Daniel 4:10–27

¹⁰Now 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.

¹¹The 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

¹²Its foliage was beautiful,

and its fruit abundant,

and in it was provision for all.

Under it the animals^t of the field sought shade,

and in its branches the birds of heaven^u 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.

¹⁴He 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.

¹⁵But 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 in^y the dew of heaven

let it^z be watered,

and with the animals^a

let his lot be in the grass of the earth.

¹⁶Let 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.

¹⁷The 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. Now^e 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. ²⁰The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong and its height reached to heaven^h 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 animals^j 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 heaven^l and your sovereignty to the end of the earth. ²³And inasmuch that the king saw the watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven^m 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: ²⁵you will be driven away from human society^o and you will dwell^p with the animals^q 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. ²⁶And 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. ²⁷Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you and your sin remove^v with righteousness and your iniquity with having mercy on the oppressed, in case there might be a prolongation of your prosperity.’ ”^w