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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Daniel 4:28-33

We have here Nebuchadnezzar's dream accomplished, and Daniel's application of it to him justified and confirmed. How he took it we are not told, whether he was pleased with Daniel or displeased; but here we have, I. God's patience with him: All this came upon him, but not till twelve months after (Dan. 4:29), so long there was a lengthening of his tranquility, though it does not appear that he broke off his sins, or showed any mercy to the poor captives, for this was still God's quarrel with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Daniel 4:30

The king spake and said ,.... Either within himself, or to his nobles about him; or perhaps to foreigners he had took up with him hither to show the grandeur of the city: is not this great Babylon, that I have built ; he might well call it great, for, according to Aristotle F3 Politic. l. 3. c. 3. , it was more like a country than a city; it was, as Pliny F4 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26. says, sixty miles in compass within the walls; and Herodotus F5 Clio, sive l. 1. c. 178. ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 4:30

Is not this great Babylon - Here his heart was inflated with pride; he attributed every thing to himself, and acknowledged God in nothing. The walls, hanging gardens, temple of Bel, and the royal palace, all built by Nebuchadnezzar, made it the greatest city in the world. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Daniel 4:30

Verse 30 I now approach the matter before us. Some think Nebuchadnezzar to have been touched with penitence when instructed by God’s anger, and thus the time of his punishment was put off. This does not seem to me probable, and I rather incline to a different opinion, as God withdrew his hand till the end of the year, and thus the king’s pride was the less excusable. The Prophet’s voice ought to have frightened him, just as if God had thundered and lightened from heaven. He now appears to have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 4:1-37

EXPOSITION THE MADNESS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR . We follow here the division of chapters which we find in our English Version, and as, indeed, in all modern versions. The Aramaic concludes the third chapter with the three verses which are placed in our version at the beginning of the fourth chapter. The arrangement of the Aramaic is followed by the Septuagint, by Theodotion, and by Jerome. The Peshitta and Paulus Tellensis follow the more logical division. Luther divides the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 4:28-33

The king's madness. I. INSANITY IS SOMETIMES THE DIRECT RESULT AND NATURAL PENALTY OF WRONG CONDUCT . Although the physician may rightly detect here the symptoms of brain-disease, the religious teacher may go further, and see in this brain-disease the fruits of moral faults. Insanity often shows itself as much in moral as in intellectual aberration—especially in its earlier stages. In many cases it can be traced back to the indulgence of animal instincts, passions,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 4:28-37

Revelation in the world of soul. "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" (verse 30). in approaching the kernel of this remarkable history, many matters would have, by way of introduction, to be set in a true light. They would all fall under these three heads: 1 . Confirmations of Bible history from the science of medicine. 2 . From the probabilities of the case. 3 . From secular history. (See Exposition above; and 'Daniel, Statesman and Prophet,' R.T.S where they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 4:29-33

The sudden collapse of pride. Careful and costly measures had been furnished by God to restrain Nebuchadnezzar from the brink of ruin, to which he was fast hastening. The dream, with its appalling omens; the human messenger; the king's conscience;—all these were voices from the supreme court of heaven. But conscience was silenced, the prophet was forgotten, the sense of danger diminished; Nebuchadnezzar persisted in his sin, until the patience of God was exhausted. I. WE SEE PRIDE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Daniel 4:30

The king spake, and said, 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? The meaning of the Septuagint rendering is the same as the above, "This is Babylon the great, which I built, and the house of my kingdom is it called, in the might of my power, to the honour of my glory." Theodotion and the Peshitta in the main agree with the received text. It is one of the characteristics of the earlier Chaldean... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Daniel 4:30

The king spake and said - The Chaldee, and the Greek of Theodotion and of the Codex Chisianus here is, “the king answered and said:” perhaps he replied to some remark made by his attendants in regard to the magnitude of the city; or perhaps the word “answered” is used, as it often seems to be in the Scriptures, to denote a reply to something passing in the mind that is not uttered; to some question or inquiry that the mind starts. He might merely have been thinking of the magnitude of this... read more

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