Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1–17; 2 Kings 25:1–21; 2 Chronicles 36:6–13; Jeremiah 21:2–7; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 27:6–11; Jeremiah 28:10–14; Jeremiah 39:5–12; Jeremiah 52:11–16; Ezekiel 26:7; Ezekiel 29:18–20; Daniel 1:1–21; Daniel 2:1–49; Daniel 3:1–30; Daniel 4:1–37; Daniel 5:18–21)

The king of Babylon who made Jehoiakim his servant, carried Jehoiachin away, made Zedekiah king and in the end burned Jerusalem; who dreamed of the image and the tree, cast three men into the furnace, was driven from men, and at the end of the days blessed the Most High.

The books of Kings and Chronicles bring him in when “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him” (2 Kings 24:1). Daniel dates his coming to Jerusalem to the third year of Jehoiakim (Daniel 1:1). He carried off Jehoiachin and made Zedekiah king (2 Kings 24:15-17); when Zedekiah rebelled, he came against Jerusalem again, and in his nineteenth year the house of the LORD was burned (2 Kings 25:1-9). The LORD's word in Jeremiah speaks of “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant” (Jeremiah 27:6). Jeremiah most often, and Ezekiel always, print his name Nebuchadrezzar.

In Daniel he is the king before whom Daniel and his companions stand. He dreamed dreams and his spirit was troubled, the wise men failed, and when Daniel made known the dream he “fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel” (Daniel 2:46). He set up an image of gold in the plain of Dura, and in “rage and fury” (Daniel 3:13) had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego cast into the furnace; he saw four men walking in the fire and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego” (Daniel 3:28).

Daniel 4 gives his own account of a dream of a great tree. Twelve months after Daniel's warning he said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built” (Daniel 4:30), and was driven from men until “mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High” (Daniel 4:34). His last words in Scripture are “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven” (Daniel 4:37). Scripture does not record his death. Daniel 5 speaks of him as the father of Belshazzar (Daniel 5:2; 5:11), and there Daniel says the Most High God gave him “the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty” (Daniel 5:18), but “when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne” (Daniel 5:20).

Strengths

• Blessed and praised the Most High

Weaknesses

• Pride in his own might
• Rage and fury

Themes

• Kingdoms given by God
• Dreams and their interpretation
• Exile and captivity
• Pride humbled
• The Most High rules

Jehoiakim becomes his servant (2 Kings 24:1–7; 2 Chronicles 36:5–7; Daniel 1:1–2)

The king of Babylon comes up against Jerusalem in Jehoiakim's days and the Lord gives Jehoiakim into his hand; Jehoiakim serves him three years and then rebels, and the LORD sends bands against Judah.

Daniel and his companions before the king (Daniel 1:3–21)

The king has youths of the seed royal and the nobles taught the learning of the Chaldeans for three years; Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah stand before him and are found ten times better than all his magicians.

The dream of the image (Daniel 2:1–49)

The king dreams and his spirit is troubled; the wise men cannot tell the dream, but Daniel tells it and its meaning, and the king falls on his face, worships Daniel and makes him great.

The dream of the image

“In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him” (Daniel 2:1). He called the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans, and said, “The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill” (Daniel 2:5). They answered that no man upon the earth could show the king's matter; “For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:12).

Daniel went in and said, “there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days” (Daniel 2:28). He told the king of a great image of gold, silver, brass, iron and clay, and a stone cut out without hands, and said, “Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory … thou art the head of gold” (Daniel 2:37-38).

“Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret” (Daniel 2:46-47). “Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48).

The golden image and the furnace (Daniel 3:1–30)

The king sets up an image of gold in the plain of Dura; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego will not worship it, and he has them cast into the furnace, sees four men walking in the fire, and blesses their God.

The golden image and the furnace

“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:1). Certain Chaldeans accused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego of not worshipping it. “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego” (Daniel 3:13). He asked them, “who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15).

They answered, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods” (Daniel 3:17-18). “Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated” (Daniel 3:19).

“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste … Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:24-25). He came near to the mouth of the furnace and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither” (Daniel 3:26).

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him” (Daniel 3:28). “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:30).

Jehoiachin carried away, Zedekiah made king (2 Kings 24:8–20; 2 Chronicles 36:9–13; Jeremiah 24:1)

His servants besiege Jerusalem and Jehoiachin goes out to him and is carried to Babylon with the treasures, the princes, the craftsmen and the smiths; he makes Mattaniah king in his stead, changes his name to Zedekiah, and makes him swear by God, but Zedekiah rebels against him.

The yoke of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:8–9; Jeremiah 27:1–11; Jeremiah 28:1–14)

Jeremiah is told to make bonds and bars and send word to the neighboring kings that the LORD has given the lands to Nebuchadnezzar; Hananiah breaks the bar from Jeremiah's neck, and the LORD answers with a yoke of iron.

The yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

The LORD says by Jeremiah, “I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land” (Jeremiah 25:9). Jeremiah is told to make bonds and bars, put them upon his neck, and send them to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon: “And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him” (Jeremiah 27:6).

“And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah” (Jeremiah 27:8). But “the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land” (Jeremiah 27:11).

Hananiah the prophet spoke in the house of the LORD and then “took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it” (Jeremiah 28:10), saying that within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar would be broken. Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Thou hast broken the bars of wood; but thou hast made in their stead bars of iron. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 28:13-14).

The siege of Jerusalem and the capture of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 21:1–7; 2 Kings 25:1–7; Jeremiah 39:1–7; Jeremiah 52:4–11)

In the ninth year of Zedekiah the king comes with all his army against Jerusalem; a breach is made, Zedekiah is overtaken at Jericho and brought to Riblah, where his sons are slain before his eyes and his eyes are put out.

The siege of Jerusalem and the capture of Zedekiah

Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah, saying, “Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us” (Jeremiah 21:2). The answer from the LORD was that he would deliver Zedekiah and the people “into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 21:7).

“And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah” (2 Kings 25:1-2). “On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then a breach was made in the city” (2 Kings 25:3-4).

Zedekiah and the men of war fled by night, and “the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes” (Jeremiah 39:5-6). “And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death” (Jeremiah 52:11).

Jerusalem and the house of the LORD burned (2 Kings 25:8–21; 2 Chronicles 36:17–20; Jeremiah 52:12–16)

In the nineteenth year of the king, Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, comes to Jerusalem, burns the house of the LORD and the great houses, and the walls are broken down; the poorest are left as vinedressers.

His charge concerning Jeremiah (Jeremiah 39:11–14)

After the city is taken, the king of Babylon gives charge to Nebuzaradan to look well to Jeremiah and do him no harm.

Tyre and Egypt as wages (Ezekiel 26:7; Ezekiel 29:17–20; Ezekiel 30:10)

The LORD says by Ezekiel that he will bring Nebuchadrezzar upon Tyre, that he and his army had no wages from Tyre for their great service, and that the land of Egypt is given him as his recompense, because they wrought for the LORD.

The dream of the great tree (Daniel 4:1–27)

The king writes to all peoples of the signs the Most High God has wrought toward him; he dreams of a great tree that is hewn down, and Daniel, called Belteshazzar, says the tree is the king and counsels him to break off his sins.

The dream of the great tree

“Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you. It hath seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me” (Daniel 4:1-2). He tells that he was at rest in his house, “I saw a dream which made me afraid” (Daniel 4:5), and the wise men of Babylon could not make known the interpretation. “But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods” (Daniel 4:8).

In the dream he saw a tree in the midst of the earth whose height reached unto heaven, and “a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven” (Daniel 4:13) who said, “Hew down the tree” (Daniel 4:14), that “the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:17).

“Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him” (Daniel 4:19). He said, “it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth” (Daniel 4:22), and that the king would be driven from men and made to eat grass as oxen, “till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:25). He ended, “break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity” (Daniel 4:27).

Driven from men, and restored (Daniel 4:28–37)

At the end of twelve months the king boasts over Babylon, a voice from heaven says the kingdom is departed from him, and he is driven from men and eats grass as oxen; at the end of the days his understanding returns and he blesses the Most High.

Driven from men, and restored

“At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon. The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:29-30). “While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee” (Daniel 4:31).

“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 hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws” (Daniel 4:33).

“And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation … and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:34-35). He says his majesty and brightness returned to him, and “I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added unto me” (Daniel 4:36).

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” (Daniel 4:37). These are the last words of the king in Scripture.

Daniel (Daniel 1:18–19; Daniel 2:46–48; Daniel 4:8–9)

Brought in before the king, he made known the dream; the king made Daniel great and ruler over the whole province of Babylon.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (Daniel 3:19–23; Daniel 3:28–30)

The king had them cast into the furnace for not worshipping the image, then blessed their God and promoted them in the province of Babylon.

Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chronicles 36:6)

Became his servant three years, then turned and rebelled against him.

Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:10–12; 2 Kings 24:15)

Went out to the king of Babylon, who took him in the eighth year of his reign and carried him to Babylon.

Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17; 2 Chronicles 36:13; Jeremiah 39:5–7)

Made king by the king of Babylon, who made him swear by God; he rebelled, and the king gave judgment upon him at Riblah.

Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27:6; Jeremiah 39:11–12)

The LORD's word through him calls the king “my servant” (Jeremiah 27:6), and the king gave charge to look well to him and do him no harm.

The Most High God (Daniel 4:31–32; Daniel 4:34–37)

The voice from heaven drove the king out “until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:32); at the end of the days he blessed and praised him.

Belshazzar (Daniel 5:2; Daniel 5:11; Daniel 5:18–22)

Daniel 5 speaks of “Nebuchadnezzar his father” (Daniel 5:2) and says to Belshazzar, “thou his son, O Belshazzar” (Daniel 5:22).

Major sections

• 2 Kings 24–25
• 2 Chronicles 36:5–21
• Jeremiah 27–28
• Jeremiah 39:1–14
• Jeremiah 52:4–30
• Ezekiel 29:17–20
• Daniel 1–4
• Daniel 5:18–21

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