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The king relates his remarkable

DANIEL.

CHAPTER IV.

dream, and what followed.

Nebuchadnezzar, after having subdued all the neighbouring countries, and greatly enriched and adorned his own, became so intoxicated with his prosperity, as to draw down upon himself a very remarkable judgment, of which this chapter gives a particular account, in the very words of the edict or proclamation which the Babylonish monarch issued on his restoration to the throne. This state document begins with Nebuchadnezzar's acknowledging the hand of God in his late malady, 1–3. It then gives an account of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, which portended the loss of his kingdom and reason for seven years, on account of his pride and arrogance, 4-18. So it was explained by Daniel, 19-27, and so it was verified by the event, 28-33. It then recites how, at the end of the period fixed by the God of heaven for the duration of his malady, the Chaldean monarch became sensible of his dependence on the Supreme Being, and lifted up his eyes to heaven in devout acknowledgment of the sovereign majesty of the King of kings, the Ruler of the earth, whose dominion alone is universal, unchangeable, and everlasting, 34-37.

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4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell house, and flourishing in my palace:

5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, f and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

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me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.

10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold "a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:

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Verse 4. I was at rest] I had returned to my palace in Babylon after having subdued Syria, Phœnicia, Judea, Egypt, and Arabia. It was probably these great conquests that puffed him up with pride, and brought that chastisement upon him which he afterwards describes. See the dream of the emblematical tree explained.

Verse 5. I saw a dream] See this dream circumstantially explained in the following verses.

Verse 10. I saw a tree] This vision Nebuchadpezzar says made him afraid. What a mercy it is that God has hidden futurity from us! Were he to show every man the lot that is before him, the misery of the human race would be complete.

Great men and princes are often represented, in the language of the prophets, under the similitude of trees; see Ezek. xvii. 5, 6; xxxi. 3, &c.; Jer. xxii. 15; Psa. i. 3; xxxvii. 35.

The king relates his remarkable

A. M. cir. 3434.
B. C. cir. 570.

Ol. cir. LII. 3.
Servii Tullii,
R. Roman.,
cir. annum 9.

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B. C. cir. 570.

Ol. cir. LII. 3.

Servii Tullii, R. Roman., cir. annum 9.

12 The leaves thereof were fair, | know that the Most High ruleth A. M. cir. 3434. and the fruit thereof much, and in the kingdom of men, and in it was meat for all: the giveth it to whomsoever he will, beasts of the field had shadow and setteth up over it the basest under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in of men. the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. 13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, "a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven;

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14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.

15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:

16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones to the intent that the living may Ezek. xvii. 23; xxxi. 6; see Lam. iv. 20.- -P Psa. ciii. 20; ver. 17, 23. Deut. xxxiii. 2; chap. viii. 13; Zech. xiv. 5; Jude 14. -r Chald. with might. Matt. iii. 10.- Ezek. xxxi. 12.

Verse 13. A watcher and a holy one] These are both angels; but, according to the Chaldean oracles, of different orders. They appear, according to their opinions, to be a kind of judges of human actions who had the power of determining the lot of men; see ver. 17.

Verse 14. Hew down the tree] As the tree was to be cut down, the beasts are commanded to flee away from under his branches. His courtiers, officers, &c., all abandoned him as soon as his insanity appeared; but he soon fled from the society of men.

Verse 15. Leave the stump] Let him not be destroyed, nor his kingdom alienated.

Verse 16. Let his heart be changed] Let him conceive himself to be a beast, and act as such, herding among the beasts of the field.

Let seven times pass over him.] Let him continue in this state for seven years. I knew a man who was thus changed in his heart-in his imagination. He believed himself to be a bear, and would imitate the ursal growl, &c.; and the case did not appear to be hypochondriacal. Whether he ever came to sound mind, I know not.

Verse 17. This matter is by the decree of the watch ers] See on ver. 13.

The Most High ruleth] He never leaves the government of the world to man, to second causes, or to

18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; y for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee."

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, a the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, u Chap. xi. 13; xii. 7.- Psa. ix. 16.- Chap. ii. 21; v. 21; ver. 25, 32.- - Gen. xli. 8, 15; chap. v. 8, 15.—y Ver. 8. z Ver. 8.- a See 2 Sam. xviii. 32; Jer. xxix. 7.b Ver. 10, 11, 12.

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fortuitous occurrences.
agents; they are no moving causes.
And setteth up-the basest of men.]
"Tyrants and kings from Jove proceed;

What are thus called are his

Those are permitted, these decreed."

The throne ennobles no man: to be properly filled, the man must be noble. Some of the greatest and some of the meanest of men have sat on the throne. Kings differ in education, seldom in intellect, from the common mass of men; the power and authority are from God. The king himself may be given either in mercy or in wrath. When James II. ruled this kingdom, it might well be said, God hath set up over it the basest of men. His successor was one of the best. The former nearly ruined it both in a civil and religious point of view; the latter was the means of restoring it in both these respects:

Verse 19. Daniel-was astonied for one hour] He saw the design of the dream, and he felt the great delicacy of interpreting it. He was not puzzled by the difficulties of it. He felt for the king, and for the nation; and with what force and delicacy does he express the general portent; "The dream to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies!"

Verse 20. The tree that thou sawest] The dream is so fully interpreted in the following verses that it needs no comment.

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24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and m break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; " if it may be lengthening of thy tranquillity.

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e Chap. ii. 38.d Jer. xxvii. 6, 7, 8.- Le Ver. 13.- f Chap. v. 21. Ver. 32; chap. v. 21, &c.- h Psa. cvi. 20.- i Ver. 17, 32; Psa. lxxxiii. 18. Jer. xxvii. 5. Matt. xxi. 25; 1 Pet. iv. 8.- Psa. xli. 1, &c.

Luke xv. 18, 21.

a healing of thine error.

Or,

No

Verse 26. Thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee] new king was set up; Evil-merodach his son was regent during his father's insanity.

Verse 27. Break off thy sins by righteousness] Do justice. Thou hast been an oppressive man; show mercy to the poor, many of whom have been made such by thyself: witness the whole nation of the Jews. He was to cease from his sins-repent, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance, in order that he might find mercy at the hand of God.

Verse 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

29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

Ol. cir. LII. 3. Servii Tullii, R. Roman, cir. annum 9.

Is not this

30 The king'spake, and said, 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?

31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, 0 king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

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32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.

B. C. cir. 563. OI. LIV. 2. Servii Tullii, R. Roman, cir. annum 16.

34 And at the end of the days A. M. cir. 3441. I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation :

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35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according P1 Kings xxi. 29.-4 Or, upon.Prov. xvi. 18; chap. v. 20.8 Chap. v. 5; Luke xií. 20.-t Ver. 24. Ver. 25. v Ver. 26.- Chap. xii. 7; Rev. iv. 10. Psa. x. 16; chap. ii. 44; vii. 14; Mic. iv. 7; Luke i. 33.- Isa. xl. 15, 17. z Psa. cxv. 3; cxxxv. 6.

royal palace, all built by Nebuchadnezzar, made it the greatest city in the world."

Verse 31. While the word was in the king's mouth] How awful to a victorious and proud king: 66 Thy kingdom is departed from thee!" All thy goods and gods are gone in a moment!

Verse 32. They shall make thee, &c.] Thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen. The madness that fell upon him induced him to forsake society, and to run to the woods and deserts, where he lived like a wild beast, his hairs growing long and thick, so as to be a substitute for clothing; and his nails strong and hooked, that he might the better climb trees and grub up the ground, in order to get roots and earth-nuts. It was

The profane feast

B. C. cir. 563.

CHAP. V.

of Belshazzar. A. M. cir. 3441. to his will in the army of heaven, unto mé; and I was established A. M. cir. 3441, and among the inhabitants of the in my kingdom, and excelearth and none can stay his lent majesty was d added unto hand, or say unto him, What me.

Ol. LIV. 2. Servii Tullii, R. Roman.,

cir. annum 16.

doest thou?

B. C. cir. 563.
Ol. LIV. 2.
Servii Tullii,

R. Roman., cir. annum 16.

37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol 36 At the same time my reason returned and honour the king of heaven, all whose

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works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to

unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom,
mine honour and brightness returned unto
me; and my counsellors and my lords sought abase.

a Job xxxiv. 29.

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Ver. Psa. xxxiii. 4; Rev. xv. 3; xvi. 7.-Exod. xviii. 11; chap. v. 20.

palace, he found his counsellors and his lords, who received him gladly, and cleaved to and served him as they had formerly done.

b Job ix. 12; Isa. xlv. 9; Rom. ii. 20.26. Job xlii. 12; Prov. xxii. 4; Matt. vi. 33. the mercy of God that thus clothed and accoutred him. His case seems much like that of the maniac in the Gospel, whose dwelling was among the tombs and in the mountains, and who shunned the society Verse 37. Now I praise and extol] It is very of men. probable that Nebuchadnezzar was a true convert; Verse 36. My reason returned] Every thing was that he relapsed no more into idolatry, and died in the fulfilled that was exhibited by the dream and its inter-faith of the God of Israel. It is supposed that he lived pretation. It is very likely that this unfortunate king had so concealed himself that the place of his retreat was not found out; and the providence of God had so watched over every thing, that, on his return to his

seventeen years after his restoration. But the authorized Version, which is followed in the margin, states the date of this decree to be B. C. 563, the year pre- ceding Nebuchadnezzar's death.

CHAPTER V.

In the commencement of this chapter we are informed how Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, when rioting in his palace, and profaning the sacred vessels of the temple, 1-4, was suddenly terrified with the appearance of the fingers of a man's hand, which wrote a few words on the wall before him, 5, 6. The wise men and astrologers were immediately called in to show the king the interpretation; but they could not so much as read the writing, because (as Houbigant and others have conjectured) though the words are in the Chaldee tongue, yet they were written in the Samaritan or ancient Hebrew characters, with which the wise men of Babylon were very probably unacquainted, as the Jews were at that time a despised people, and the knowledge of their language not a fashionable attainment, 7-9. Daniel, who had been so highly esteemed by Nebuchadnezzar for his superior wisdom, appears to have been altogether. unknown to Belshazzar, till the queen (the same who had been the wife of Nebuchadnezzar according to the general opinion, or the queen consort according to others) had informed him, 10–12. Upon the queen's recommendation, Daniel is called in, 13-16; who boldly tells this despotic king, that as he had not benefited by the judgments inflicted on his grandfather, but gave himself up to pride and profanity, and had added to his other sins an utter contempt for the God of the Jews by drinking wine out of the sacred vessels of Jehovah in honour of his idols, 17-23; the Supreme Being, the Ruler of heaven and earth, had written his condemnation in three words, MENE, TEKEL, PERES, 24, 25; the first of which is repeated in the copies containing the Chaldean original; but all the ancient Versions, except the Syriac, are without this repetition. Daniel then gives the king and his lords the fearful import of the writing, viz., that the period allotted for the duration of the Chaldean empire was now completed, (see Jer. xxv. 12–14,) and that the kingdom was about to be transferred to the Medes and Persians, 26-28. However unwelcome such an interpretation must have been to Belshazzar, yet the monarch, overwhelmed with its clearness and certainty, commanded the prophet to be honoured, 29. And that very night the prediction was fulfilled, for the king was slain, 30, and the city taken by the Medes and Persians, 31. This great event was also predicted by Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the manner in which it was accomplished is recorded by Herodotus and Xenophon.

A. M. cir. 3466. BELSHAZZAR the the king drank wine before the thou- A. M. cir: 3466.

B. C. cir. 538.

Ol. cır. LX. 3.
Servii Tullii,
R. Roman.,
cir. annum 41.

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made a great feast to a sand.

thousand of his lords, and 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted

a Esther, chap. i. 3.

NOTES ON CHAP. V.
Verse 1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast]
This chapter is out of its place, and should come in

B. C. cir. 538.
Ol. cir. LX. 3,
Servii Tullii,
R. Roman.,
cir. annum 41.

after the seventh and eighth. There are difficulties in the chronology. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach his son ascended the throne of Baby

The Divine message

A. M. cir. 3466.

B. C. cir. 538. Ol. eir. LX. 3. Servii Tullii, R. Roman., cir. annum 41.

b

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A. M. eir. 3466

B. C. cir. 538.

Ol. cir. LX. 3.

Servii Tullii,
R. Roman,

cir. annum 41.

the wine, commanded to bring 5 In the same hour came the golden and silver vessels forth fingers of a man's hand, and which his father Nebuchad- wrote over against the candlenezzar had taken out of the stick upon the plaster of the wall temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, of the king's palace: and the king saw the part and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, of the hand that wrote. might drink therein.

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lon.

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Having reigned about two years, he was slain by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar. He reigned four years, and was succeeded by his son Laborosoarchod, who reigned only nine months. At his death Belshazzar, the son of Evil-merodach, was raised to the throne, and reigned seventeen years, and was slain, as we read here, by Cyrus, who surprised and took the city on the night of this festivity. This is the chronology on which Archbishop Usher, and other learned chronologists, agree; but the Scripture mentions only Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, and Belshazzar, by name; and Jeremiah, chap. xxvii. 7, expressly says, "All nations shall serve him (Nebuchadnezzar,) and his son (Evil-merodach,) and his son's son (Belshazzar,) until the very time of his land come;" i. e., till the time in which the empire should be seized by CyHere there is no mention of Neriglissar nor Laborosoarchod; but as they were usurpers, they might have been purposely passed by. But there remains one difficulty still: Belshazzar is expressly called the son of Nebuchadnezzar by the queen mother, ver. 11: "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods and in the days of THY FATHER light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him: whom the king NEBUCHADNEZZÁR THY FATHER, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians." The solution of this difficulty is, that in Scripture the name of son is indifferently given to 'sons and grandsons, and even to great grandsons. And perhaps the repetition in the above verse may imply this: "The king, Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king thy father." The king thy father's father, and consequently thy grandfather. If it have not some such meaning as this, it must be considered an idle repetition. As to the two other kings, Neriglissar and Laborosoarchod, mentioned by Josephus and Berosus, and by whom the chronology is so much puzzled, they might have been some petty kings, or viceroys, or satraps, who affected the kingdom, and produced disturbances, one for four years, and the other for nine months; and would in

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6 Then the king's countenance i was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints 1of his loins were loosed, and his TM knees smote one against another.

7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation

h Chald. brightnesses; ver. 9.- iChald. changed it. girdles; Isa. v. 27. Chald. bindings, or knots. 10.-n Chap. ii. 2; iv. 6.- - Chald. with might, xlvii. 13.

Or,

Nah, H. Isa.

consequence not be acknowledged in the Babylonish chronology, nor by the sacred writers, any more than finally unsuccessful rebels are numbered among the kings of those nations which they have disturbed. I believe the only sovereigns we can acknowledge here are the following: 1. Nabopolassar; 2. Nebuchadnezzar; 3. Evil-merodach; 4. Belshazzar; and with this last the Chaldean empire ended.

To a thousand of his lords] Perhaps this means lords or satraps, that were each over one thousand men. But we learn from antiquity that the Persian kings were very profuse in their entertainments; but it does not follow that the Chaldeans were so too. Besides, one thousand lords and their appropriate attendants would have been very inconvenient in a nocturnal assembly. The text, however, supports the common translation. Literally, " Belshazzar the king made bread for his lords a thousand; and against the thousand he drank wine." That is, say some, he was a very great drinker.

Verse 2. Whiles he tasted the wine] He relished it, got heated by it, and when WINE got fully in, wir went wholly out; and in consequence he acted the profane part of which we immediately read.

Verse 4. And praised the gods of gold] They had gods of all sorts, and of all metals; with wooden gods, and stone gods, beside!

Verse 5. Fingers of a man's hand] The fingers were collected about the style or pen as in the act of writing.

Verse 6. The king's countenance was changed] Here is a very natural description of fear and terror. 1. The face grows pale; 2. The mind becomes greatly agitated; 3. Pains seize on the lower part of the back and kidneys; 4. A universal tremor takes place, so that the knees smite against each other; 5. And lastly, either a syncope takes place, or the cry of distress is uttered, ver. 7: "The king cried."

Verse 7. Whosoever shall read this writing] He knew it must be some awful portent, and wished te know what.

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