Dan 4 | NASB2020 | STEP | Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples , nations , and populations of all languages who live in all the earth : “May your peace be great !

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! 2 I 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. 5 I 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. 6 So 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. 7 Then 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. 8 But 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! 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 animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky settled-- 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 And 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,” 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 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. 26 And 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. 27 Therefore, 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. 30 The 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?’ 31 While 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, 32 and ^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.’ 33 Immediately 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. 37 Now 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.”