Daniel 4–6

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

4¹ King Nebuchadnezzar to all ^mpeoples, nations, and languages, ⁿthat dwell in all the earth: ^oPeace be multiplied to you! ²It has seemed good to me to show the ^psigns and wonders that the ^qMost High God has done for me.

³How great are ^phis signs,

how mighty his ^pwonders!

^rHis kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

^rand his dominion endures from generation to generation.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

⁴² I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. ⁵I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and ^sthe visions of my head alarmed me. ⁶So ^tI made a decree that ^uall the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷Then ^vthe magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but ^wthey could not make known to me its interpretation. ⁸At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named ^xBelteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is ^ythe spirit of the holy gods³—and I told him the dream, saying, ⁹“O Belteshazzar, ^zchief of the magicians, because I know that ^ythe spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no ^amystery is too difficult for you, tell me ^sthe visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. ^10sThe visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and ^bbehold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. ^11cThe tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. ^12dIts leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. ^eThe beasts of the field found shade under it, and ^ethe birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

¹³“I saw in ^sthe visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, ^fa watcher, ^ga holy one, came down from heaven. ¹⁴He ^hproclaimed aloud and said thus: ⁱ‘Chop down the tree and ^jlop off its branches, ^jstrip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. ^jLet the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. ¹⁶Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; ^kand let seven periods of time ^lpass over him. ¹⁷The sentence is by the decree of ^fthe watchers, the decision by the word of ^gthe holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High ^mrules the kingdom of men ⁿand gives it to whom he will and ^osets over it the lowliest of men.’ ¹⁸This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O ^pBelteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because ^qall the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for ^rthe spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

¹⁹Then Daniel, whose name was ^pBelteshazzar, was ^sdismayed for a while, and ^this thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, ^umay the dream be for those who hate you ^uand its interpretation for your enemies! ^20vThe tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, ^21wwhose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— ^22xit is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. ^yYour greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, ^yand your dominion to the ends of the earth. ²³And because the king saw ^za watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ^a‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till ^bseven periods of time pass over him,’ ²⁴this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, ^25cthat you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made ^dto eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and ^bseven periods of time shall pass over you, till ^eyou know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. ²⁶And as it was commanded ^fto leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. ²⁷Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by ^gpracticing righteousness, ^hand your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, ⁱthat there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

²⁸All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰and the king answered and said, ^j“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by ^kmy mighty power as a royal residence and for ^kthe glory of my majesty?” ^31lWhile the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, ^32mand you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, ^muntil you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” ³³Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. ^mHe was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

³⁴ⁿAt the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and ^omy reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored ^phim who lives forever,

^qfor his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

and ^qhis kingdom endures from generation to generation;

^35rall the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

and ^she does according to his will among the host of heaven

and among the inhabitants of the earth;

^tand none can stay his hand

or ^usay to him, “What have you done?”

³⁶At the same time ^vmy reason returned to me, and for ^wthe glory of my kingdom, ^wmy majesty and splendor returned to me. ^xMy counselors and ^ymy lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was ^zadded to me. ³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, ^apraise and extol and honor the ^bKing of heaven, ^cfor all his works are right and his ways are just; and ^dthose who walk in pride he is able to humble.

The Handwriting on the Wall

5^eKing Belshazzar ^fmade a great feast for a thousand of his ^glords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

^2eBelshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^hthe vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father¹ had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³Then they brought in ^hthe golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴They drank wine and ⁱpraised the ^jgods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

^5kImmediately ^lthe fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw ^mthe hand as it wrote. ⁶ⁿThen the king’s color changed, ^oand his thoughts alarmed him; ^phis limbs gave way, and ^qhis knees knocked together. ^7rThe king called loudly to bring in ^rthe enchanters, the ^sChaldeans, and ^tthe astrologers. The king declared² to the wise men of Babylon, ^u“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and ^vshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸Then all the king’s wise men came in, but ^wthey could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^xalarmed, and his ⁿcolor changed, and his ^ylords were perplexed.

¹⁰The queen,³ because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, ^z“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you ^aor your color change. ¹¹There is a man in your kingdom ^bin whom is the spirit of the holy gods.⁴ In the days of your father, ^clight and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—^dmade him chief of the magicians, ^renchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, ^12ebecause an excellent spirit, knowledge, and ^funderstanding ^fto interpret dreams, explain riddles, and ^gsolve problems were found in this Daniel, ^hwhom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ⁱthe exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴I have heard of you that ^bthe spirit of the gods⁵ is in you, and that ^clight and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵Now ^jthe wise men, the ^kenchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^lthey could not show the interpretation of the matter. ^16mBut I have heard that you can give interpretations and ⁿsolve problems. ^oNow if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^oyou shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your…