Daniel 4:25

The sense of vv.15, 16, 17 bexplained more distinctly: Nebuchadnezzar, imagining himself to be an animal, will act himself, and be treated by others, accordingly.

that theyshall drive thee … and they shall make thee to eat … and theyshall wet thee R.V. that thou shalt be driven … and thou shalt be made to eat … and shalt be wet. In Aramaic, the 3rd pers. plur. with indef. subject is often used where we should employ the passive, even though the agent implicitly referred to is God, see e.g. Daniel 2:30 (lit. -that they should make known"), Daniel 3:4 (lit. -they command"), Daniel 4:16 (lit. -let them change … let them give"), 31 (lit. -they speak"), in all which passages A.V. itself paraphrases by the passive. The same usage occurs sometimes in Biblical Hebrew (see on Daniel 1:12); and it is frequent in the later language, as Abhoth, iv. 7 (cited on Daniel 4:26) [242]. Cf. Matthew 5:15; Luke 6:38; Luke 6:44; Luke 12:20 (ἀπαιτοῦσιν); Revelation 12:6 τρέφωσιν (Daniel 4:14 τρέφεται).

[242] See further examples in Dalman, Die Worte Jesu(1898), p. 184.