What does Daniel 4:4 mean?

Nebuchadnezzar begins his dramatic story (Daniel 4:1–3) here. It begins in his palace, where he was at ease and doing well. He was a mighty king with a broad reign (Daniel 2:37–38). He had built a comfortable palace and beautified the city of Babylon. Soon, however, he was extremely uneasy and impoverished.

This part of the book of Daniel was recorded in Aramaic, which was then the common language of Babylon (Daniel 2:4—7:28). The prophecies of this segment involve part of what Bible scholars refer to as the "times of the Gentiles." This era of world history will finish in the end times, in moments described by prophecies in books such as Daniel and Revelation. In that final time, a form of government will crush all opponents (Revelation 13:4, 7), and establish a version of peace and security. Revelation 6:4 depicts a rider on a bright red horse at the beginning of the tribulation as "permitted to take peace from the earth." This suggests that a form of peace will characterize conditions on earth near the end of the times of the Gentiles. First Thessalonians 5:3 predicts, "While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them." Revelation 18:11–21 depicts the cataclysmic end of Babylon's prosperity under God's hand of judgment at the close of the tribulation.