Ezekiel 16:14

16:14 Your fame ¹  spread among the nations because of your beauty; your beauty was perfect because of the splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the sovereign Lord. ² 

Exodus 9:16

9:16 But ³  for this purpose I have caused you to stand: ⁴  to show you ⁵  my strength, and so that my name may be declared ⁶  in all the earth.

Psalms 75:6-7

75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,

or from the wilderness. ⁷ 

75:7 For God is the judge! ⁸ 

He brings one down and exalts another. ⁹ 

Daniel 2:21

2:21 He changes times and seasons,

deposing some kings

and establishing others. ¹⁰ 

He gives wisdom to the wise;

he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; ¹¹ 

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, ¹²  wild animals, ¹³  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ¹⁴  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 4:22-25

4:22 it is you, ¹⁵  O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth. 4:23 As for the king seeing a holy sentinel coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven periods of time go by for him’ – 4:24 this is the interpretation, O king! It is the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king. 4:25 You will be driven ¹⁶  from human society, ¹⁷  and you will live ¹⁸  with the wild animals. You will be fed ¹⁹  grass like oxen, ²⁰  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ²¹  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.

Daniel 5:20-23

5:20 And when his mind ²²  became arrogant ²³  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 ²⁴  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ²⁵  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.

5:22 “But you, his son ²⁶  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ²⁷  although you knew all this. 5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ²⁸  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ²⁹  your very breath and all your ways!

[16:14]  ¹ tn Heb “name.”

[16:14]  ² sn The description of the nation Israel in vv. 10-14 recalls the splendor of the nation’s golden age under King Solomon.

[9:16]  ³ tn The first word is a very strong adversative, which, in general, can be translated “but, howbeit”; BDB 19 s.v. אוּלָם suggests for this passage “but in very deed.”

[9:16]  ⁴ tn The form הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךָ (he’emadtikha) is the Hiphil perfect of עָמַד (’amad). It would normally mean “I caused you to stand.” But that seems to have one or two different connotations. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 73) says that it means “maintain you alive.” The causative of this verb means “continue,” according to him. The LXX has the same basic sense – “you were preserved.” But Paul bypasses the Greek and writes “he raised you up” to show God’s absolute sovereignty over Pharaoh. Both renderings show God’s sovereign control over Pharaoh.

[9:16]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct הַרְאֹתְךָ (har’otÿkha) is the purpose of God’s making Pharaoh come to power in the first place. To make Pharaoh see is to cause him to understand, to experience God’s power.

[9:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “in order to declare my name.” Since there is no expressed subject, this may be given a passive translation.

[75:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.

[75:7]  ⁸ tn Or “judges.”

[75:7]  ⁹ tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.

[2:21]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “kings.”

[2:21]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”

[2:38]  ¹² tn Aram “the sons of man.”

[2:38]  ¹³ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[2:38]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “hand.”

[4:22]  ¹⁵ sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often cited for parallels to these events.

[4:25]  ¹⁶ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

[4:25]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

[4:25]  ²⁰ 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.

[4:25]  ²¹ tn Aram “until.”

[5:20]  ²² tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ²³ 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.

[5:21]  ²⁴ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ²⁵ tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[5:22]  ²⁶ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ²⁷ tn Aram “your heart.”

[5:23]  ²⁸ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ²⁹ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”