Daniel 4

¹ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.

² I had a dream, and it frightened me. The thoughts on my bed and the visions in my head troubled me.

³ So I ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be brought before me, so they could make the dream’s interpretation known to me.

⁴ Then the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners came in. I told them the dream, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

⁵ At last Daniel came before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, after the name of my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him the dream.

⁶ “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Tell me the visions of my dream that I saw, and their interpretation.

⁷ These were the visions in my head as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and there was a tree in the middle of the earth. It was very tall.

⁸ The tree grew and became strong. Its top reached the sky, and it could be seen to the ends of the whole earth.

⁹ Its foliage was beautiful, and its fruit was abundant; it provided food for all. The wild animals found shade beneath it, the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every living creature fed from it.

¹⁰ As I lay on my bed and watched the visions in my head, I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

¹¹ He called out loudly and said, ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip away its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from beneath it, and the birds from its branches.’”

¹² “‘But leave the stump of its roots in the ground, bound with iron and bronze, among the grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven and share in the life of the animals among the plants of the earth.

¹³ Let his heart be changed from a human heart, and let him be given the heart of an animal. Let seven times pass over him.

¹⁴ The sentence is decreed by the watchers, and the decision is declared by the holy ones, so that the living may know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind, gives it to whomever he wills, and raises up the lowliest of men to rule over it.’

¹⁵ This is the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation. None of the wise men in my kingdom can make its interpretation known to me, but you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

¹⁶ Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was stunned for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies.

¹⁷ The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, whose top reached the sky and could be seen throughout the earth—

¹⁸ whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, which provided food for all, beneath which the wild animals lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky nested—

¹⁹ that tree is you, O king. You have grown and become strong; your greatness has grown and reached the sky, and your rule extends to the ends of the earth.

²⁰ The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the ground, bound with iron and bronze, among the grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven and share in the life of the wild animals until seven times pass over him.’

²¹ This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king:

²² You will be driven away from among people, and your dwelling will be with the wild animals. You will be given grass to eat like oxen, and you will be wet with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whomever he wills.

²³ As for the command to leave the stump of the tree’s roots, your kingdom will be restored to you once you acknowledge that heaven rules.

²⁴ “Therefore, O king, accept my counsel: break with your sins by doing what is right, and with your wrongs by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.”

²⁵ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.

²⁶ Twelve months later, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.

²⁷ The king spoke and said, “Is this not great Babylon, which I have built as a royal residence by the strength of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”

²⁸ The words were still in the king’s mouth when a voice came down from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, this is what is declared to you: Your kingdom has been taken from you.

²⁹ You will be driven away from among people, and your dwelling will be with the wild animals. You will be given grass to eat like oxen. Seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whomever he wills.”

³⁰ At that very moment the words came true concerning Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from among people, ate grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven. His hair grew like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.

³¹ At the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me. I praised the Most High and gave glory and honor to him who lives forever, for his rule is an everlasting rule, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

³² All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

³³ At that moment my understanding returned to me, and my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out; I was restored to my kingdom, and even greater greatness was added to me.

³⁴ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of heaven, for all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

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