Daniel 4:1-15 ▼

1 King Nebuchadnezzar (may Nebo protect the crown), To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your⁺ prosperity be multiplied.

2 I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

3 How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation.

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar (may Nebo protect the crown), was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.

5 I had a dream, and it frightened me; while I was in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

6 So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon (confusion by mixing) be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.

7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers (Chaldeans), and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.

8 But at last, into my presence came Daniel (God is my judge) (whose name is Belteshazzar (lord of the straitened's treasure) after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit {ruach} of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:

9 “O Belteshazzar (lord of the straitened's treasure), chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit {ruach} of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation.

10 In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great.

11 The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.

12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and upon it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, in its branches the birds of the air nested, and from it every creature was fed.

13 As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher (an angelic watcher), a holy one, coming down from heaven.

14 He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth.