Bible Strands
Daniel 4:25
You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Daniel pronounces this decree to King Nebuchadnezzar while interpreting his dream, marking the moment the Most High’s judgment against the ruler is formally delivered. The message follows the king’s request for the dream’s meaning and precedes the restoration condition.
The words — טָֽרְדִ֣ין (ta.re.Din) means [they will be] chasing, and חֵיוַ֣ת (chei.Vat) means [the] animal[s]. These terms describe the forced removal from human society and the subsequent bestial existence.
The thread — The theme of divine sovereignty over human kingdoms appears in Daniel 4:17, Jeremiah 27:5, and Psalms 83:18. Each passage confirms that the Most High grants and removes earthly authority according to His will.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that the Most High rules over mankind and distributes kingdoms as He chooses. The reader must accept that pride invites humiliation until submission to divine authority restores order.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Daniel 4:17 This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
- Jeremiah 27:5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Psalms 83:18 May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.
- Daniel 2:21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Psalms 106:20 They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.
- Job 30:3 Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
- Psalms 75:7 but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Daniel 5:21 He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes.
- Mark 5:3 This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.
- Daniel 4:32 You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”