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Daniel 4:27 - Stop Sinning, Do What Is Right And Help The Needy.

Dan 4:27: Stop Sinning, Do What Is Right And Help The Needy.

CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word 
Study:  

Dan 4:27 (KJV)  Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable 
unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness], and thine 
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy 
tranquillity. 

Dan 4:27 (AMP)  Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable 
to you; break off your sins and show the reality of your repentance 
by righteousness (right standing with God and moral and spiritual 
rectitude and rightness in every area and relation) and liberate yourself 
from your iniquities by showing mercy and loving-kindness to the poor 
and oppressed, that [if the king will repent] there may possibly be 
a continuance and lengthening of your peace and tranquility and a 
healing of your error.  

Dan 4:27 (NIV)  Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my 
advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness 
by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity 
will continue." 

Dan 4:27 (NCV)  So, O king, please accept my advice. Stop 
sinning and do what is right. Stop doing wicked things and be kind to 
the poor. Then you might continue to be successful." 

Dan 4:27 (CWR)  This is the dreams meaning.  And now, Your 
Majesty, may my personal advice be acceptable to you.  Atone for your 
sins by doing what is right and for your iniquities by showing mercy 
to those who are weak and taking care of those who are poor.  This 
change on your part will defer the sentence and may even cancel it 
altogether. 

CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:

Overview
Daniel interpreted a dream portending disaster to Nebuchadnezzar 
(4:1-27), and witnessed its fulfillment (vv. 28-37). As an old man Daniel 
interpreted a sign indicating the fall of the Babylonian Empire (5:1-30), 
and became a valued administrator of the Persian Empire which 
succeeded it (6:1-3). God thwarted the plan of Daniel's enemies and 
miraculously delivered him from a den of hungry lions (vv. 4-28). [The 
365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

4:19-27 Through his experience, Nebuchadnezzar (4:20-22) was to 
learn that the Lord is the ultimate Sovereign and that he delegates 
dominion so that man cannot take the glory or credit. Daniel counseled 
the king to repent in order to avoid God's judgment (4:27). [New 
Bible Companion] 

SECTION HEADINGS

A Letter From Nebuchadnezzar About His Insanity  (4:1-37)
Daniel interprets the dream  (4:19-27)
Daniel Interprets the Second Dream  (4:19-27)
"You Will Graze on the Grass Like an Ox"  (4:19-27)

CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.

Proverbs 16:6 (KJV)  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and 
by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.  

Proverbs 28:13 (KJV)  He that covereth his sins shall not 
prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.  

Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV)  Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, 
call ye upon him while he is near: [7] Let the wicked forsake his 
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he 
will abundantly pardon.  

Ezekiel 18:21 (KJV)  But if the wicked will turn from all his 
sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that 
which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  

Ezekiel 18:30-32 (KJV)  Therefore I will judge you, O house of 
Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and 
turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not 
be your ruin. [31] Cast away from you all your transgressions, 
whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: 
for why will ye die, O house of Israel? [32] For I have no pleasure 
in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn 
yourselves, and live ye.  

Matthew 3:8 (KJV)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for 
repentance:  

Acts 26:20 (KJV)  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at 
Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the 
Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for 
repentance.  

Galatians 5:6 (KJV)  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision 
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 
 

Galatians 5:13 (KJV)  For, brethren, ye have been called unto 
liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love 
serve one another.  

James 4:8-10 (KJV)  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to 
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye 
double minded. [9] Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter 
be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. [10] Humble 
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.  

1 Peter 4:8 (KJV)  And above all things have fervent charity 
among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.  

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?

Here a divine principle is communicated to the proud monarch. 
God's judgments against men may be averted by repentance and 
conversion (see Isa. 38:1, 2, 5; Jer. 18:7-10; Jonah 3:1-10). For this 
reason God announced the impending judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar but 
gave him a full year in which to repent, and thus avert the 
threatened calamity (see Dan. 4:29). However, the king did not change his 
way of life, and accordingly brought upon himself the execution of 
the judgment. By contrast, the Ninevites, given 40 days of respite, 
took advantage of the opportunity, and they and their city were 
spared (Jonah 3:4-10). "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he 
revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). God 
forewarns peoples and nations of their impending doom. He sends a message 
to the world today, warning of its rapidly approaching end. Few may 
heed such warnings, but because adequate warning has been given them 
men will be without excuse in the day of calamity. [SDA Commentary] 

Nebuchadnezzar's pilgrimage with God is one of the themes of 
Daniel. In 2:47, he acknowledged that God revealed dreams to Daniel. In 
3:28-29 he praised the God who delivered the three Hebrews. Despite 
Nebuchadnezzar's recognition that God exists and works great 
miracles, in 4:30 we 
 see that he still did not acknowledge God as his Lord. We may 
recognize that God exists and does wonderful miracles, but God is not 
going to shape our life until we acknowledge him as Lord. [Life 
Application SB] 

Why was God working this way in the king's life? To teach him 
humility. You will remember that in the king's "image dream" he was 
pictured as the head of gold; and in chapter 3, the king had made an 
entire image of gold to attract worship and praise to himself. God 
would show this proud monarch that he was actually a beast at heart. 
In fact, in chapter 7, Daniel will have a vision that shows that 
all the empires are nothing but wild beasts. Daniel warned the king 
to repent and change his ways. "Break off your sins," he begged, 
"and perhaps the Lord will give you forgiveness and time to serve 
Him." After all, God had spoken to the king on two different 
occasions--the dream of chapter 2 and the furnace episode of chapter 3--and it 
is dangerous to turn a deaf ear to God. [Wiersbe Expository 
Outlines] 

Loss of mental capacities may reduce humans to a mere animal 
existence. No person is too powerful or wealthy to be immune to mental 
illness. Such illness has many causes. Nebuchadnezzar lost his mental 
functions as a direct result of God's punishment on his pride. His example 
shows us God's punishment may take this form, but the one example must 
not be used as a rule to condemn as sinners all who endure mental 
illness. [Disciple SB] 

Daniel called upon Nebuchadnezzar to renounce his sins and do 
right. "Renounce" means "to break off," like breaking a yoke off one's 
neck. Repentance is breaking off our sins and proving it by doing them 
no more and then reaching  out to the needy, oppressed and 
suffering. [Disciple SB mod] 

It is necessary, in repentance, that we not only cease to do 
evil, but learn to do good. [Matthew Henry Commentary]