Babylonian Empire · reigned c. 605-562 BC
Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible
The King of Babylon Who Destroyed Jerusalem and Praised the King of Heaven. Name meaning: Meaning not given in the Bible; yet the LORD calls him “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant” (Jer 25:9)
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieges Jerusalem, deports its people, and burns the temple: the LORD calls him “my servant” as the instrument of his judgment on Judah. He marvels at Daniel’s wisdom, watches the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego rescue his servants from the furnace, and is then humbled for his pride. In the end he praises “the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment” (Dan 4:37).
Key moments
- He carries off the vessels of the house of God Daniel 1:2
- He finds Daniel and his friends ten times better than all his wise men Daniel 1:20
- He acknowledges Daniel’s God as the God of gods Daniel 2:47
- He sees a fourth man in the furnace Daniel 3:25
- He deports Jehoiachin and installs Zedekiah 2 Kings 24:15–17
- His captain of the guard burns the house of the LORD 2 Kings 25:8–9
- He is humbled for his pride Daniel 4:31–33
- He praises the King of heaven Daniel 4:37
Strengths
- Power
- Pride
- Violent rages
- Late-coming humility
Weaknesses
Pride and anger: the king boasts of building Babylon “by the might of my power” (Dan 4:30), orders all the wise men put to death (Dan 2:12), and has the furnace heated seven times hotter (Dan 3:19). He is also cruel to the conquered: Zedekiah’s sons are slain before his eyes (Jer 39:6).
Lessons for today
- God “removeth kings, and setteth up kings”: no human power escapes his hand, not even Babylon’s (Dan 2:21; 4:35).
- Pride goes before a fall: the king who boasts of Babylon is brought low until he acknowledges that “the most High ruleth” (Dan 4:30-32).
- God uses even a pagan king to judge his people, and then holds that king accountable in turn (Jer 25:9, 12).
- A faithful witness in a foreign land can reach even the most powerful: after the image and the furnace, the king blesses the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan 3:28).
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
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 honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: 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?
People around Nebuchadnezzar
- Daniel — The young captive he promotes, and through whom he comes to know God
- Jeremiah — The prophet who announces him as “my servant,” and whom he has protected
- Jehoiachin — King of Judah whom he takes prisoner and deports to Babylon
- Zedekiah — King of Judah whom he installs, then blinds at Riblah
- Belshazzar — King of Babylon whose “father” Nebuchadnezzar is called
- Cyrus — King of Persia who will return the vessels he had carried off
Stories with Nebuchadnezzar
Quiz: how well do you know Nebuchadnezzar?
What did Nebuchadnezzar set up in the plain of Dura?
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon, and summoned all the officials to its dedication. Daniel 3:1
How many men did Nebuchadnezzar see walking in the fire of the furnace?
He had cast three men bound into the fire, but he cried out, “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire.” The fourth looked like a son of the gods. Daniel 3:24–25
Whom did Nebuchadnezzar make chief of all the wise men of Babylon?
After the interpretation of the dream of the statue, the king made Daniel a great man and made him “chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel 2:48
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