Daniel 4:35 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 4:35
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
properly · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct
inhabitants
דָּיְרֵ֤יda.'a.rei
H1753
to reside · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
earth
אַרְעָא֙'ar.'A'
H772
the earth · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
reputed
חֲשִׁיבִ֔יןcha.shi.Vin
H2804
to regard · verb, active participle, masculine plural absolute
nothing
כְּלָ֣הke.Lah
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · preposition + negative particle
doeth
עָבֵד֙'a.Ved
H5648
to do · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
will
וּֽכְמִצְבְּיֵ֗הּu.khe.mitz.be.Yeh
H6634
to please · conjunction + preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
army
בְּחֵ֣ילbe.Cheil
H2429
an army · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
heaven
שְׁמַיָּ֔אshe.mai.Ya'
H8065
the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
inhabitants
וְדָיְרֵ֖יve.da.'a.rei
H1753
to reside · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
earth
אַרְעָ֑א'ar.'A'
H772
the earth · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
none
וְלָ֤אve.La'
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · conjunction + negative particle
can
אִיתַי֙'i.Tai
H383
properly · noun, common both genders singular absolute
stay
יְמַחֵ֣אye.ma.Che'
H4223
to strike in pieces · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
בִידֵ֔הּvi.Deh
H3028
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
say
וְיֵ֥אמַרve.Ye.mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal, 3rd person masculine singular
What
מָ֥הmah
H4101
properly · interrogative pronoun
doest
עֲבַֽדְתְּ'a.Vadt
H5648
to do · verb, qal perfect, 2nd 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
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Psalms 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
Psalms 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Romans 11:33-36 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Isaiah 40:15-17 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very li…
Isaiah 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel o…
Matthew 11:25-26 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 4:34–end
We have here Nebuchadnezzar's recovery from his distraction, and his return to his right mind, at the end of the days prefixed, that is, of the seven years. So long he continued a monument of God's justice and a trophy of his victory over the children of pride, and he was made more so by being struck mad than if he had been in an instant struck dead with a thunderbolt; yet it was a mercy to him that he was kept alive, for while there is life there is hope that we may yet praise God, as he did here: At the end of the days (says he), I lifted up my eyes unto heaven (Dan 4:34), looked no longer down towards the earth as a beast, but begun to look up as a man. Os homini sublime dedit - Heaven ga…
all . . . as nothing-- (Isa 40:15, Isa 40:17).
according to his will in . . . heaven-- (Psa 115:3; Psa 135:6; Mat 6:10; Eph 1:11).
army--the heavenly hosts, angels and starry orbs (compare Isa 24:21).
none . . . stay his hand--literally, "strike His hand." Image from striking the hand of another, to check him in doing anything (Isa 43:13; Isa 45:9).
What doest thou-- (Job 9:12; Rom 9:20).
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 4:35
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing,.... That is, by the most high God, in comparison of him; and that not only the common people, but magistrates, princes, and kings, and even so great a monarch as Nebuchadnezzar; they are like mere nonentities, nothing as to existence, substance, greatness, glory, and duration, when compared with him: for this is to be understood not absolutely as in themselves; for as such they are something; their bodies are something in their original, and especially in their make, form, and constitution, and even in their dissolution; and their souls are yet more valuable, are of more worth than the whole world, being immaterial and immortal; bu…
The Church Fathers
He says, "There is no one who will oppose his hand or say to him, 'Why did you do that?' " to bring out the invincibility of God's power. One must accept gladly what is done by him, whether it is pleasing or distressing: resisting or criticizing what is wisely ordained by him is a rash endeavor.
Verse 35. "'For He does according to His will, just as among the powers of heaven, so also among the inhabitants of the earth...'" This too Nebuchadnezzar expresses like a worldling. For God does not simply do what He wishes, but rather God wishes only that which is good. Nebuchadnezzar, however, expressed himself in this way, in order that even while he declared God's power, he might appear to impugn God's justice, on the ground that he had suffered unmerited punishment.
Up to the present I [Nebuchadnezzar] thought myself very great and elevated, whereas now I know clearly that all human nature is nothing compared with God. Having sought a term for insignificance and not found one suitable, he used "nothing," which gives a sufficient clue to the instability and impermanence of nature; while calling God "Most High, Lord, living and eternal king," he spoke of all human beings as "nothing." In similar fashion also blessed Isaiah in comparing the divine nature with the idols focused on human nature: "If all the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as a turn of the scale and will be accounted as spittle, while Lebanon is not sufficient for burning, and all its animals not sufficient for a burnt offering, and all the nations are nothing and were reckoned as nothing in comparison with him, to what will you compare the Lord? and with what analogy compare him?"
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.…
Sovereignty — Of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Dan. 4:25, 35; Rom. 9:15-23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11).
Armies · Illustrative of: Multitudes of angels — Illustrative of: Multitudes of angels
Converts · Nebuchadnezzar — Nebuchadnezzar
Counsels And Purposes Of God, The · Are sovereign — Are sovereign
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 4:35
35. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
35. Et omnes habitatores terrae quasi nihil reputantur, et secundum voluntatem suam facit in exercitu coelorum, et in habitatoribus terrae; et non est qui prohibeat manure ejus, [234] et dicat ei, Quid fecisti? [235]
Now the opposite clause is added to complete the contrast, because though it follows that nothing is firm or solid in mankind, yet this principle flourishes, namely, God is eternal; yet few reason thus, because in words all allow God to be fir…
Nebuchadnezzar's recovery, his restoration to his kingdom, and his thankful recognition of the Lord in heaven.
The second part of the prophecy was also fulfilled. "At the end of the days," i.e., after the expiry of the seven times, Nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes to heaven, - the first sign of the return of human consciousness, from which, however, we are not to conclude, with Hitzig, that before this, in his madness, he went on all-fours like an ox. Nebuchadnezzar means in these words only to say that his first thought was a look to heaven, whence help came to him; cf. Psa 123:1. Then his understanding immediately returned to him. The first thought he entertained was to thank God, to prai…
