Jeremiah 28:14

28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ²  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ³ 

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, ⁴  wild animals, ⁵  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ⁶  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 5:18-19

5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ⁷  5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ⁸  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ⁹  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished.

¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.

² tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”

³ sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.

⁴ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

⁵ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

⁶ tn Aram “hand.”

⁷ tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.

¹⁰ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

¹¹ 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”).