Jeremiah 27:6-7

27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power ¹  of my servant, ²  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. ³  27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson ⁴  until the time comes for his own nation to fall. ⁵  Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. ⁶ 

Daniel 2:37-38

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 2:38 Wherever human beings, ⁷  wild animals, ⁸  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ⁹  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 4:25

4:25 You will be driven ¹⁰  from human society, ¹¹  and you will live ¹²  with the wild animals. You will be fed ¹³  grass like oxen, ¹⁴  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ¹⁵  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.

Daniel 4:32

4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ¹⁶  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

Daniel 5:19-21

5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ¹⁷  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ¹⁸  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind ¹⁹  became arrogant ²⁰  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ²¹  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ²²  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

¹ tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”

² sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

³ tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.

⁴ sn This is a figure that emphasizes that they will serve for a long time but not for an unlimited duration. The kingdom of Babylon lasted a relatively short time by ancient standards. It lasted from 605 b.c. when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish until the fall of Babylon in 538 b.c. There were only four rulers. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son, Evil Merodach (cf. 52:31), and two other rulers who were not descended from him.

⁵ tn Heb “until the time of his land, even his, comes.” The independent pronoun is placed here for emphasis on the possessive pronoun. The word “time” is used by substitution for the things that are done in it (compare in the NT John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20 “his hour had not yet come”).

⁶ tn Heb “him.” This is a good example of the figure of substitution where the person is put for his descendants or the nation or subject he rules. (See Gen 28:13-14 for another good example and Acts 22:7 in the NT.)

⁷ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

⁸ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

⁹ tn Aram “hand.”

¹⁰ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

¹¹ tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

¹² tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

¹³ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

¹⁴ sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder known as boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.

¹⁵ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁶ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁷ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

¹⁸ tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

¹⁹ tn Aram “heart.”

²⁰ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

²¹ tn Aram “heart.”

²² tn Aram “his dwelling.”