Bible Strands
Daniel 4:33
At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the immediate execution of Daniel’s prophecy against King Nebuchadnezzar at the precise moment the decreed judgment began. The text shifts from prophetic warning to historical fulfillment as the king’s physical condition deteriorates.
The words — The Hebrew verb סָ֣פַת (Sa.fat) means "it was fulfilled," indicating the exact realization of the announced sentence. The noun שַׁעֲתָ֗/א (sha.'a.Ta/) translates to "at that moment," stressing the sudden onset of the decree’s enforcement.
The thread — The king’s expulsion from humanity and animal-like existence directly fulfills the warning in Daniel 4:25 and the prophecy in Daniel 4:32. The transient nature of this humiliation aligns with the pattern described in Job 20:5.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that earthly power is subordinate to divine authority and that physical degradation can serve as a visible marker of judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge that sovereignty over kingdoms rests entirely with God.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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.
- 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.”
- Job 20:5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Isaiah 30:14 It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”
- Daniel 5:5 At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
- 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.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.