At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me.
Parallel Translations
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At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me.
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At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
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(4-33) At the same time mine understanding returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and my splendour returned unto me; and my ministers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and surpassing greatness was added unto me.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Daniel 4:36 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 22:4 The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh is wealth, honor, and life.
- Daniel 4:34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.
- 2 Chronicles 33:12-13 When he was in distress, he begged Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him; and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.
- Daniel 4:15-16 Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of the sky. Let his portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let an animal’s heart be given to him. Then let seven times pass over him.
- Daniel 4:32 You shall be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass as oxen. Seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.’ ”
- Matthew 6:33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed.
- Job 13:12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes. Your defenses are defenses of clay.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here Nebuchadnezzar explains at length what he had previously…
Here Nebuchadnezzar explains at length what he had previously touched upon but shortly; for he had recovered his soundness of mind, and thus commends God’s mercy in being content with a moderate and temporary chastisement; and then he stretched forth his hand, and out of a beast formed a man again! He was not changed into a brute, as we have said, but he was treated with such ignominy, and made like wild beasts, and pastured with them. This deformity, then, was so dreadful, that his restoration might be called a kind of new creation. Hence with very good reason Nebuchadnezzar celebrates this grace of God. At that time, therefore, my intellect returned to me; he had said this once before, but since understanding and reason are inestimable blessings of God, Nebuchadnezzar inculcates this truth, and confesses himself to have experienced God’s singular grace, because he had returned to a sound mind. And at the same time he adds, he had returned to the honor and glory of his kingdom; because he had been consulted again by his counselors and elders How this was accomplished is unknown, since the memory of those times is buried, unless the princes of his kingdom were inclined to clemency — which is very probable — and desired among them the king who had been cast out. We do not say this was done by them on purpose, because God made use of them, and they were ignorantly carrying out his purposes. They had heard the voice from heaven, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is said, thy kingdom is departed from thee! This indeed would be universally known and understood among all men; but we know how easily oblivion creeps over men when God speaks. These princes, then, were unaware of their doing God’s work when they demanded their king. In this way he returned to the dignity of his kingdom; and even additional dignity was next conferred upon him. At length it follows:
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Dan 4:36 At the same time my reason returned…
Dan 4:36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
Ver. 36. At the same time.] When God had hid pride from me, which could not be soon nor easily done; as when some vital part is corrupted, the cure is difficult and long in doing.
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And my counsellors and my lords.] Who had ruled the kingdom in the interim, among whom Daniel haply was chief.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain My reason returned unto me: what is a magistrate,…
My reason returned unto me: what is a magistrate, yea, or a man, without reason? A brute; as a ship without a pilot, as an army without a commander, as a flock or herd without a shepherd.
Mine honour and brightness returned unto me; instead of the shape of a savage beast, I got the majesty of a king in my countenance.
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My counsellors and my lords sought unto me; they who before despised and rejected me now were glad to creep to me, and to know their place and distance.
I was established in my kingdom; in my wonted power and place, owned and obeyed without competitors by all, without question or complaint: see Dan 5:18,19.
Excellent majesty was added unto me; he was the most august and magnificent prince on earth, therefore was his kingdom called the lady of kingdoms, Isa 47:7,8.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Brightness - I had again the majesty of a…
Brightness - I had again the majesty of a king in my countenance. I was established - In wonted power and place, owned and obeyed, by all. Majesty was added - He was the most august and magnificient prince on earth, much more so than before.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 36. My reason returned] Every thing was fulfilled…
Verse 36. My reason returned] Every thing was fulfilled that was exhibited by the dream and its interpretation. It is very likely that this unfortunate king had so concealed himself that the place of his retreat was not found out; and the providence of God had so watched over every thing, that, on his return to his palace, he found his counsellors and his lords, who received him gladly, and cleaved to and served him as they had formerly done.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Dan 4:36-37. And for the glory — Or rather,…
Dan 4:36-37. And for the glory — Or rather, And the glory of my kingdom, and mine honour and brightness — Or countenance, (as the word זיוי, here used, is translated, Dan 5:6; Dan 7:28,) returned to me — I recovered my former looks, was possessed of the same outward glory and majesty, and was honoured with the same attendance and retinue, as I was before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, and extol, and honour, &c. — The number and variety of the words here used are meant to express the vehemence of the king’s zeal and affectionate devotion. All whose works are truth, and his ways judgment — Who governs the world with equity and justice. And those who walk in pride he is able to abase — Of which Nebuchadnezzar himself was a remarkable instance. This doxology seems evidently to have proceeded from his heart; and it is very probable, from the confession that he makes, and the glory and praise which he gives to God, that his conversion was real, and that he was a true proselyte to the Jewish religion. This great king, it appears, lived only one year after his recovery; and it may be hoped that, during that term, he continued in the faith and worship of the true God. His death happened in the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, after he had reigned sole monarch forty-three years.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain At the same time my reason returned unto me…
At the same time my reason returned unto me - Showing that he regarded himself as having been insane.
And for the glory of my kingdom - That is, his restoration to the exercise of his reason contributed to the glory of his kingdom, either by the acts of justice and beneficence which he intended should characterize the remainder of his reign, or by his purpose to reform the abuses which had crept into the government while he was deprived of his reason, or by his determination to complete public works which had been purposed or commenced before his affliction.
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Mine honor and brightness returned unto me - Evidently referring to his intellect. He was again restored to that strength and clearness of understanding by which, before his affliction, he had been able to do so much for the glory of his kingdom.
And my counselors and my lords sought unto me - As they had done formerly. During his state of mental alienation, of course, the great lords of the empire would not resort to him for counsel.
And excellent majesty was added unto me - Majesty and honor appropriate to my state, instead of the treatment incident to the condition of a maniac; Theodotion renders this, “and greater majesty was added to me.” It is by no means improbable that additional honor would be conferred on the recovered monarch.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain An inscription in the East India Company's Museum is…
An inscription in the East India Company's Museum is read as describing the period of Nebuchadnezzar's insanity [G. V. SMITH]. In the so-called standard inscription read by SIR H. RAWLINSON, Nebuchadnezzar relates that during four (?) years he ceased to lay out buildings, or to furnish with victims Merodach's altar, or to clear out the canals for irrigation. No other instance in the cuneiform inscriptions occurs of a king recording his own inaction.
my counsellors . . . sought unto me--desired to have me, as formerly, to be their head, wearied with the anarchy which prevailed in my absence (compare Note, see on Dan 4:33); the likelihood of a conspiracy of the nobles is confirmed by this verse.
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majesty was added--My authority was greater than ever before (Job 42:12; Pro 22:4; "added," Mat 6:33).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 36, 37. Compare notes above.
36, 37. Compare notes above.
This chapter contains a picture of royal pride brought low. This is also illustrated by the condition of Babylon to-day. Only a solitary tree now grows in the ruins of the terrace of that palace where the great king once stood and on every brick of which may yet be read his name. As Babelon says, “Nothing is now left of the palace and towers which threw a challenge in the face of heaven except a heap of dust and crumbling statues and a shroud of ashes.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 36. reason] The word is the same as that…
36. reason] The word is the same as that which in Dan_4:34 is rendered understanding.
mine honour] my majesty (R.V.), as the word is rendered in A.V. in Dan_4:30. In Heb. the word is regularly used of the majesty of a king (or of God), as Psa_21:5; Psa_29:4; Psa_45:3-4.
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and my splendour] i.e. my royal state (cf. Psa_21:6 Pesh. [for Heb. הדר], 1Ch_29:25 Pesh. and Targ. [for Heb. הוד]); though others, comparing Dan_5:6; Dan_5:9-10, Dan_7:28, think the recovered brightness of the countenance to be meant. The ‘glory’ of Nebuchadnezzar’s ‘kingdom’ had been impaired by his absence: it was restored when he reappeared in his usual place and resumed his former royal state.
my ministers (Dan_3:24; Dan_3:27) and my lords sought unto me] They welcomed him back, and again consulted him on affairs of state.
excellent majesty] surpassing greatness. See on Dan_2:31; and, for ‘greatness,’ cf. Dan_4:22, Dan_7:27 (A.V. in both greatness), Dan_5:18-19 (R.V. in both greatness).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (36) For the glory.—He means that the splendour returned,…
(36) For the glory.—He means that the splendour returned, so as to increase the honour and glory of his reign.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain At the same time my reason returned unto me;…
At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. As we have already mentioned, the verse in the Septuagint text which agrees to this is very brief, "At that time my kingdom was set up and my glory restored to me." It may be a condensation of some independent scribe, carried to a greater degree in the one case than the other. Only from the genesis of our Daniel, as we have imagined it, it would seem more probable that the briefer forms are the more primitive, and the longer the result of the expansion to be credited to imaginative copyists. In proof of this it is to be observed that neither Theodotion nor the Peshitta exactly represents the Massoretic text. Theodotion renders, "At that time my intellect (aiJ frenev mou) was restored to me, and came to the glory of my king-dora, and my beauty ("form," hJ morfh mou) returned to me, and my rulers and nobles sought me, and I was confirmed upon my kingdom, and more abundant greatness was added unto me." The Peshitta differs somewhat from this, "And when my intellect returned to me, my nobles and my great army sought me, and to my kingdom was I restored, and its great inheritance was increased to me." The differences between these two and the Massoretic text are slight compared with those that separate any one of those from the Septuagint; yet starting with the Septuagint text, the others are easily reached by slightly varying additions. The Peshitta certainly more clearly portrays what seems likely to have taken place first, a revolution during the king"s madness, and a counter-revolution to restore him when his reason returned. If, however, Nebuchadnezzar was simply confined in a portion of the palace, then his nobles, on the news of his restoration, might seek unto him. None of the texts presents quite a self-consistent representation. If we could perfectly unravel the confusion of the texts which form our present Septuagint text, we should probably find one of them nearly self-consistent.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain At the same time my reason returned unto me.
Dan_4:36
At the same time my reason returned unto me.
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Human Reason
I. PERVERTED.
1. In his practical atheism. This man has no God, no being higher than himself. In all the achievements in which he glories there is no recognition of a supreme power. The perversion of this mans reason is seen:
2. In his self-adoration. Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? There was nothing greater in the universe to this man than himself. What a perversion of reason was this! A poor, frail, dying, mortal regarding himself as the greatest being. Human reason is here presented as:
II. BRUTALISED. While the word was in the kings mouth, etc. Reason perverted soon becomes brutalised, brutalised in its gratifications and habits. Look at the life of the beasts of the field.
1. What are their supplies? The productions of the earth, the grass, nothing else. What other supplies does the mere worldly man seek? What is of the earth, earthy, nothing else.
2. What are their animating impulses? The gastric, the gregarious, the sexual. What else are the governing impulses of worldly men?
3. What are their prospects? All present and material, nothing in the future or spiritual The fact is that all men who practically ignore God live the life of brutes. Human reason is here presented as:
III. RESTORED And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me. With his restored reason there came three things:
1. Transcendant thought.
(1) He thought upon the existence of God. I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured Him. When reason returns, when the sinner comes to himself, he begins to think on God. He lifts up his eyes to the Infinite.
(2) He thought upon the dominion of God. He regarded His dominion as everlasting; Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion; as supreme; as utterly irresponsible to any. None can stay His hand, etc. With his returned reason there came:
2. Social elevation.. When man is restored to true reason he will rise to honour and immortality. With his returned reason there came:
3. Devotional life. Worship is at once the highest development and the highest delight of reason. (Homilist)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
In verses 34-37 Nebuchadnezzar speaks in the first person to describe his response to God. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
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my sanity returned to me
Here his sanity is spoken of as if it was able to return by its own power. AT: "I became sane again" (See: Personification)
my majesty and splendor returned to me
Here his majesty and splendor are spoken of as if they were able to return by their own power. AT: "I regained my majesty and my splendor again" (See: Personification)
majesty and splendor
These words mean basically the same thing and emphasize the greatness of his glory. (See: Doublet)
my noblemen sought my favor
"my noblemen requested my help again"
I was brought ... greatness was given to me
Here "throne" refers to his authority to rule. This can be stated in active form. AT: "I returned to rule my kingdom again, and I received even more greatness" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)
praise, extol, and honor
All three of these words have basically the same meaning and emphasize how greatly he praised God. (See: Doublet)
who walk in their own pride
This phrase uses "walk" to refer to the person who acts proud. AT: "who are proud" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
majesty
splendor
glory
kingdom
advice
noble
favor
throne
Nebuchadnezzar
praise
honor
king
heaven
works
just
humble
proud
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.