Daniel 4
The King Acknowledges God
1 ▼▼Ch 3:31 in Aram
Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ▼▼Lit tongues
languages who live in all the earth: “May your ▼▼Or welfare; or prosperity
dpeace be great! 2I am pleased to declare the signs and miracles that the eMost High God has done for me. 3 “How great are His fsigns
And how mighty are His miracles!
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 ihappy in my palace. 5I saw a jdream and it startled me; and these appearances as I lay on my bed and the kvisions ▼▼Lit of my head
in my mind kept alarming me. 6So I gave orders to mbring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7Then the nsoothsayer priests, the sorcerers, the ▼▼Probably master astrologers, diviners, etc.
Chaldeans, and the diviners came in and I related the dream ▼▼Lit before
to them, but they could not make its qinterpretation known to me. 8But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is rBelteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is ▼▼Or possibly the Spirit of the holy God, and so throughout the ch
ta spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream ▼▼Lit before
to him, saying, 9‘Belteshazzar, vchief of the soothsayer priests, since I know that wa spirit of the holy gods is in you and xno secret baffles you, ytell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation. 10 ‘Now these were the zvisions ▼▼Lit of my head
in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a abtree in the middle 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 adreached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
12 ‘Its foliage was aebeautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The afanimals of the field ▼
▼Or dwelt under it
found ahshade under it, And the aibirds of the sky lived in its branches,
And all ▼
▼Lit flesh
living creatures fed 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:
“ aoChop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the apanimals 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 share be with
him share with the animals in the grass of the earth. 16 “Let his ▼
▼Lit heart
mind change from that of a human And let an animal’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 ayHe grants it to whomever He wishes
And sets over it the azlowliest of people.” 18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, since none of the bawise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because 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! 20The bgtree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, 21and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky settled-- 22it 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. 23And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “ bkChop 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, let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let ▼▼Lit his share be with
him share with the animals of the field until bnseven ▼▼I.e., years
periods of time pass over him,” 24this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has bpcome upon my lord the king: 25that you be bqdriven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals 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. 26And in that it was commanded to buleave the stump ▼▼Lit of
with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will ▼▼Lit be enduring to you
remain as yours after you recognize that it is bxHeaven that rules. 27Therefore, O king, may my byadvice be pleasing to you: bzwipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by cashowing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a cbprolonging of your prosperity.’ The Vision Fulfilled
28 “All of this cchappened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 cdTwelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30The king began speaking and was saying, ‘Is this not Babylon the cegreat, which I myself have built as a royal ▼▼Lit house
residence by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?’ 31While the word was still 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, 32and ciyou will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the animals of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and cjseven ▼▼I.e., years
periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the clMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was cmdriven 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 understanding
reason returned to me, and I blessed the cpMost High and praised and honored cqHim who lives forever; For His dominion is an creverlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 “ csAll the inhabitants of the earth are of no account,
But ctHe does according to His will among the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And cuno one can ▼
▼Lit strike against
fend off His hand Or say to Him, ‘ cwWhat have You done?’ 36 At that time my ▼
▼Lit understanding
cyreason returned to me. And my majesty and czsplendor were ▼▼Lit returning
restored to me for the honor of my kingdom, and my state counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my ▼▼Or kingdom
sovereignty, and surpassing dcgreatness was added to me. 37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of ddheaven, for deall His works are ▼▼Lit truth
true and His ways ▼▼Lit justice
just; and He is able to humble those who dhwalk in pride.”
Copyright information for
NASB2020