Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 4:30
The king spoke, 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 honor of my majesty?
30. spake ] answered (Dan 2:20).
great Babylon ] Rev 16:19 (in a figurative sense); cf. Jer 51:58.
I] The pronoun is emphatic.
for the house of the kingdom ] for a royal dwelling-place (or residence).
honour ] glory (as Dan 2:37).
The ‘India House Inscription’ of Nebuchadnezzar is a fine commentary on the words here put into the mouth of the great king: see the abstract of it given in the Introduction, p. xxiv f.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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 city, and he gave response to those thoughts in the language which follows.
Is not this great Babylon, that I have built – In regard to the situation and the magnitude of Babylon, and the agency of Nebuchadnezzar in beautifying and enlarging it, see the analysis prefixed to the notes at Isa. 13. He greatly enlarged the city; built a new city on the west side of the river; reared a magnificent palace; and constructed the celebrated hanging gardens; and, in fact, made the city so different from what it was, and so greatly increased its splendor, that he could say without impropriety that he had built it.
For the house of the kingdom – To be considered altogether – embracing the whole city – as a sort of palace of the kingdom. He seems to have looked upon the whole city as one vast palace fitted to be an appropriate residence of the sovereign of so vast an empire.
And for the honour of my majesty – To ennoble or glorify my reign; or where one of so much majesty as I am may find an appropriate home.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Dan 4:30
Is not this great Babylon, that I have built.
The Pride of Nebuchadnezzar
First, we have not so wonderful an opinion of God, or of His word, or of His heaven, as we have of our own acts, although we be never able to do half that Nebuchadnezzar did. Secondly, this is our manner, to attribute all to ourselves, whatsoever it be, riches, honour, health, or knowledge; as though all came by labour, or policy, or art, or literature. If we cannot draw it to one of these, then we think it fortune, although we understand not what fortune is. If we did count ourselves beholden unto God for them, then we would find some time to be thankful unto Him. Lastly, when we overview these matters, this is our solace and comfort, to think these are the things which make me famous and spoken of; and then we end as though it were enough to be pointed at, Is not this great Babel? That which one loves seems greater and more precious above all which he loveth not, although they be better than it; so did these buildings seem to Nebuchadnezzar. One would not think that a house were a matter to make a king proud, although it were never so fair; stone walls are not so precious that he should repose all his honour upon lime and mortar. Therefore, as the faithful soul looketh up to God, or upon the Word, or up to Heaven, and saith to itself, Is not this my hope? is not this my joy? is not this my inheritance? so the carnal man, when he looketh upon his buildings, or his ground, or his money, saith to himself, Is not this my joy? is not this my life? is not this my comfort? So, while he pores and gapes upon it, by little and little the love of it grows more and more in his heart, until at last he hath mind on nothing else. This was the first dotage of Nebuchadnezzar; the second was, which I have built by the might of my power. What a vaunt was this, to say that he built Babylon! when all histories accord that it was built by Semiramis before Nebuchadnezzar was born. Therefore, why doth he boast of that which another did? The answer is easy. We see that everyone doth labour to obscure the fame of others, that they may shine alone, and bear the name themselves, especially in great buildings; for if they do but add or alter anything in schools, or hospitals, or colleges, they look straight to be counted the founders of them, and so the founders of many places are forgotten. So it is like that Nebuchadnezzar did add or alter something in this city, and therefore, he took all to himself, as the fashion hath been ever since. Lastly, whom he putteth in for the honour of my majesty, he showeth that he was of Absaloms humour, who, although he had deserved shame, yet he would have fame. So when Nebuchadnezzar came to himself again, he showed that when he sought his own honour, honour departed from him, and he was made like a beast; but when he sought Gods honour, honour came to him again, and he was made a king. Thus you have heard what Nebuchadnezzar spake in secret, as though God would display the thoughts and pride of such builders. These are the meditations of princes and noblemen; when they behold their buildings, or open their coffers, or look upon their train swimming after them, they think as Nebuchadnezzar thought, Is not this great Babel? Is not this great glory?
Is not this the train that maketh me reverenced in the streets? Are not these the things which shall make my children rich? Is not this the house that shall keep my name, and cause me to be remembered, and make them which are children now to speak of me hereafter? Now Babel is destroyed, and the king that built it laid in the dust; had it not been better to have built a house in Heaven, which might have received him when he died? Thus you have heard what the voice spake from earth; now you shall hear what the voice spake from Heaven; for it followeth, While the word was in the kings mouth, a voice came from Heaven, and said, O king, to thee be it spoken; thy kingdom shall be taken from thee, etc. God will warn him no more by dreams nor by prophets, as He did; but His judgments shall speak Job 33:14). The first note in this verse is the time when God spake from Heaven. Pride. saith Solomon, goeth before the fall; so when pride had spoken, then judgment spake, even while the proud word was in his mouth. See how God shows that these brags offended Him, and, therefore, He judges while he speaks. How short is the triumph of the wicked! When they begin to crow, God stoppeth their breath, and judgment seizeth upon them when they think no danger near them. We cannot sin so quickly, but God seeth us as quickly. How many have been stricken while the oath have been in their mouths! as Jeroboam was stricken while he struck, that they might see why they were stricken, and yet all this will not keep us from swearing. (H. Smith.)
Danger of Prosperity
I. WE SEE WHAT SHOULD BE THE END OF ALL GOVERNMENT (v. 11, 12). A great man is often symbolized by a tree in ancient and Oriental writers. The kings tree gave shelter to some, a home to others, and protection to all. As the shade and fruits of trees protect and support the beasts that seek shelter under them, so government should protect and support their people. The end of every government should be the greatest possible amount of freedom and happiness to all the people. It should protect the weak, give shelter to the oppressed, hope and employment to the poor, and provide for the diffusion of useful knowledge. By the stump of the roots remaining is meant that his kingdom should not be destroyed or alienated from him during his affliction. A regent, probably his own son, Evil-merodach, governed for him during his insanity.
II. This history teaches us another thing–THAT PROSPERITY IS DANGEROUS. It is not always the beggar that loses his soul. The man who has just lost all his property is oftentimes not in as much danger as the man who has just gained a large fortune. It requires more care to hold a full cup than an empty one. Adversity may depress, but prosperity elevates to presumption. On the lofty pinnacle, where all is sunshine, we need a special power to keep us, a special arm to sustain us. Let me warn you, then, to remember that prosperity is not always permanent. Commercial disasters often come in a way and at a time least expected. The tendency of prosperity is to lead to dangerous expenditures and speculations. What now seems so promising may result in disappointment.
III. THAT PRIDE IS IN ITSELF AND IN ITS UTTERANCES AN EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS THING, AND ODIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. And those that walk in pride, He is able to abase (v. 29-35).
IV. We have here one of the most striking and instructive lessons of GODS POWER TO HUMBLE THE PROUD that is recorded in the Bible. Babylons mighty monarch had made many successful campaigns, and obtained great glory. He was the head of the mightiest kingdom and ruler over the greatest city then in the world; but his riches and his fame, his treasures and his power, could not preserve his peace of mind. His well-appointed guards and numerous army could not keep him from being terrified by dreams. The majesty and all-governing influence of God are here displayed in his acknowledged, absolute, undisputed sovereignty over the world. Gods victory over the mightiest and proudest conqueror was easy and complete. How utterly in vain, then, for the impenitent to hope to escape from the presence of God! (W. A. Scott D.D.)
Pride Goeth Before Destruction
I. THE FALL OF PRIDE WARNS YOU OF THE SINFULNESS AND DANGER OF PRESUMPTION AND VANITY. Pride goeth before destruction. Those that walk in pride, He is able to abase.
II. IT IS A GREAT MISFORTUNE TO BE DEPRIVED OF REASON. It is one of the greatest calamities that can befall men in this life. You should be thankful for the use of reason and speech, and for the flowings forth of human sympathy. These are all Gods gifts to you. You should be careful not to impair your understanding by neglecting to use it, or by abusing it.
III. The king of Babylon TESTIFIES TO THE BENEFITS OF SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION. No doubt Nebuchadnezzar found, as David did, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. There are lessons in affliction that we never can learn in prosperity. When God hides the sun from us He reveals to us a thousand suns by night. You know that on a sick bed, or in the moment of an unexpected shipwreck, in the hour of bitter and sorrowful bereavement, vows and resolutions are formed which, if kept, would lead to great zeal in behalf of religion.
IV. YOU ARE HERE TAUGHT THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD. The king was walking on his palace top, and he said to himself, Is not this great Babylon that I have built? And, at the end of days, he lifted up his eyes unto Heaven. In both instances God was nigh unto him. He heard the thoughts of his heart in his pride, and he heard the whispering of his soul in his penitence. There is not a thought that flutters in your hearts–there is not a purpose in your mind formed for to-morrow or for the future–there is not a secret spring of wickedness arising in any bosom–there is not a design that is cherished in the secrecy of any heart, either for good or evil, that you can hide from God. His eye pierces the darkness–His ear hears in silence–His laws and His presence are everywhere. He is the final Judge who will bring every secret thing to light, and judge every man according to the thoughts of his heart the words of his mouth, and the deeds of his body, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (W. A.Scott, D.D.)
Impious and Ruinous Exultation
I. HERE IS AN IMPIOUS EXULTATION. Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom? Here:
1. There is no recognition of the services of others. I have built. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men had worked hard in the undertaking; and without them it would never have been accomplished, if begun, Personally the king did nothing but order, and yet he takes to himself the credit. This conduct is repeated every day. Men say, I have made a fortune, I have built mansions, I have won battles, etc. The services of others are not taken into account.
2. There is no recognition of the help of God. Who gave him the workmen? Who gave him the materials? Who gave him the time? God. And yet He is not mentioned. What impiety then is there in this boasting!
II. HERE IS A RUINOUS SELF–EXULTATION. While the word was in the kings mouth, there fell a voice from Heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed from thee. Whilst he was glorifying himself as the greatest of kings, he was hurled down into companionship with cattle. It is often thus. Just when a man has reached the great object of his ambition, and is flushed with exultant pride, ruin befalls him. When the rich man was saying to his soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up, etc., the voice came to him, and said, Thou fool. When, writes Dean Milman, John XXI., Pope of Rome, was contemplating with too great pride the work of his own hands, and burst out into laughter, at that instant the avenging roof came down on his own head. Thousands of examples can be quoted. It has been said that every wave of prosperity has its reacting surge, and we are often overwhelmed by the very billow on which we thought to be wafted on to the haven of our hopes. This is the state of man, says Wolsey; To-day he puts forth the tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, and bears his blushing honours thick upon him; the third day comes a frost, a killing frost; and–when he thinks, good easy man, full surely greatness is a-ripening–nips his root, and then he falls. (Homilist.)
Pride and its Punishment
Nebuchadnezzar had reigned over the kingdom of Chaldea for forty years. At the end of this long lapse of time, sated with victory, and weary of excitement, he determined to dwell at Babylon, and gather about him, in this city of his greatness, enduring monuments of his wide-spread renown. In enlarging upon this portion of Nebuchadnezzars history, we shall be guided by the three prominent points.
I. HIS SIN. It was no crime in Nebuchadnezzar that he was a great man. There was no harm at all in being the ruler of a mighty kingdom, provided that his elevation to so high a place had been accomplished by honest means. His sin was pride. His success, in everything he undertook, called forth no gratitude to God. His constant prosperity only hardened his heart. He drank with greediness the fulsome flatteries with which fawning courtiers filled his ears. Pride has its degrees. It is measured by circumstances. None of us can reach the giddy height where Chaldeas monarch stood. The hero, of nerve and judgment, and military skill, who can direct the movements of armies, and plan the successful assault, and head the fierce onset, is proud of this. The man of letters, who can read with fluency the languages of the dead, and tell the measure of the stars, and trace out the pathway of comets, is more than gratified with his complete success. The individual possessed of neither genius nor learning, but who, by plodding industry and far-sighted investments, or by lucky speculations, gathers up a heap of gold, gazes upon it with heartfelt satisfaction, as the fruit of his labours. We need not go into the higher
ranks of life to witness the effects of pride. They may be found in the humblest mechanic, the farmer, the day-labourer of any sort. Deu 8:11-17.)
II. HIS PUNISHMENT. Daniel had foretold it in these dreadful words: O bring Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, etc. No further time is allowed for repentance. The day of mercy had gone by. The same hour was the sentence carried into execution. Had trembling princes bowed before his throne, anxious to win his favour, or turn aside his wrath? Now is he banished from the abodes of men, an object of pity or contempt; and none so poor to do him reverence. Did a hundred provinces send in their yearly tribute, to swell the coiners of the king, and purchase dainties for his festive board? Grovelling in the dust, crushed in mind, lost to all the tastes and habits of a man, he did eat grass like an ox. Had the carved and gilded roofs of magnificent palaces shielded him from the heat and cold? Not even a tattered tent was left. His body was wet with the dew of Heaven, and the pitiless storm spent its fury upon his defenceless head. Isa 14:12.) The degree of punishment is determined by thedegree of wide. Few can be guilty to the extent that Nebuchadnezzar was. Few can fall so terribly and so low. But pride is always hateful unto God. Pride will certainly be punished. (Pro 16:5; St. Jam 4:6; Pro 29:23.) Can you call to mind no instances, within your own remembrance, in which pride has been most signally punished? Can you think of no one who boasted of the abundance of his wealth, afterward crippled by misfortune, and brought down to want and beggary? Jer 9:23-24.) One stage more in Nebuchadnezzars history is left.
III. HIS REPENTANCE. Seven long years of wretchedness accomplished that blessed work. Listen to his own touching account of it: At the end of the days I 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 and ever. With humble and contrite heart he now confessed that Gods judgments, although so terrible, had been good and just. This sincere acknowledgment received its merited reward. The glory and greatness of his kingdom was again restored. How kind and merciful is God! The first and faintest prayer of the returning penitent he heard in Heaven. Does the possession of money fill your heart with delight, and lessen your desire for bettor things? God will find means to take it away. Are the powers of mind which He has given used only to advance your selfish purposes, or turned against the cause of truth? The palsy or madness may be near to put an end to your hopes. (J. N. Norton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
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 royal palace, all built by Nebuchadnezzar, made it the greatest city in the world.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Great Babylon: as to the greatness of this place, it might be well called great, for most historians and geographers make it forty-five miles about the walls, some sixty; for the height of the walls, they affirm them to be a hundred cubits, and for their thickness, such as six chariots might go abreast upon the top of them. See Bochart in his Phaleg.
That I have built; which words of his are not true, as to the first foundation of Babylon; for that was done by Nimrod, or Bel, which is the same, Gen 10:10; but if ye speak touching the repairing and enlarging of it after Nineveh was destroyed, so Nebuchadnezzar might be said to build it, i.e. to make it so great and glorious as at last.
For the honour of my majesty: the manner of proud tyrants is to engross all honour to themselves; moreover, he attributes nothing to the signal goodness of God to him, but takes all to himself. Now God, that resists the proud, presently falls upon him, and down he comes while he stood crowing and pruning his gay feathers.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
30. Babylon, that I havebuiltHERODOTUSascribes the building of Babylon to Semiramis and Nitocris, hisinformant under the Persian dynasty giving him the Assyrianand Persian account. BEROSUSand ABYDENUS give theBabylonian account, namely, that Nebuchadnezzar added much tothe old city, built a splendid palace and city walls. HERODOTUS,the so-called “father of history,” does not even mentionNebuchadnezzar. (Nitocris, to whom he attributes the beautifying ofBabylon, seems to have been Nebuchadnezzar’s wife). Hence infidelshave doubted the Scripture account. But the latter is proved bythousands of bricks on the plain, the inscriptions of which have beendeciphered, each marked “Nebuchadnezzar, the son ofNabopolassar.” “Built,” that is, restored and enlarged(2Ch 11:5; 2Ch 11:6).It is curious, all the bricks have been found with the stamped facedownwards. Scarcely a figure in stone, or tablet, has been dug out ofthe rubbish heaps of Babylon, whereas Nineveh abounds in them;fulfilling Jer 51:37, “Babylonshall become heaps.” The “I” isemphatic, by which he puts himself in the place of God; so the “my. . . my.” He impiously opposes his might to God’s, asthough God’s threat, uttered a year before, could never come to pass.He would be more than man; God, therefore, justly, makes him lessthan man. An acting over again of the fall; Adam, once lord of theworld and the very beasts (Ge 1:28;so Nebuchadnezzar Da 2:38),would be a god (Ge 3:5);therefore he must die like the beasts (Psa 82:6;Psa 49:12). The second Adamrestores the forfeited inheritance (Ps8:4-8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 c, it was more like a country than a city; it was, as Pliny d says, sixty miles in compass within the walls; and Herodotus e affirms it was four hundred and fourscore furlongs round, and such the “greatness” of it, and so beautified, as no other city was he ever knew; [See comments on Jer 51:58], though the king seems to have gone too far, in ascribing the building of it to himself; at least he was not the original builder of it; for it was built many hundreds of years before he was born, by Nimrod or Belus, who were the same, Ge 10:10, and was much increased and strengthened by Semiramis, the wife of his son Ninus; therefore to her sometimes the building of it is ascribed; but inasmuch as it might be in later times greatly neglected by the Assyrian kings, Nineveh being the seat of their empire; Nebuchadnezzar, when he came to the throne, and especially after he had enriched himself with the spoils of the conquered nations, greatly enlarged, beautified, and fortified it: and Berosus f relates, that he not only adorned the temple of Bel therewith, but of the city which was of old he made a new one, and fortified it, built three walls within, and as many without; and another royal palace contiguous to his father’s, which greatly exceeded it; and hanging gardens in it, which looked at a distance like mountains, for the pleasure of his wife; and now, because he had done so much to the repairing, enlarging, and fortifying of this city, he takes the honour to himself of being the builder of it: and this was done, he says,
for the house of the kingdom; that it might be the seat of the empire, and a proper place for the royal family to dwell in, to have their palace, and keep their court in:
by the might of my power; through the great riches he was possessed of, which he employed in many great works, as before related, to the advantage of this city; he takes all to himself, and excludes all instruments, and even God himself; though, unless the Lord build the city, in vain the builders build, Ps 127:1:
for the honour of my majesty? not so much for the benefit of the city, for the good of his subjects, as for the honour and glory of himself; to show his riches, power, and grandeur, and to make his name immortal to future ages.
c Politic. l. 3. c. 3. d Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26. e Clio, sive l. 1. c. 178. f Apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 10. c. 11. sect. 1. & contr. Allion, 1. 1. sect. 19.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
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 been always like himself. I indeed do not deny that he might be frightened by the first message, but I leave it doubtful. Whichever way it is, I do not think God spared him for a time, because he gave some signs of repentance. I confess he sometimes indulges the reprobate, if he sees them humbled. An example of this, sufficiently remarkable, is displayed in King Ahab. (1Kg 21:29.) He did not cordially repent, but God wished to shew how much he was pleased with his penitence, by pardoning a king impious and obstinate in his wickedness. The same might be said of Nebuchadnezzar, if Scripture had said so; but as far as we can gather from these words of the Prophet, Nebuchadnezzar became prouder and prouder, until his sloth arrived at its height. The king continued to grow proud after God had threatened him so, and this was quite intolerable. Hence his remarkable stupidity, since he would have been equally careless had he lived an hundred years after he heard that threat! Finally, I think although Nebuchadnezzar perceived some dreadful and horrible punishment to be at hand, yet, while frightened for the time, he did not lay aside his pride and haughtiness of mind. Meanwhile, he might think this prediction to be in vain; and what he had heard probably escaped from his mind for a long time, because he thought he had escaped; just as the impious usually abuse God’s forbearance, and thus heap up for themselves a treasure of severer vengeance, as Paul says. (Rom 2:5.) Hence he derided this prophecy, and hardened himself more and more. Whatever sense we attach to it, nothing else eau be collected from the Prophet’s context, than the neglect of the Prophet’s warning, and the oracle rendered nugatory by which Nebuchadnezzar had been called to repentance. If he had possessed the smallest particle of soundness of mind, he ought to flee to the pity of God, and to consider the ways in which he had provoked his anger, and also to devote himself entirely to the duties of charity. As he had exercised a severe tyranny towards all men, so he ought to study benevolence; yet when the Prophet exhorted him, he did not act thus, but uttered vain boastings, which shew his mind to have been swollen with pride and contempt for God. As to the space of time here denoted, it shews how God suspended his judgments, if perchance those who are utterly deplorable should be reclaimed; but the reprobate abuse God’s humanity and indulgence, as they make this an occasion of hardening their minds, while they suppose God to cease from his office of judge, through his putting it off for a time. At the end, then, of twelve months, the king was walking in his palace; he spoke, and said This doubling of the phrase shews us how the king uttered the feelings of premeditated pride. The Prophet might have said more simply, The king says, — but he says, he spoke, and said. I know how customary it is with both the Hebrews and Chaldees to unite these words together; but I think the repetition emphatic in this place, since the king then uttered what he had long ago conceived and concealed in his mind; Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal palace, and that too in the mightiness of my valor; as I have built it in the splendor of my excellency? In these words we do not see any open blasphemy which could be very offensive to God, but we must consider the king by this language to claim to himself supreme power, as if he were God! We may gather this from the verse, “Is not this great Babylon? says he. He boasts in the magnitude of his city, as if he wished to raise it giant-like to heaven; which I, says he — using the pronoun with great emphasis — which I have built, and that too in the greatness of my valor We see that by claiming all things as his own, he robs God of all honor.
Before I proceed further, we must see why he asserts Babylon to have been founded by himself. All historians agree in the account of the city being built by Semiramis. A long time after this event, Nebuchadnezzar proclaims his own praises in building the city. The solution is easy enough. We know how earthly kings desire, by all means in their power, to bury the glory of others, with the view of exalting themselves and acquiring a perpetual reputation. Especially when they change anything in their edifices, whether palaces or cities, they wish to seem the first founders, and so to extinguish the memory of those by whom the foundations were really laid. We must believe, then, Babylon to have been adorned by King Nebuchadnezzar, and so he transfers to himself the entire glory, while the greater part ought to be attributed to Semiramis or Ninus. Hence this is the way in which tyrants speak, as all usurpers and tyrants do, when they draw towards themselves the praises which belong to others. I, therefore, says he, have built it, by the strength of my hand Now it is easy to see what had displeased God in this boasting of the king of Babylon, namely, his sacrilegious audacity in asserting the city to have been built by his own mightiness. But God shews this praise to be peculiar to himself and deservedly due to him. Unless God builds the city, the watchman watches but in vain. (Psa 127:1.) Although men labor earnestly in founding cities, yet they never profit unless God himself preside over the work. As Nebuchadnezzar here extols himself and opposes the strength of his fortitude to God and his grace, this boasting was by no means to be endured. Hence it happened that God was so very angry with him. And thus we perceive how this example proves to us what Scripture always inculcates, — God’s resistance of the proud, his humbling their superciliousness, and his detestation of their arrogance. (Psa 18:27.) Thus God everywhere announces himself as the enemy of the proud, and he confirms it by the present example, as if he set before us in a mirror the reflection of his own judgment. (Jas 4:6; 1Pe 5:5.) This is one point. The reason also must be noticed why God declares war on all the proud, because we cannot set ourselves up even a little, without declaring war on God; for power and energy spring from him. Our life is in his hands; we are nothing and can do nothing except through him. Whatever, then, any one assumes to himself he detracts from God. No wonder then if God testifies his dislike of the haughty superciliousness of men, since they purposely weary him when they usurp anything as their own. Cities, indeed, are truly built by the industry of men, and kings are worthy of praise who either build cities or adorn them, so long as they allow God’s praise to be inviolate. But when men exalt themselves and wish to render their own fortitude conspicuous, they bury as far as they can the blessing of God. Hence it is necessary for their impious rashness to be judged by God, as we have already said. The king also confesses his vanity when he says, I have built it for a royal palace, and for the excellency of my splendor. By these words he does not dissemble how completely he looked at his own glory in all those buildings by which he hoped to hand down his name to posterity. Hence, on the whole, he wishes to be celebrated in the world, both during his life and after his death, so that God may be nothing in comparison with himself, as I have already shewn how all the proud strive to substitute themselves in the place of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(30) Great Babylon.The area of Babylon is said to have been 200 square miles. It was surrounded by walls 85 feet in width, 335 feet high. In these were brazen gates leading to various terraces which faced the river Euphrates. Within the walls the city was laid out in smaller towns, separated from each other by parks and plantations and gardens; in fact, it is stated that corn sufficient for the whole population could be grown within the walls. There were also magnificent public buildings. Nebuchadnezzar (Records of the Past, vol. v., pp. 113-135) mentions no less than eight temples which he completed, besides the huge temple of Merodach immediately across the Euphrates facing the royal palace. Walking on the flat roof of this palace, and with this grand spectacle before him, the king uttered these words. True, indeed, they were, but they show that during the twelve months which had been allotted to the king for repentance his pride remained unabated; he had not repented as Daniel had counselled him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Dan 4:30. Is not this great Babylon that I have built The circuit of this city is said to have been 360 stadia at least, or more than 45 miles, and Pliny extends it to 60 miles. Herodotus describes it as a square, each side of which was 120 stadia, or 480 in circumference: the height of its walls was 50 cubits according to the lowest reckoning, and the breadth of them such that six chariots a-breast, according to Diodorus, might drive along them. It was beautifully situated on the Euphrates; so that a branch of that river ran through the midst of it, over which was a bridge of a furlong in length, with a magnificent palace at each end. That it is agreeable to Scripture language and the manner of the Hebrews to style that person the builder of a city, who restores it after a state of neglect to its pristine beauty, and improves and adorns it, may be learnt from 2Ch 11:6 and from 2Ki 14:22 where cities are said to be built by the kings that repaired, or enlarged and fortified them, although they had been constructed long before. Bochart thinks that Babylon was as much indebted to Nebuchadnezzar as Rome was to Augustus Caesar, who used to boast, as Suetonius relates in his life, that he received the city of brick, and left it of marble. Whatever we read of the original construction of Babylon by Nimrod or Belus, or of its enlargement by Semiramis, yet it was either of little account, or certainly not as one of the wonders of the world, till the walls with their hundred gates, the temple of Belus, the monarch’s most magnificent palace, the hanging gardens, and other grand works and improvements, were added by the king who is here said to have built it. See Joseph. Ant. from Berosus, lib. 10: cap. 11. Some of these great works are said to have been finished by Nitocris, who probably completed the plan which Nebuchadnezzar had begun. Nineveh had been the capital of the Assyrian empire, and was for a long time the most considerable city: according to Diodorus, lib. 2: its circuit was reckoned near sixty English miles, or, as the prophet Jonah describes it, of three days’ journey, allowing twenty miles to a day. It is reported by some to have been much larger than Babylon, and to have had the preference given to it in several respects. Nor was it till after the destruction of this city that Babylon came into great repute. Now this happened in the time of Nabopollasar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who lived at Babylon, but was not peaceably established in the empire, nor was the seat of empire completely fixed herein, till the reign of his son. Herodotus relates, that the wealth and resources of the Babylonian state were so great, that it was equal to one-third part of all Asia; and that beside the tribute, if the other supplies for the great king were divided into twelve parts, according to the twelve months of the year, Babylon would supply four, and all Asia the other eight. See lib. 1: p. 77. Ed. Gron.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 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?
Ver. 30. The king spake and said. ] No man asking him any question, but himself trumpeting out his own praises. Ordinarily the greatest wealth is tumoured up with the greatest swelth against the Lord. Great means make great minds; yet what hath this proud prince in him of a man more than his voice and shape?
Is not this great Babylon a that I have built?] Why, no; it was built over a thousand years before you were born: b you have only beautified and fortified it. It is God that buildeth the city. Psa 127:1 And they were your ancestors, Nimrod and Ninus, whom he made use of for that purpose. Why, then, should you rob him of his glory, and them of their right, by your arrogance? The proud man, Sejanus-like, sacrificeth only to himself, and, Polyphemus-like, setteth up himself for the sole doer. God is not in all his thoughts. Psa 10:4 And for his words, hear Nebuchadnezzar here, or Mezentius in Virgil,
“ Dextra mihi Deus, et telum quod missile libro. ”
– Aeneid.
Or that of Grevinchovius, the Arminian, Ego meipsum discerno, atque in eo cur non mihi liceat ut de meo gloriarer? I do by my freewill make myself to differ from others, and why may not I boast of such a thing as of mine own, in answer to that of the apostle, “Who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou which thou hast not received?” Wittily doth Luther call those braggers faeces or dregs, who have much in their mouths, haec ego feci, This was my doing; and worthily is that speech of Charles V emperor commended, Veni, vidi, sed vicit Christus, c beyond that of Julius Caesar, Veni, vidi, vici, because he ascribeth to Christ the honour of his conquest.
For the house of the kingdom.
By the might of my power.
a Urbem suam opponit coelo, eamque pro coelo habet.
b Joseph. Antiq., lib. xvi. cap. 1l.
c A Lap. in 2Sa 17:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
spake = answered.
great Babylon. The German Orient Society’s excavations during recent years have shown how “great” it was. See Records of the Past, vol. i, p, &c.
that I have built. Everywhere this is repeated by Nebuchadnezzar on bricks, pavements, walls, &c.
house of the kingdom = the royal palace.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Is not: Dan 5:20, Psa 73:8, Pro 16:18, Hab 1:15, Hab 1:16, Hab 2:4, Hab 2:5, Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20, Luk 14:11, 1Pe 5:5
great: Gen 10:10, Gen 11:2-9, Rev 16:19, Rev 17:5, Rev 18:10, Rev 18:21
that: 1Ch 29:12-14, 2Ch 2:5, 2Ch 2:6, Isa 10:8-15, Isa 37:24, Isa 37:25, Eze 28:2-5, Eze 29:3
and for: Dan 5:18, Dan 5:19, Est 1:4, Psa 49:20, Psa 104:1, Psa 145:5-12, 1Co 10:31, Rev 21:24-26
Reciprocal: Gen 3:5 – as gods Gen 4:17 – and he Gen 11:4 – and let Exo 14:4 – I will be Deu 8:17 – My power Deu 32:27 – they should Jdg 7:2 – Mine own 1Sa 2:3 – let not arrogancy 2Sa 7:1 – the king 2Sa 18:18 – he called 2Ki 18:19 – Thus saith 2Ki 19:24 – with the sole 1Ch 17:1 – as David 1Ch 29:11 – is the greatness 1Ch 29:14 – who am I 2Ch 32:13 – I and my Est 5:11 – the glory Job 31:25 – because Job 33:17 – hide Psa 12:3 – tongue Psa 30:6 – And Psa 73:6 – Therefore Psa 87:4 – Babylon Pro 11:2 – pride Pro 29:23 – man’s Pro 30:9 – I be full Ecc 1:16 – communed Ecc 2:4 – made Isa 10:13 – For he saith Isa 13:19 – Babylon Isa 14:13 – thou Isa 23:13 – the Assyrian Isa 36:4 – Thus saith Isa 47:8 – I am Jer 9:23 – neither Jer 22:14 – I will Jer 49:25 – General Jer 50:31 – O thou Jer 51:25 – O destroying Jer 51:41 – the praise Jer 51:53 – mount Eze 16:49 – pride Eze 28:5 – and thine Eze 31:10 – and his Dan 2:32 – head Dan 4:37 – those that walk Dan 7:4 – lifted Amo 6:13 – Have Hab 1:11 – shall his Mal 3:15 – we call Mat 4:8 – and showeth Luk 14:9 – and thou Act 12:23 – because Act 25:23 – with 1Co 4:7 – why Gal 6:14 – that I 1Th 2:6 – of men 1Ti 6:17 – that they Jam 3:5 – so 2Pe 2:18 – they speak 1Jo 2:16 – and the pride
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRISTS LAW FOR A NATION AND ITS NEIGHBOURS
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?
Dan 4:30
Nations are in many respects like individuals. They are made up of individuals, and the character of the nation is the general product of the character of the individuals. Nationality, said Kossuth, is the aggregate individuality of the greatest men of the nation. Perhaps it would be nearer the truth if we put most influential instead of greatest. But, at any rate, the character of the individual counts for the character of the nation; some more, some less. And there is another point that makes nations like single human beings. Each has a past history which influences the present. A nations character, it has been said, is the sum of its splendid deeds; they constitute one common patrimony, the nations inheritance; they awe foreign powers, and arouse and animate our own people. I am afraid the bad acts of a nation in the past help to make up its identity as a whole as much as the good; but, at any rate, you see that a nation has a continuous character, like an individual, for which it is responsible. A nation can be hated or loved, feared or despised, esteemed or distrusted. It has been said, indeed, that all nations, great and small, having having any distinctive character of their own, may be said to hate one another, not with a deadly but a lively hatred. But that is not always necessarily true. Nations have at different times entered into warm and friendly alliance with each other, and been on terms of real cordiality and friendship.
Our own people, the British nation, has lately waked up to the same unflattering discovery that I was imagining in your case or in mine. We have found ourselves quite distinctly unpopular. Not necessarily more so than other nations, but still in a way that was both unflattering and unpleasant. We thought we were going on admirably; that all our conduct and motives were quite beyond criticism; that we were a most praiseworthy, benevolent, and honourable nation; that we were on the best terms with all other nations, or ought to be, and that if we were not it was their fault and not ours. The pictures of John Bull and Britannia in the comic journals express the flattering unction that we lay to our souls: the one eminently virtuous, respectable, and amiable, the ideal of an admirable paterfamilias; the other noble, generous, courageous, high-souled, almost a demi-goddess. And then suddenly we are brought face to face with unmistakable evidences of downright dislike. Lest my own words should be misunderstood, I will quote a short paragraph from a thoughtful and unexcited review: We look around and see many foes, while for real friends we look in vain. This, then, is the fate of Great Britain in the last years of the nineteenth century. She has had a glorious history, the parallel to which no other nation of modern times can offer. She has carried her flag to all the quarters of the world, and holds an Empire which in its vastness and its magnificence surpasses anything known to history. She is conscious of no wilful wrong-doing towards her neighbours. She believes, indeed, that in extending the wide limits of her rule she has at the same time extended the area of civilisation. She knows that wherever her flag waves there freedom is to be found, and along with freedom an asylum which is open to men of every tribe and tongue. Alone among the Great Powers of the earth she has kept an open door for the alien as well as for men of her own blood, and has decreed that no accident of birth shall debar any man who seeks shelter under her sway from the full privileges of citizenship. Yet as the end of it all she sees herself pursued by ill-will and jealousy, and confronted at every point by eager and envious rivals. This is the phenomenon which presents itself to us to-day, and which we are bound to consider as dispassionately as may be, if we are to profit by the lessons which it ought to teach us.
I would remind my readers of the four ways of meeting personal unfriendliness: defiance, or the way of the fool; indifference, or the way of the proud; cringing, or the way of the mean; self-scrutiny and amendment, or the way of the wise. I ask you, with the help of Gods grace, to try with me at this time to see whether we can make anything of the latter plan. Of course, the fault is not all on our side; other countries have their faults as well as ourselves; but we cannot expect them to amend whatever share they have had in the present want of cordiality unless we begin to amend our own share amongst ourselves at home.
My brothers, there cannot be the least doubt that whatever may be our national virtuesand I trust that they are manythere are four moral dangers which a busy, mercantile, prosaic people like ours is sure to encounter in its dealings with other countries; and these are Self-conceit, Selfish Ambition, Insincerity, and Discourtesy.
I. Self-conceit.There is certainly much to make the British race self-satisfied. The British Empire has grown to be seventy times as large as the British Islands. This fact we ought to regard with thankfulness, but we may be tempted to survey it with self-satisfaction. Self-conceit is as morally poisonous to a nation as it is to an individual.
II. The next moral risk we run is that of selfish ambition.There is the risk that, having become so vast and world-wide an Empire, we may be afflicted with the lust of becoming even vaster and greater.
III. Thirdly, let me speak very briefly of the risk of insincerity.Just as a man of honour will fulfil his word without any hesitation whatsoever, even if it is to be at the cost of personal loss or sacrifice, so will it be with an honourable nation. If it has once pledged its credit, no consideration of expediency will prevail on it to recede. From our system of government we have necessarily a succession of parties in office with different views. It is of the most momentous importance that they should observe each others promises and fulfil each others pledges.
IV. Lastly, there is the risk of discourtesy.We ought always to speak of a foreign nation with the same delicacy and self-restraint which we should use in regard to a friend, whether we always approved of his conduct or not. Let us reserve our caricatures for our own people who understand them; they do not help the comity of our intercourse with other countries.
Archdeacon Sinclair.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Dan 4:30. The greatness of Babylon was not to he questioned, for the prophet had already declared it to be so. If the king had expressed his ap-preciation for the good fortune that was his and given proper credit for it, there would have been no objetion to his admiration. The fault lay In Ilia pride and claiming that he had accomplished the great work, and that it was done in honor of his majesty.