1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:
“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple 1 for him in Jerusalem, 2 which is in Judah. 1:3 Anyone from 3 his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
32:31 For our enemies’ 6 rock is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.
145:3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise!
No one can fathom his greatness! 7
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. 9
4:34 But at the end of the appointed time 10 I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up 11 toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.
I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.
For his authority is an everlasting authority,
and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.
4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. 12
He does as he wishes with the army of heaven
and with those who inhabit the earth.
No one slaps 13 his hand
and says to him, ‘What have you done?’
4:36 At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored 14 to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated 15 over my kingdom. I became even greater than before. 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all his deeds are right and his ways are just. He is able to bring down those who live 16 in pride.
“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever. 17
1 tn Heb “house.” The Hebrew noun בַּיִת (bayit, “house”) is often used in reference to the temple of Yahweh (BDB 108 s.v. 1.a). This is also frequent elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g., Ezra 1:3, 4, 5, 7; 2:68; 3:8, 9, 11, 12; 4:3; 6:22; 7:27; 8:17, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36; 9:9; 10:1, 6, 9).
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn Heb “from all.”
4 tn Aram “for the life of the king and his sons.”
5 tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, qÿtsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.
6 tn Heb “their,” but the referent (enemies) is specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
7 tn Heb “and concerning his greatness there is no searching.”
8 tn Aram “answered and said.”
9 tn Aram “from the midst of the fire.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
10 tn Aram “days.”
11 tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
12 tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew
13 tn Aram “strikes against.”
14 tc The translation reads הַדְרֵת (hadret, “I returned”) rather than the MT הַדְרִי (hadri, “my honor”); cf. Theodotion.
15 tc The translation reads הָתְקְנֵת (hotqÿnet, “I was established”) rather than the MT הָתְקְנַת (hotqÿnat, “it was established”). As it stands, the MT makes no sense here.
16 tn Aram “walk.”
17 tn Aram “until the end.”