Daniel 4

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

King Nabuchodonosor to all nations, tribes, and tongues, who dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.

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

It seemed good to me to declare to you the signs and wonders which the most high God has wrought with me,

3 His signs how great! and His wonders how mighty! His kingdom [is] a kingdom age-during, and His rule [is] with generation and generation.

how great and mighty [they are]: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to all generations.

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

I Nabuchodonosor was thriving in my house, and prospering.

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

I saw a vision, and it terrified me, and I was troubled on my bed, and the visions of my head troubled 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 I made a decree to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of 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.

So the enchanters, magicians, soothsayers, [and] Chaldeans came in: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof;

8 And at last come up before me hath Daniel, 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:

until Daniel came, whose name is Baltasar, according to the name of my God, who has within him the Holy Spirit of God; to whom I said,

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

O Baltasar, chief of the enchanters, of whom I know that the Holy Spirit of God is in thee, and no mystery is too hard for thee, hear the vision of my dream which I had, and tell me the interpretation of it.

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

I had a vision upon my bed; and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

11 become great hath the tree, yea, strong, and its height doth reach to the heavens, and its vision to the end of the whole land;

The tree grew large and strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its extent to the extremity of the whole earth:

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

its leaves were fair, and its fruit abundant, and in it was meat for all; and under it the wild beasts of the field took shelter, and the birds of the sky lodged in the branches of it, and all flesh was fed of it.

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

I beheld in the night vision upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven, and cried aloud, and thus he said,

14 He is calling mightily, and thus hath 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;

Cut down the tree, and pluck off its branches, and shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the wild beasts be removed from 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 brass, 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;

Only leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and [bind it] with an iron and brass band; and it shall lie in the grass that is without and in the dew of heaven, and its portion [shall be] with the wild beasts in the grass of the field.

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

His heart shall be changed from that of man, and the heart of a wild beast shall be given to him; and seven times shall 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 willeth He giveth it, and the lowest of men He doth raise up over it.

The matter is by the decree of the watcher, and the demand is a word of the holy ones; that the living may know that the Lord is most high [over] the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomsoever he shall please, and will set up over it that which is set at nought of men.

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

This is the vision which I king Nabuchodonosor saw: and do thou, Baltasar, declare the interpretation, for none of the wise men of my kingdom are able to shew me the interpretation of it: but thou, Daniel, art able; for the Holy Spirit of God is in thee.

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

Then Daniel, whose name is Baltasar, was amazed about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. And Baltasar answered and said, [My] lord, let the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation of it to thine enemies.

20 The tree that thou hast seen, that hath become great and strong, and its height doth reach to the heavens, and its vision to all the land,

The tree which thou sawest, that grew large and strong, whose height reached to the sky and its extent to all the earth;

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

and whose leaves were flourishing, and its fruit abundant, (and it was meat for all; under it the wild beasts lodged, and the birds of the sky took shelter in its branches: )

22 'Thou it [is], O king, for thou hast become great and mighty, and thy greatness hath become great, and hath reached to the heavens, and thy dominion to the end of the earth;

is thyself, O king; for thou art grown great and powerful, and thy greatness has increased and reached to heaven, and thy dominion to the ends of the earth.

23 and that which the king hath seen — a sifter, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, and he hath 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 brass, 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, till that seven times pass over him.

And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and he said, Strip the tree, and destroy it; only leave the stump of its roots in the ground, and [bind it] with a band of iron and brass; and it shall lie in the grass that is without, and in the dew of heaven, and its portion shall be with wild beasts, until seven times have passed over it;

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

this is the interpretation of it, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king.

25 and they are driving thee away from men, and with the beast of the field is thy dwelling, and the herb as oxen they do cause thee to eat, and by the dew of the heavens they are wetting thee, and seven times do pass over thee, till that thou knowest that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it.

And they shall drive thee forth from men, and thy dwelling shall be with wild beasts, and they shall feed thee with grass as an ox, and thou shalt have thy lodging under the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and will give it to whom he shall please.

26 And that which they said — to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom for thee abideth, after that thou knowest that the heavens are ruling.

And whereas they said, Leave the stumps of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom abides [sure] to thee from the time that thou shalt know the power of the heavens.

27 'Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and thy sins by righteousness break off, and thy perversity by pitying the poor, lo, it is a lengthening of thine ease.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel please thee, and atone for thy sins by alms, and [thine] iniquities by compassion on the poor: it may be God will be long-suffering to thy trespasses.

28 'All — hath come on Nebuchadnezzar the king.

All these things came upon king Nabuchodonosor.

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

After a twelvemonth, as he walked in his palace in Babylon,

30 the king hath answered and said, Is not this that great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, in the might of my strength, and for the glory of mine honour?

the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal residence, by the might of my power, for the honour of my glory?

31 'While the word is [in] the king's mouth a voice from the heavens hath fallen: To thee they are saying: O Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom hath passed from thee,

While the word was yet in the king’s mouth, there came a voice from heaven, [saying], To thee, king Nabuchodonosor, they say, The kingdom has departed from thee.

32 and from men they are driving thee away, and with the beast of the field [is] thy dwelling, the herb as oxen they do cause thee to eat, and seven times do pass over thee, till that thou knowest that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it.

And they [shall] drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the wild beasts of the field, and they shall feed thee with grass as an ox: and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomsoever he shall please.

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

In the same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor: and he was driven forth from men, and he ate grass as an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hairs were grown like lions’ [hairs], and his nails as birds’ [claws].

34 'And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, mine eyes to the heavens have lifted up, and mine understanding unto me returneth, and the Most High I have blessed, and the Age-during Living One I have praised and honoured, whose dominion [is] a dominion age-during, and His kingdom with generation and generation;

And at the end of the time I Nabuchodonosor lifted up mine eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised him that lives for ever, and gave [him] glory; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom [lasts] to all generations:

35 and all who are dwelling on the earth as nothing are reckoned, 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 doth clap with his hand, and saith to Him, What hast Thou done?

and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and there is none who shall withstand his power, and say to him, What hast thou done?

36 'At that time my understanding doth return unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honour and my brightness doth return unto me, and to me my counsellors and my great men do seek, and over my kingdom I have been made right, and abundant greatness hath been added to me.

At the same time my reason returned to me, and I came to the honour of my kingdom; and my [natural] form returned to me, and my princes, and my nobles, sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and more abundant majesty was added to me.

37 'Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, am praising and exalting and honouring 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.'

Now therefore I Nabuchodonosor praise and greatly exalt and glorify the King of heaven; for all his works are true, and his paths are judgment: and all that walk in pride he is able to abase.