⁴I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living comfortably at home. I was prosperous while living in my palace. ⁵I had a dream that terrified me. The visions I had while I was asleep frightened me. ⁶So I ordered all the wise advisers in Babylon to be brought to me to tell me the dream’s meaning. ⁷The magicians, psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers came to me. I told them the dream, but they couldn’t tell me its meaning. ⁸Finally, Daniel came to me. (He had been renamed Belteshazzar after my god ⸤Bel⸥.) The spirit of the holy gods is in him.

I told him the dream: ⁹“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, I know the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No secret is too hard for you ⸤to uncover⸥. Tell me the meaning of the visions I had in my dream. ¹⁰These are the visions I had while I was asleep: I was looking, and I saw an oak tree in the middle of the earth. It was very tall. ¹¹The tree grew, and it became strong enough and tall enough to reach the sky. It could be seen everywhere on earth. ¹²It had beautiful leaves and plenty of fruit, enough to feed everyone. Wild animals found shade under it. Birds came to live in its branches. It fed every living creature.

¹³“I was seeing these visions as I was asleep. I saw a guardian, a holy being, come down from heaven. ¹⁴He shouted loudly, ‘Cut down the oak tree! Cut off its branches! Strip off its leaves! Scatter its fruit! Make the animals under it run away, and make the birds fly from its branches. ¹⁵But leave the stump and its roots in the ground. Secure it with an iron and bronze chain in the grass in the field. Let it get wet with the dew from the sky. And let it get its share of the plants on the ground with the animals. ¹⁶Let its human mind be changed, and give it the mind of an animal. Let it remain like this for seven time periods. ¹⁷The guardians have announced this decision. The holy ones have announced this so that every living creature will know that the Most High has power over human kingdoms. He gives them to whomever he wishes. He can place the lowest of people in charge of them.’ ”

¹⁸⸤I said,⸥ “This is the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning because the wise advisers in my kingdom can’t tell it to me. However, you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

¹⁹Then Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar) was momentarily stunned. What he was thinking frightened him. I told him, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its meaning frighten you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “Sir, I wish that the dream were about those who hate you and its meaning were about your enemies. ²⁰You saw an oak tree grow and become strong enough and tall enough to reach the sky. It could be seen everywhere on earth. ²¹It had beautiful leaves and plenty of fruit, enough to feed everyone. Wild animals lived under it, and birds made their homes in its branches. ²²You are that tree, Your Majesty. You grew and became strong and mighty until you reached the sky. Your power reaches the most distant part of the world. ²³You saw a guardian, a holy being, come down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut down the oak tree! Destroy it! But leave the stump and its roots in the ground. Secure it with an iron and bronze chain in the grass in the field. Let it get wet with the dew from the sky. Let it get its share of the plants on the ground with the wild animals for seven time periods.’

²⁴“This is the meaning, Your Majesty. The Most High has decided to apply it to you, Your Majesty. ²⁵You will be forced away from people and live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle. The dew from the sky will make you wet. And seven time periods will pass until you realize that the Most High has power over human kingdoms and that he gives them to whomever he wishes. ²⁶Since I said that the stump and the tree’s roots were to be left, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you realize that heaven rules.

²⁷“That is why, Your Majesty, my best advice is that you stop sinning, and do what is right. Stop committing the same errors, and have pity on the poor. Maybe you can prolong your prosperity.”

²⁸All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹Twelve months later, he was walking around the royal palace in Babylon. ³⁰The king thought, “Look how great Babylon is! I built the royal palace by my own impressive power and for my glorious honor.” ³¹Before the words came out of his mouth, a voice said from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to this: The kingdom has been taken from you. ³²You will be forced away from people and live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle. And seven time periods will pass until you realize that the Most High has power over human kingdoms and that he gives them to whomever he wishes.” ³³Just then the prediction about Nebuchadnezzar came true. He was forced away from people and ate grass like cattle. Dew from the sky made his body wet until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails grew as long as birds’ claws.

³⁴At the end of the seven time periods, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my mind came back to me. I thanked the Most High, and I praised and honored the one who lives forever, because his power lasts forever and his kingdom lasts from one generation to the next. ³⁵Everyone who lives on earth is nothing compared to him. He does whatever he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who live on earth. There is no one who can oppose him or ask him, “What are you doing?”

³⁶Just then my mind came back to me. My royal honor and glory were also given back to me. My advisers and nobles wanted to meet with me ⸤again⸥. I was given back my kingdom and made extraordinarily great. ³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, will praise, honor, and give glory to the King of Heaven. Everything he does is true, his ways are right, and he can humiliate those who act arrogantly.

5TH CHAPTER

The Handwriting on the Wall

¹King Belshazzar threw a large banquet for 1,000 nobles and drank wine with them. ²As they were tasting the wine, Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver utensils which his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought to him. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.^a

³So the servants brought the gold utensils that had been taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem. The king, his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them. ⁴They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, or stone.

⁵Suddenly, the fingers of a person’s hand appeared and wrote on the plaster wall opposite the lamp stand of the royal palace. The king watched as the hand wrote. ⁶Then the king turned pale, and his thoughts frightened him. His hip joints became loose, and his knees knocked against each other.

⁷The king screamed for the psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers to be brought to him. He told these wise advisers of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me its meaning will be dressed in purple, wear a gold chain on his neck, and become the third-highest ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸All the king’s wise advisers came, but they couldn’t read the writing or tell the king its meaning. ⁹King Belshazzar was terrified, and his face turned pale. His nobles didn’t know what to do.

¹⁰The discussion between the king and his nobles brought the queen herself into the banquet hall. The queen said, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! Don’t let your thoughts frighten you, and don’t turn pale. ¹¹There’s a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your grandfather, he was found to have insight, good judgment, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your grandfather, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him head of the magicians, psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers. ¹²This Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar) was found to have knowledge, judgment, and an extraordinary spirit. He has the ability to interpret dreams, solve riddles, and untangle problems. Now, call Daniel, and he will tell ⸤you⸥ what it means.”

¹³So Daniel was taken to the king. The king asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the captives that my grandfather brought from Judah? ¹⁴I’ve heard that you have the spirit of the gods and that you have insight, good judgment, and extraordinary wisdom. ¹⁵The wise advisers and the psychics were brought to me to read this writing and tell me its meaning. But they couldn’t tell me its meaning. ¹⁶I have heard that you can interpret such things and untangle problems. If you can read the writing and tell ⸤me⸥ its meaning, you will be dressed in purple, wear a gold chain on your neck, and become the third-highest ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Daniel told the king, “Keep your gifts. Give your gifts and awards to someone else. I’ll still read the writing for you and tell you its meaning.

¹⁸“Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, might, honor, and glory. ¹⁹People from every province, nation, and language trembled and were terrified by him, because God gave him power. Nebuchadnezzar killed whomever he wanted to kill, and he kept alive whomever he wanted to keep alive. He promoted whomever he wanted to promote, and he demoted whomever he wanted to demote. ²⁰But when he became so arrogant and conceited that he became overconfident, he was removed from the royal throne. His honor was taken away from him. ²¹He was chased away from people, and his mind was changed into an animal’s mind. He lived with wild donkeys, ate…

Read in Logos

Daniel 4:37: Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

This passage has been shortened. Keep reading Daniel 4:1–6:28 in Logos

Footnotes

a 5:2 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.