Nebuchadnezzar's Madness

At the height of his pride, surveying Babylon and boasting of the great city he had built by his own power, King Nebuchadnezzar was struck by God's judgment exactly as Daniel had warned him in interpreting an earlier dream: he was driven from human society to live like a beast, eating grass like an ox, his hair growing like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws, for seven years. When his reason finally returned, Nebuchadnezzar blessed and praised the Most High, acknowledging that God's kingdom is everlasting and that 'those that walk in pride he is able to abase.' The episode stands as one of Scripture's starkest warnings about the danger of pride and God's sovereignty over even the mightiest human rulers.