The absolute intensities of 20 absorption bands between 2.5 and 0.25 μ have been measured for Nd:YAG at room temperature. These bands are forced electric dipole transitions between the4 I_{9/2} ground manifold and 34 excited J manifolds of the Nd3+ion. The transition intensities have been accounted for in terms of three phenomenological parameters with an rms error of 10 percent. The intensity parameters are used to evaluate the line strengths for excited-state absorption from the metastable4 F_{3/2} J manifold. Significant line strengths are predicted at wavelengths near 1.06 and 1.35 μ, suggesting the possibility of radiative depumping of the4 F_{3/2} upper laser level via the stimulated emission field.