1I, King Nebuchadnezzar, am writing this letter. I am sending it to people who live all over the world. I’m sending it to people of every nation no matter what language they speak. May you have great success!2I am pleased to tell you what has happened. The Most High God has done miraculous signs and wonders for me.3His signs are great. His wonders are mighty. His kingdom will last for ever. His rule will never end.4I was at home in my palace. I was content and very successful.5But I had a dream that made me afraid. I was lying in bed. Then dreams and visions passed through my mind. They terrified me.6So I commanded that all the wise men in Babylon be brought to me. I wanted them to tell me what my dream meant.7Those who try to figure things out by using magic came. So did those who study the heavens. I told all of them what I had dreamed. But they couldn’t tell me what it meant.8Finally, Daniel came to me. He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him my dream.9I said, ‘Belteshazzar, you are chief of the magicians. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No mystery is too hard for you to figure out. Here is my dream. Tell me what it means.10Here are the visions I saw while I was lying in bed. I looked up and saw a tree standing in the middle of the land. It was very tall.11It had grown to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen anywhere on earth.12Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found safety. The birds lived in its branches. Every creature was fed from that tree.13‘While I was still lying in bed, I looked up. In my visions, I saw a holy one. He was a messenger. He was coming down from heaven.14He called out in a loud voice. He said, “Cut down the tree. Break off its branches. Strip off its leaves. Scatter its fruit. Let the animals under it run away. Let the birds in its branches fly off.15But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put a band of iron and bronze around it. ‘ “Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.16Let him no longer have the mind of a man. Instead, let him be given the mind of an animal. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.17‘ “The decision is announced by holy messengers. So all who are alive will know that the Most High God is King. He rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants. Sometimes he puts the least important people in charge of them.”18‘This is the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, Belteshazzar. None of the wise men in my kingdom can explain it to me. But you can. After all, the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’
Daniel explains Nebuchadnezzar’s dream
19Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar, was very bewildered for a while. His thoughts terrified him. So the king said, ‘Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its meaning make you afraid.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies! I wish its meaning had to do with them!20You saw a tree. It grew to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen from anywhere on earth.21Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found safety. The birds lived in its branches.22Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong. Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky. Your rule has spread to all parts of the earth.23‘Your Majesty, you saw a holy one. He was a messenger. He came down from heaven. He said, “Cut down the tree. Destroy it. But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put an iron and bronze band around it. Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the wild animals. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.”24‘Your Majesty, here is what your dream means. The Most High God has given an order against you.25You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. You will become wet with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognise that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants.26But he gave a command to leave the stump of the tree along with its roots. That means your kingdom will be given back to you. It will happen when you recognise that the God of heaven rules.27So, Your Majesty, I hope you will accept my advice. Stop being sinful. Do what is right. Give up your evil practices. Show kindness to those who are being treated badly. Then perhaps things will continue to go well with you.’
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream comes true
28All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.29It took place twelve months later. He was walking on the roof of his palace in Babylon.30He said, ‘Isn’t this the great Babylon I have built as a place for my royal palace? I used my mighty power to build it. It shows how glorious my majesty is.’31He was still speaking when he heard a voice from heaven. It said, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, here is what has been ordered concerning you. Your royal authority has been taken from you.32You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognise that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants.’33What had been said about King Nebuchadnezzar came true at once. He was driven away from people. He ate grass just as an ox does. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle. His nails became like the claws of a bird.34At the end of that time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up towards heaven. My mind became clear again. Then I praised the Most High God. I gave honour and glory to the God who lives for ever. His rule will last for ever. His kingdom will never end.35He considers all the nations on earth to be nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven. He does what he wants with the nations of the earth. No one can hold back his hand. No one can say to him, ‘What have you done?’36My honour and glory were returned to me when my mind became clear again. The glory of my kingdom was given back to me. My advisers and nobles came to me. And I was put back on my throne. I became even greater than I had been before.37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, give praise and honour and glory to the King of heaven. Everything he does is right. All his ways are fair. He is able to bring down those who live proudly.
Daniel 4
English Standard Version
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
1[1] King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! (Da 3:4; Da 6:25; 1Pe 1:2; 2Pe 1:2)2It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. (Da 3:26; Da 6:27; Joh 4:48)3How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. (Da 2:44; Da 4:2)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream
4[2] I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.5I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. (Da 2:28; Da 7:15)6So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. (Da 2:12; Da 3:10)7Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. (Da 2:2; Da 2:27; Da 4:18; Da 5:8; Da 5:15)8At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods[3]—and I told him the dream, saying, (Ge 41:38; Isa 63:14; Da 1:7; Da 2:11; Da 4:18; Da 5:11)9“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. (Da 2:18; Da 2:48; Da 4:5; Da 4:8; Da 5:11)10The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. (Eze 31:3; Da 4:5)11The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. (Ps 37:35)12Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. (Eze 31:6; Eze 31:7)13“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. (De 33:2; Da 4:5; Da 4:23; Zec 14:5; Jud 1:14)14He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. (Eze 31:12; Da 3:4; Da 4:23; Mt 3:10; Lu 3:9)15But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.16Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. (1Ch 29:30; Da 4:23; Da 4:25)17The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ (1Sa 2:8; Jer 27:5; Da 4:13; Da 4:25; Da 4:32; Da 5:21)18This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” (Ge 41:8; Da 1:7; Da 4:7; Da 4:8; Da 5:8; Da 5:15)
Daniel Interprets the Second Dream
19Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! (1Sa 25:26; 2Sa 18:32; Da 3:24; Da 4:18; Da 5:6)20The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, (Da 4:10)21whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— (Da 4:12)22it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. (Jer 27:6; Eze 31:3)23And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ (Da 4:13; Da 4:14; Da 4:16)24this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king,25that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. (Ps 106:20; Da 4:17; Da 4:23; Da 4:32; Da 5:21)26And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. (Da 4:15; Da 4:23)27Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” (Pr 16:6; Jer 18:8; Jon 3:10; Mt 6:1; Mt 25:35; Lu 11:41; Ac 8:22; 2Ti 2:25)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation
28All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.29At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,30and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Da 2:37; Da 4:36; Da 5:20)31While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, (Da 5:5; Lu 12:20)32and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Da 4:17; Da 4:25; Da 5:21)33Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws. (Da 4:32)
Nebuchadnezzar Restored
34At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; (Ps 10:16; Da 2:44; Da 4:26; Da 4:36; Da 6:26; Da 12:7; Re 4:10)35all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Job 9:12; Ps 115:3; Isa 14:27; Isa 40:17; Isa 45:9; Ro 9:20; Heb 1:13)36At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. (Job 42:12; Da 3:24; Da 4:30; Da 4:34; Da 5:1; Da 5:18; Da 6:7; Da 6:17; Mt 6:33)37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (De 32:4; Ps 33:4; Pr 20:23; Da 4:34; Da 5:20; Da 5:23; Re 15:3)