Daniel 4

The dream of the great tree

¹I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease in my house, prospering in my palace.^{a 2}I had a dream that frightened me. As I lay in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. ³So I gave orders for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought before me to tell me what the dream meant. ⁴Then the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. ⁵At last Daniel came in before me. He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him the dream:^{b 6}“Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I am sure that the spirit of the holy gods is within you and that no mystery is too hard for you. Here are the visions I saw in my dream; tell me what they mean. ⁷These were the visions that passed through my mind as I lay in bed: I looked, and there before me was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very tall. ⁸The tree grew large and strong; its top touched the sky, and it could be seen from the ends of the earth. ⁹Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit plentiful, and on it was food for everyone. Wild animals rested in its shade, birds nested in its branches, and every living creature was fed from it. ¹⁰As I lay in bed, I was watching the visions in my mind, and there before me was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.^{c 11}He shouted in a loud voice: ‘Fell the tree and lop off its branches; strip away its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. ¹²But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field. Let him be soaked with the dew of heaven, and let him share the lot of the animals in the grass of the earth. ¹³Let his mind be changed from that of a human being, and let him be given the mind of an animal, until seven periods of time pass over him.^{d 14}This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the verdict by the word of the holy ones, so that everyone living may know that the Most High rules over human kingdoms and gives them to anyone he chooses, and even sets over them the lowliest of people.’ ¹⁵This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can explain it to me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” ¹⁶Then Daniel, also called Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts frightened him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning frighten you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream were about those who hate you, and its meaning about your enemies! ¹⁷The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, whose top touched the sky and which could be seen by the whole earth, ¹⁸whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit plentiful, providing food for all, under which the wild animals lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky nested, ¹⁹that tree is you, O king! You have grown great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your rule extends to the ends of the earth. ²⁰And as for the watcher, a holy one, whom the king saw coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Fell the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field. Let him be soaked with the dew of heaven, and let him share the lot of the wild animals until seven periods of time pass over him,’ ²¹this is what it means, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: ²²You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like cattle, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over human kingdoms and gives them to anyone he chooses. ²³The order to leave the tree’s stump and roots means that your kingdom will be given back to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁴Therefore, O king, please accept my advice: break with your sins by doing what is right, and with your wrongs by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps then your prosperity will continue.”^{e 25}All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.

The king is humbled and restored

²⁶Twelve months later, as he was strolling on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ²⁷the king said, “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built as a royal capital by my own mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” ²⁸The words were still on the king’s lips when a voice came down from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, this is decreed for you: your kingdom has been taken from you. ²⁹You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over human kingdoms and gives them to anyone he chooses.” ³⁰At that very moment the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle, and his body was soaked with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails like the claws of birds.^{f 31}At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored. \q Then I blessed the Most High; \q I praised and honored the one who lives forever. \q His rule is an everlasting rule, \q and his kingdom lasts through every generation. ³²All the people of the earth count as nothing before him; \q he does as he pleases with the armies of heaven \q and with the people of the earth. \q No one can hold back his hand \q or say to him, “What have you done?” ³³At that same time my sanity returned, and my majesty and splendor came back to me, to the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles came looking for me; I was set over my kingdom again, and still greater power was given to me. ³⁴Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and his ways are just, and he can bring down those who live in pride.