The Dream and the King’s Search for an Interpreter

4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was content in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 And I saw a dream and a revelation on my bed and it frightened me, and the visions of my head terrified me. 6 And a decree was ⌊sent out⌋,c ordering that all the wise men of Babylon were to be brought in before me so that they may make known to me the explanation of the dream. 7 Then the magicians,d the conjurers,e the ⌊astrologers⌋f and the diviners came in and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its explanation.g 8 Then ⌊at last⌋h Daniel came before me ⌊whose name was⌋i Belteshazzar, ⌊according to⌋j the name of my god, and ⌊in whom was the spirit of the holy gods⌋,k ⌊and I related the dream to him⌋.l

9 “ ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians,m I myself know that the spiritn of the holy gods is in you, and ⌊no mystery is too difficult⌋o for you. Now tell me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its explanation.p 10 Now these were the visions of my head as I was lying on my bed: I was ⌊gazing⌋q and, look, a tree was in the midst of the earth, and its height was exalted.

11 The tree grew and it became strong,

and its height reached to heaven,r

and ⌊it was visible to the end of the whole earth⌋.s

12 Its foliage was beautiful,

and its fruit abundant,

and in it was provision for all.

Under it the animalst of the field sought shade,

and in its branches the birds of heavenu nested,

and from it all the living beings were fed.

13 “ ‘I was looking in the vision of my head as I lay on my bed, and look, a watcher,v and a holy one, came down from heaven.

14 He cried ⌊aloud⌋w and so he said:

“Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;

shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit.

Let the animals flee from under it,

and the birds from its branches.

15 But the stump of its roots

leave in the earth,

⌊along with⌋x a band of iron and bronze;

leave it in the grass of the field.

And iny the dew of heaven

let itz be watered,

and with the animalsa

let his lot be in the grass of the earth.

16 Let his mind be changed from that of a human,b

and let the mind of an animal be given to him,

and let seven times pass over him.

17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers,

and the decision by the command of the holy ones,

⌊in order that⌋c the living will know

that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind,

and ⌊to whomever⌋d he wills he gives it,

and he even sets the humblest of men over it.”

18 “ ‘This is the dream that I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. Nowe you, Belteshazzar, declare its explanation, ⌊for⌋f all of the wise men of my kingdom were not able to make the explanation known to me, but you are able because the spirit of holy gods is in you.’

Daniel Relates and Interprets the Dream

19 “Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was distressed ⌊for some time⌋,g and his thoughts disturbed him. The king answered and he said, ‘Belteshazzar, let the dream and its explanation not disturb you.’ Belteshazzar answered and said, ‘My lord, may the dream and its explanation be for those who hate you and for your enemies. 20 The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong and its height reached to heavenh and ⌊it was visible to the end of the whole earth⌋,i 21 and its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and so there was provision for all in it, and the animalsj of the field lived under it and in its branches nest the birds of heaven,k 22 —it is you, O king, who have grown great and you have grown strong, and so your greatness has increased and it has reached to heavenl and your sovereignty to the end of the earth. 23 And inasmuch that the king saw the watcher, a holy one coming down from heavenm and he said, “Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and let his lot be with the animals of the field ⌊until seven times have passed over him⌋.”n 24 This is the explanation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: 25 you will be driven away ⌊from human society⌋o and ⌊you will dwell⌋p with the animalsq of the field, and you will be caused to graze grass like the oxen ⌊yourself⌋,r and you will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time will pass over you until that you have acknowledged that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and ⌊to whom he wills⌋s he gives it. 26 ⌊And in that⌋t they said to leave alone the stump of the tree’s root, so your kingdom will be restored for you ⌊when⌋u you acknowledge that heaven is sovereign. 27 Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you and your sin removev with righteousness and your iniquity with having mercy on the oppressed, ⌊in case there might be a prolongation of your prosperity⌋.’ ”w

God Judges the King for His Hubris

28 ⌊All this happened⌋x to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of ⌊the royal palace⌋y of Babylon. 30 And the king answered and said, “Is this not the great Babylon which I have built as a royal palace by the strength of my own power, and for the glory of my own majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, saying, ‘To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you will be driven away from ⌊human society⌋z and your dwelling will be with the animalsa of the field and they will cause you to graze the grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.’ 33 ⌊Immediately⌋b the word was fulfilled ⌊concerning⌋c Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from ⌊human society⌋d and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair was like the hair of an eagle and his nails grew like a bird’s claws.

The King Praises and Extols the Most High God

34 “But at the end of ⌊that period⌋,e I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and then my reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and ⌊the one who lives forever⌋f I praised and I honored.

“For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty,

and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.

35 And all the dwellers of the earth

are regarded as nothing,

and he does ⌊according to⌋g his desire

in the host of heaven and among the dwellers of earth,

and there is not one who can hold back his hand,

or ⌊ask him⌋,h ‘What are you doing?’

36 “⌊At that time⌋i my reason returned to me, and also the glory of my kingdom and my majesty and splendor returned to me, and my advisers and my lordsj searched me out, and I was established over my kingdom and abundant greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are truth,k and his ways are justice and that he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

The Mysterious Writing on the Wall

5 Belshazzar the king made a great festival for a thousand of his lords,a and ⌊in the presence of⌋b the thousand lords he was drinking wine.c 2 ⌊When he tasted the wine⌋,d Belshazzar commanded that they bring the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his ⌊predecessor⌋e had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords,f his wives and his concubines may drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords,g his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.h

5 ⌊Immediately⌋i ⌊human fingers⌋j appeared and they wrote ⌊opposite⌋k the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king, and the king was watchingl the palm of the hand that was writing. 6 Then his face changed and his thoughts terrified him, and ⌊his hip joints gave way⌋m and ⌊his knees knocked together⌋.n 7 The king cried ⌊aloud⌋o to bring in the conjurers,p the ⌊astrologers⌋q and the diviners; the king ⌊spoke⌋r and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man that can read this writing and can tell me its explanation will be clothed in purple and will have a necklace of gold hung around his neck and he will rule as third in authority in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the wise men of the king came in, but they were not able to read the writing or to make known its explanation.s 9 Then the king, Belshazzar, became greatly terrified, and ⌊his facial features⌋t changed upon him, and his lordsu were perplexed.

10 Because of the words of the king and his lords,v the queen came into ⌊the banqueting hall⌋w and the queen ⌊spoke up⌋x and said, “O king, live ⌊forever⌋,y and let not your thoughts terrify you and do not let your facial expressions ⌊grow pale⌋.z 11 There is a man in your kingdom ⌊who has the spirit of the holy gods in him⌋.a And in the days of your ⌊predecessor⌋,b enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and, O king, Nebuchadnezzar your ⌊predecessor⌋c appointed him as chief of the magicians,d the conjurers,e the ⌊astrologers⌋,f and the diviners. Your ⌊predecessor⌋g the king did this 12 ⌊because⌋h there was found in him an excellent spirit and understanding and insight for interpreting dreams and explaining riddles and solving riddles; that is, in Daniel ⌊whom the king named⌋i Belteshazzar. Now, let Daniel be called and he will tell the explanation.”j

Daniel Deciphers and Interprets the Writing

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king ⌊spoke⌋k and said to Daniel, “You are Daniel ⌊who are one of the exiles⌋l of Judahm whom my ⌊predecessor⌋,n the king, brought from Judah.o 14 And I have heard that a spirit of the gods is in you and enlightenment and insight and excellent wisdom was found in you. 15 And now the wise men …