Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Dan 4 v37
This powerful prayer & praise taken from The Dream Is Fulfilled
The mystery all starts to unravel Daniel 4
28All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
31Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”Daniel 4 v28 -32(NIV)
Noticed that i highlighted seven times (Daniel 4:23), it is speaking of seven years since seven is an a fixed amount: lavistachurchofchrist.org
King Nebuchadnezzar was told by God he would be driven into madness for seven years the exact number of years Mentioned in the dead sea scroll prayer of Nibonidus
Words of the prayer, said by Nabonidus, king of Babylonia, [the great] king, [when afflicted] with an ulcer on command of the most high God in Tem�: [ ‘I, Nabonidus,] was afflicted [with an evil ulcer] for seven years, and far from [men] I [was driven, until I prayed to the most high God.] And an exorcist pardoned my sins. He was a Jew from [among the children of the exile of Judah, and said:] “Recount this in writing to glorify and exalt the name of [the most high God.” Then I wrote this:] “When I was afflicted for seven years [by the most high God] with an evil ulcer during my stay at Tem�, I prayed [to] the gods of silver and gold, [bronze and iron,] wood, stone and lime, because [I thought and considered] them gods […”‘]
Taken from the dead sea scroll we see two separate accounts forming, one from a Babylonian poem & another from Jewish story. When we take a closer look at the prayer of Nabonidus we see more than just the seven years linking the two text together.
Another point to make is the fact that the king Nebuchadnezzar Of Dan 5 was the father of Belshazzar At Daniel 5:2, 11, 18, 22, Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as the father of Belshazzar,& the Nabonidus found in the dead sea scroll is also the father of Belshazzar
King Nebuchadnezzar worshiped the same god as Nabonidus according to the dead sea scroll, it was the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood, stone and lime, found also in
Daniel 5 v 1-4
The Writing on the Wall
1King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.
2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
The point is that the prayer and praise lifted up in both stories were answered by God
34At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”36At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Daniel 4 V34-37
The reign of Nebuchadnezzar / Nabonidus ends In October 539 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus took Babylon, the ancient capital of an oriental empire covering modern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.
Further your understanding of these prayers by reading:
Nabonidus Chronicle in the British museums
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