Dan 4 | NASB1995 | STEP | Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples , nations , and men of every language that live in all the earth : “May your peace abound !

Daniel 4

The King Acknowledges God

1 ^{▼▼ Ch 3:31 in Aram}Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every ^{▼▼ Lit tongue}language that live in all the earth: “May your ^{▼▼ Or welfare or prosperity
,} ^dpeace abound! 2 “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the ^eMost High God has done for me. 3 “How great are His ^fsigns
And how mighty are His wonders!
His ^gkingdom is an everlasting kingdom
And His dominion is from generation to generation.

The Vision of a Great Tree

4 ^{▼▼ Ch 4:1 in Aram}“I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and ⁱflourishing in my palace. 5 “I saw a ^jdream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the ^kvisions ^{▼▼ Lit of my head}in my mind kept alarming me. 6 “So I gave orders to ^mbring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 “Then the ^{▼▼ Or soothsayer priests, and so throughout the ch
,} ^omagicians, the conjurers, the ^{▼▼ Or master astrologers}Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream ^{▼▼ Lit before}to them, but they could not make its ^rinterpretation known to me. 8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is ^sBelteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is ^{▼▼ Or possibly the Spirit of the holy God, and so throughout the ch
,} ^ua spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream ^{▼▼ Lit before}to him, saying, 9 ‘O Belteshazzar, ^wchief of the magicians, since I know that ^xa spirit of the holy gods is in you and ^yno mystery baffles you, ^ztell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

10 ‘Now these were the ^aavisions ^{▼▼ Lit of my head}in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a ^actree in the midst of the ^{▼▼ Or land, and so throughout the ch}earth and its height was great. 11 ‘The tree grew large and became strong
And its height ^aereached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
12 ‘Its foliage was ^afbeautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The ^agbeasts of the field found ^ahshade under it,
And the ^aibirds of the sky dwelt in its branches,
And all ^{▼▼ Lit flesh}living creatures fed themselves from it.

13 ‘I was looking in the ^akvisions ^{▼▼ Lit of my head}in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, ^aman angelic watcher, a ^anholy one, descended from heaven. 14 ‘He shouted out and spoke as follows:
^ao“Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the ^apbeasts flee from under it
And the birds from its branches.
15 “Yet ^aqleave the stump ^{▼▼ Lit of}with its roots in the ground,
But with a band of iron and bronze around it
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And let ^{▼▼ Lit his portion be with}him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.
16 “Let his ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind be changed from that of a man
And let a beast’s ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind be given to him,
And let ^avseven ^{▼▼ I.e. years}periods of time pass over him.
17 “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may ^axknow
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And ^aybestows it on whom He wishes
And sets over it the ^azlowliest of men.”

18 ‘This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the ^bawise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a ^bbspirit of the holy gods is in you.’

Daniel Interprets the Vision

19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his ^bcthoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^bdlet the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘ ^beMy lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to ^bfyour adversaries! 20 ‘The ^bgtree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth 21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged— 22 it is ^bhyou, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your ^{▼▼ Lit greatness}majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your ^bjdominion to the end of the earth. 23 ‘In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, ^bk“Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump ^{▼▼ Lit of}with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let ^{▼▼ Lit his portion be with}him share with the beasts of the field until ^bnseven ^{▼▼ I.e. years}periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has ^bpcome upon my lord the king: 25 that you be ^bqdriven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven ^{▼▼ I.e. years}periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the ^bsMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and ^btbestows it on whomever He wishes. 26 ‘And in that it was commanded to ^buleave the stump ^{▼▼ Lit of}with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be ^{▼▼ Lit enduring}assured to you after you recognize that it is ^bxHeaven that rules. 27 ‘Therefore, O king, may my ^byadvice be pleasing to you: ^{▼▼ Or redeem now your sins
,} ^cabreak away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by ^cbshowing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a ^ccprolonging of your prosperity.’

The Vision Fulfilled

28 “All this ^cdhappened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 ^ce“Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 “The king ^{▼▼ Lit answered}reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the ^cggreat, which I myself have built as a royal ^{▼▼ Lit house}residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ 31 “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice ^{▼▼ Lit fell}came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: ^{▼▼ Or kingdom}sovereignty has been removed from you, 32 and ^ckyou will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and ^clseven ^{▼▼ I.e. years}periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the ^cnMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was ^codriven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

34 “But at the end of ^{▼▼ Lit the days}that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my ^{▼▼ Lit knowledge}reason returned to me, and I blessed the ^crMost High and praised and honored ^csHim who lives forever; For His dominion is an ^cteverlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 ^cu“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But ^cvHe does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And ^cwno one can ^{▼▼ Lit strike against}ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘ ^cyWhat have You done?’

36 “At that time my ^{▼▼ Lit knowledge
,} ^dareason returned to me. And my majesty and ^dbsplendor were ^{▼▼ Lit returning}restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my ^{▼▼ Or kingdom}sovereignty, and surpassing ^degreatness was added to me. 37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of ^dfheaven, for ^dgall His works are ^{▼▼ Lit truth}true and His ways ^{▼▼ Lit justice}just, and He is able to humble those who ^djwalk in pride.”