Daniel 4–6

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4King Nebuchadnezzar sent the following message to the people of all nations, races, and languages in the world:

“Greetings! ²Listen to my account of the wonders and miracles which the Supreme God has shown me.

³“How great are the wonders God shows us!

How powerful are the miracles he performs!

God is king for ever; he will rule for all time.

⁴“I was living comfortably in my palace, enjoying great prosperity. ⁵But I had a frightening dream and saw terrifying visions while I was asleep. ⁶I ordered all the royal advisers in Babylon to be brought to me so that they could tell me what the dream meant. ⁷Then all the fortune tellers, magicians, wizards, and astrologers were brought in, and I told them my dream, but they could not explain it to me. ⁸Then Daniel came in. (He is also called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god.) The spirit of the holy gods^d is in him, so I told him what I had dreamt. I said to him: ⁹Belteshazzar, chief of the fortune tellers, I know that the spirit of the holy gods^e is in you, and that you understand all mysteries. This is^f my dream. Tell me what it means.

¹⁰“While I was asleep, I had a vision of a huge tree in the middle of the earth. ¹¹It grew bigger and bigger until it reached the sky and could be seen by everyone in the world. ¹²Its leaves were beautiful, and it was loaded down with fruit—enough for the whole world to eat. Wild animals rested in its shade, birds built nests in its branches, and every kind of living being ate its fruit.

¹³“While I was thinking about the vision, I saw coming down from heaven an angel, alert and watchful. ¹⁴He proclaimed in a loud voice, ‘Cut the tree down and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Drive the animals from under it and the birds out of its branches. ¹⁵But leave the stump in the ground with a band of iron and bronze round it. Leave it there in the field with the grass.

“ ‘Now let the dew fall on this man, and let him live with the animals and the plants. ¹⁶For seven years he will not have a human mind, but the mind of an animal. ¹⁷This is the decision of the alert and watchful angels. So then, let all people everywhere know that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses—even to those who are the least important.’

¹⁸“This is the dream I had,” said King Nebuchadnezzar. “Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None of my royal advisers could tell me, but you can, because the spirit of the holy gods^g is in you.”

Daniel Explains the Dream

¹⁹At this, Daniel, who is also called Belteshazzar, was so alarmed that he could not say anything. The king said to him, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its message alarm you.”

Belteshazzar replied, “Your Majesty, I wish that the dream and its explanation applied to your enemies and not to you. ²⁰The tree, so tall that it reached the sky, could be seen by everyone in the world. ²¹Its leaves were beautiful, and it had enough fruit on it to feed the whole world. Wild animals rested under it, and birds made their nests in its branches.

²²“Your Majesty, you are the tree, tall and strong. You have grown so great that you reach the sky, and your power extends over the whole world. ²³While Your Majesty was watching, an angel came down from heaven and said, ‘Cut the tree down and destroy it, but leave the stump in the ground. Wrap a band of iron and bronze round it, and leave it there in the field with the grass. Let the dew fall on this man, and let him live there with the animals for seven years.’

²⁴“This, then, is what it means, Your Majesty, and this is what the Supreme God has declared will happen to you. ²⁵You will be driven away from human society and will live with wild animals. For seven years you will eat grass like an ox, and sleep in the open air, where the dew will fall on you. Then you will admit that the Supreme God controls all human kingdoms, and that he can give them to anyone he chooses. ²⁶The angel ordered the stump to be left in the ground. This means that you will become king again when you acknowledge that God rules all the world. ²⁷So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the poor.^h Then you will continue to be prosperous.”

²⁸All this did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹Only twelve months later, while he was walking about on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon, ³⁰he said, “Look how great Babylon is! I built it as my capital city to display my power and might, my glory and majesty.”

³¹Before the words were out of his mouth, a voice spoke from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to what I say! Your royal power is now taken away from you. ³²You will be driven away from human society, live with wild animals, and eat grass like an ox for seven years. Then you will acknowledge that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses.”

³³The words came true immediately. Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human society and ate grass like an ox. The dew fell on his body, and his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails as long as birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

³⁴“When the seven years had passed,” said the king, “I looked up at the sky, and my sanity returned. I praised the Supreme God and gave honour and glory to the one who lives for ever.

“He will rule for ever,

and his kingdom will last for all time.

³⁵He looks on the people of the earth as nothing;

angels in heaven and people on earth

are under his control.

No one can oppose his will

or question what he does.

³⁶“When my sanity returned, my honour, my majesty, and the glory of my kingdom were given back to me. My officials and my noblemen welcomed me, and I was given back my royal power, with even greater honour than before.

³⁷“And now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honour, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts proudly.”

Belshazzar’s Banquet

5One night King Belshazzar invited a thousand noblemen to a great banquet, and they drank wine together. ²While they were drinking, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups and bowls which his fatherⁱ Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from the Temple in Jerusalem. The king sent for them so that he, his noblemen, his wives, and his concubines could drink out of them. ³At once the gold cups and bowls were brought in, and they all drank wine out of them ⁴and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. ⁵Suddenly a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster wall of the palace, where the light from the lamps was shining most brightly. And the king saw the hand as it was writing. ⁶He turned pale and was so frightened that his knees began to shake. ⁷He shouted for someone to bring in the magicians, wizards, and astrologers. When they came in, the king said to them, “Anyone who can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in robes of royal purple, wear a gold chain of honour round his neck, and be the third in power in the kingdom.” ⁸The royal advisers came forward, but none of them could read the writing or tell the king what it meant. ⁹In his distress King Belshazzar grew even paler, and his noblemen had no idea what to do.

¹⁰The queen mother heard the noise made by the king and his noblemen and entered the banqueting hall. She said, “May Your Majesty live for ever! Please do not be so disturbed and look so pale. ¹¹There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods^j in him. When your father was king, this man showed good sense, knowledge, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father,^k made him chief of the fortune tellers, magicians, wizards, and astrologers. ¹²He has unusual ability and is wise and skilful in interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining mysteries; so send for this man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, and he will tell you what all this means.”

Daniel Explains the Writing

¹³Daniel was brought at once into the king’s presence, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, that Jewish exile whom my father the king brought here from Judah? ¹⁴I have heard that the spirit of the holy gods^l is in you and that you are skilful and have knowledge and wisdom. ¹⁵The advisers and magicians were brought in to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not discover the meaning. ¹⁶Now I have heard that you can find hidden meanings and explain mysteries. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be dressed in robes of royal purple, wear a gold chain of honour round your neck, and be the third in power in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Daniel replied, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give them to someone else. I will read for Your Majesty what has been written and tell you what it means.

¹⁸“The Supreme God made your father Nebuchadnezzar a great king and gave him dignity and majesty. ¹⁹He was so great that people of all nations, races, and languages were afraid of him and trembled. If he wanted to kill someone, he did; if he wanted to keep someone alive, he did. He honoured or disgraced anyone he wanted to. ²⁰But because he became proud, stubborn, and cruel, he was removed from his royal throne and lost his place of honour. ²¹He was driven away from human society, and his mind became like that of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys, ate grass like an ox, and slept in the open air with nothing to protect him from the dew. Finally he admitted that the Supreme God controls all human kingdoms and can give them to anyone he chooses.

²²“But you, his son, have not humbled yourself, even though you knew all this. ²³You acted against the Lord of heaven and brought in the cups and bowls taken from his Temple. You, your noblemen, your wives, and your concubines drank wine out of them and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that…