Daniel 4:10–27

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.”