Daniel 4

1 “Nebuchadnezzar the king to all peoples, nations, and languages, who are dwelling in all the earth: Your peace be great!

Nebuchadnezzar, the king, to all peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in the whole world, may peace be increased with you.

2 The signs and wonders that God Most High has done with me, it is good before me to show.

The supreme God has accomplished signs and wonders with me. Therefore, it has pleased me to proclaim

3 How great His signs! And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom [is] a continuous kingdom, and His rule [is] with generation and generation.

his signs, which are great, and his wonders, which are mighty. For his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power continues from generation to generation.

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, have been at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace:

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was content in my house and prospering in my palace.

5 a dream I have seen, and it makes me afraid, and the conceptions on my bed, and the visions of my head, trouble me.

I saw a dream that terrified me, and my thoughts on my bed and the visions in my head disturbed me.

6 And by me a decree is made, to cause all the wise men of Babylon to come up before me, that the interpretation of the dream they may cause me to know.

And so a decree was established by me, that all of the wise men of Babylon should be brought in before me, and that they should reveal to me the answer to the dream.

7 Then coming up are the scribes, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and the dream I have told before them, and its interpretation they are not making known to me.

Then the seers, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers entered, and I explained about the dream in their presence, but they did not reveal its answer to me.

8 And at last Daniel has come up before me, whose name [is] Belteshazzar—according to the name of my god—and in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods, and the dream before him I have told:

And then their colleague came in before me, Daniel, (whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, ) who has the spirit of the holy gods within his very self, and I told the dream directly to him.

9 O Belteshazzar, master of the scribes, as I have known that the spirit of the holy gods [is] in you, and no secret presses you, the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation, tell.

Belteshazzar, leader of the seers, since I know that you have in you the spirit of the holy gods, and that no mystery is unreachable to you, explain to me the visions of my dreams, which I saw, and the solution to them.

10 As for the visions of my head on my bed, I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height [is] great:

This was the vision of my head on my bed. I looked, and behold, a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height was exceedingly great.

11 the tree has become great, indeed, strong, and its height reaches to the heavens, and its vision to the end of the whole land;

The tree was great and strong, and its height reached up to heaven. It could be seen all the way to the ends of the entire earth.

12 its leaves [are] beautiful, and its budding great, and food for all [is] in it: under it the beast of the field takes shade, and in its boughs dwell the birds of the heavens, and of it are all flesh fed.

Its leaves were very beautiful, and its fruit was very abundant, and in it was food for the whole world. Under it, animals and beasts were dwelling, and in its branches, the birds of the sky were sheltered, and from it, all flesh was fed.

13 I was looking, in the visions of my head on my bed, and behold, a sifter, even a holy one, from the heavens is coming down.

I saw in the vision of my head upon my blanket, and behold, a watcher and a holy one descended from heaven.

14 He is calling mightily, and thus has said, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its budding, move away let the beast from under it, and the birds from off its branches;

He cried out loudly, and he said this: “Cut down the tree and prune its branches; shake off its leaves and scatter its fruits; let flee the beasts, which are under it, and the birds from its branches.

15 but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens is it wet, and with the beasts [is] his portion in the herb of the earth;

Nevertheless, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let it be bound with a band of iron and brass among the plants, which are close by, and let it be touched by the dew of heaven, and let its place be with the wild animals among the plants of the earth.

16 his heart from man’s is changed, and the heart of a beast is given to him, and seven times pass over him;

Let his heart be changed from being human, and let the heart of a wild animal be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him.

17 by the decree of the sifters [is] the sentence, and by the saying of the holy ones the requirement, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He wills He gives it, and the lowest of men He raises up over it.

This is the decree from the judgment of the watchers, and the decision and proclamation of the holy ones, until the living shall know that the Supreme One is ruler in the kingdom of men, and that he will give it to whomever he wills, and he will appoint the lowest man over it.”

18 This dream I have seen, I King Nebuchadnezzar; and you, O Belteshazzar, tell the interpretation, because that all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to cause me to know the interpretation, and you [are] able, for the spirit of the holy gods [is] in you.”

I, king Nebuchadnezzar, saw this dream. And so you, Belteshazzar, must quickly explain to me the interpretation because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to declare the meaning of it to me. But you are able because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.

19 Then Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, has been astonished about one hour, and his thoughts trouble him; the king has answered and said, “O Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar has answered and said, “My lord, the dream—to those hating you, and its interpretation—to your enemies!

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, began silently to think within himself for about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. But the king responded, saying, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its interpretation disturb you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, the dream is for those who hate you, and its interpretation may be for your enemies.

20 The tree that you have seen, that has become great and strong, and its height reaches to the heavens, and its vision to all the land,

The tree that you saw was lofty and strong; its height reached toward heaven, and it could be seen throughout the whole world.

21 and its leaves [are] beautiful, and its budding great, and food for all [is] in it, under it the beast of the field dwells, and on its boughs the birds of the heavens sit.

And its branches were very beautiful, and its fruit very abundant, and in it was food for all. Under it, dwelt the beasts of the field, and in its branches, the birds of the air stayed.

22 It [is] you, O king, for you have become great and mighty, and your greatness has become great, and has reached to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth;

It is you, O king, who has been greatly esteemed, and you have grown strong. And you have increased your power, and it reaches towards heaven, and your rule is to the ends of the whole earth.

23 and that which the king has seen—a sifter, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, and he has said, Cut down the tree, and destroy it; but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens it is wet, and with the beast of the field [is] his portion, until seven times pass over him.

Yet the king also saw a watcher and a holy one descend from heaven and say: ‘Cut down the tree and scatter it; however, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let it be bound with iron and brass, among the surrounding plants, and let it be sprinkled with the dew of heaven, and let his feeding be with the wild beasts, until seven periods of time pass over him.’

24 This [is] the interpretation, O king, and it [is] the decree of the Most High that has come against my lord the king:

This is the interpretation of the judgment of the Most High, which has reached my lord, the king.

25 and they are driving you away from men, and your dwelling is with the beast of the field, and they cause you to eat the herb as oxen, and they are wetting you by the dew of the heavens, and pass over you seven times, until you know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He wills He gives it.

They will expel you from among men, and your dwelling will be with the beasts and the wild animals, and you will eat hay like an ox, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Likewise, seven periods of time will pass over you, until you know that the Supreme One rules over the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomever he wills.

26 And that which they said—to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom abides for you, after that you know that the heavens are ruling.

But, since he commanded that the stump of its roots, that is, of the tree, should be left behind, your kingdom will be left for you, after you have realized that power is from divinity.

27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and your sins by righteousness break off, and your perversity by pitying the poor, behold, it is a lengthening of your ease.”

Because of this, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. And redeem your sins with alms, and your iniquities with mercy towards the poor. Perhaps he will forgive your offenses.”

28 All—has come on Nebuchadnezzar the king.

All these things came upon king Nebuchadnezzar.

29 At the end of twelve months, on the palace of the kingdom of Babylon he has been walking;

After the end of twelve months, he was taking a walk in the palace of Babylon.

30 the king has answered and said, “Is this not that great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, in the might of my strength, and for the glory of my honor?”

And the king spoke out loud, saying, “Isn’t this the great Babylon, which I have built, as the home of the kingdom, by the strength of my power and in the glory of my excellence?”

31 While the word is [in] the king’s mouth a voice from the heavens has fallen: “They are saying to you: O Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom has passed from you,

And while the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice rushed down from heaven, “To you, O king Nebuchadnezzar, it is said: ‘Your kingdom will be taken away from you,

32 and from men they are driving you away, and your dwelling [is] with the beast of the field, they cause you to eat the herb as oxen, and pass over you seven times, until you know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He wills He gives it.”

and they will expel you from among men, and your dwelling will be with the beasts and the wild animals. You will eat hay like an ox, and seven times will pass over you, until you know that the Supreme One rules in the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomever he wills.’”

33 In that hour the thing has been fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar, and from men he is driven, and he eats the herb as oxen, and his body is wet by the dew of the heavens, until his hair has become great as eagles, and his nails as birds.

The same hour, the sentence was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven away from among men, and he ate hay like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair increased like the feathers of eagles, and his nails like those of birds.

34 “And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, have lifted up my eyes to the heavens, and my understanding returns to me, and I have blessed the Most High, and the Perpetual Living One I have praised and honored, whose dominion [is] a continuous dominion, and His kingdom with generation and generation;

Therefore, at the end of these days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my mind was restored to me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and glorified him who lives forever. For his power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

35 and all who are dwelling on the earth are reckoned as nothing, and according to His will He is doing among the forces of the heavens and those dwelling on the earth, and there is none that claps with his hand and says to Him, What have You done?

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing before him. For he acts according to his own will, with the inhabitants of the earth just as with the holy inhabitants of heaven. And there is no one who can resist his hand, or say to him, “Why have you done this?”

36 At that time my understanding returns to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and my brightness return to me, and to me my counselors and my great men seek, and over my kingdom I have been made right, and abundant greatness has been added to me.

At the same time, my mind returned to me, and I arrived at the honor and glory of my kingdom. And my appearance was given back to me. And my nobles and my magistrates needed me. And I was restored to my kingdom, and even greater majesty was added to me.

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, am praising and exalting and honoring the King of the heavens, for all His works [are] truth, and His paths judgment, and those walking in pride He is able to humble.”

Therefore I, Nebuchadnezzar, now praise, and magnify, and glorify the King of heaven, because all his works and the judgments of his way are true, and those who go forth in arrogance, he is able to bring low.