mighty · adjective, both genders singular absolute
kingdom	בְּמַלְכ֣וּת be.mal.Khut	H4437	dominion (abstractly or concretely) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
men	אֲנָשָׁ֔א 'a.na.Sha'	H606	a man · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
giveth	יִתְּנִנַּֽהּ yi.te.ni.Nah	H5415	give · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
whomsoever	וּלְמַן u.le.man-	H4479	who or what (properly · conjunction + preposition + interrogative pronoun
will	יִצְבֵּ֖א yitz.Be'	H6634	to please · 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

Jeremiah 27:5 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 5:21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with…
Job 12:18-21 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
Proverbs 8:15-16 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
Exodus 8:10 And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
Exodus 9:29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, nei…
Joshua 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
Exodus 9:14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there i…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:28-33

We have here Nebuchadnezzar's dream accomplished, and Daniel's application of it to him justified and confirmed. How he took it we are not told, whether he was pleased with Daniel or displeased; but here we have, I. God's patience with him: All this came upon him, but not till twelve months after (Dan 4:29), so long there was a lengthening of his tranquility, though it does not appear that he broke off his sins, or showed any mercy to the poor captives, for this was still God's quarrel with him, that he opened not the house of his prisoners, Isa 14:17. Daniel having counselled him to repent, God so far confirmed his word that he gave him space to repent; he let him alone this year also, this…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 4:31

While, &c.--in the very act of speaking, so that there could be no doubt as to the connection between the crime and the punishment. So Luk 12:19-20. O king . . . to thee it is spoken--Notwithstanding thy kingly power, to thee thy doom is now spoken, there is to be no further respite.

Adam Clarke on Daniel 4:32

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. His case seems much like that of the maniac in the Gospel, whose dwelling was among the tombs and in the mountains, and who shunned the society of men.

John Gill on Daniel 4:32

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 Daniel 4:25, where the same things are said as here.

The Church Fathers

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. His heart shall be changed from men and a heart of a beast shall be given to him." [Daniel 4:15-16] For no longer did the great king and ruler live as a man administering the kingdom, but being alone in the desert he ate grass and herbs until his heart was changed and became as a beast who lived in forests and caverns, until his hair grew as a lion's and his nails grew large as a bird's and seven seasons passed over him. [Daniel 4:32]
— Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.9.3-4

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

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.…
Converts · Nebuchadnezzar — Nebuchadnezzar
Insanity · Nebuchadnezzars — Nebuchadnezzars
Testimony · RELIGIOUS, EXEMPLIFIED — RELIGIOUS, EXEMPLIFIED

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).

Daniel 4:32

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:28-33

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 4:31

Adam Clarke on Daniel 4:32

John Gill on Daniel 4:32

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Daniel 4:32

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:28-33

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 4:31

Adam Clarke on Daniel 4:32

John Gill on Daniel 4:32

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Daniel 4:28-32

Keil & Delitzsch on Daniel 4:28-33

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Daniel 4:32

Rashi on Daniel 4:32