Daniel 4:1-21 ▼

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all peoples, nations and tongues, that dwell in all the earth, your peace shall become great.

2 The signs and wonders that the most high God made with me, it was pleasant before me to show.

3 His signs, how many! and his wonders, how mighty! his kingdom, an eternal kingdom, and his dominion with generation and generation.

4 I Nebuchadnezzar, was secure in my house, and green in my temple:

5 I saw a dream, and it will terrify me; and the conceptions upon my bed and the visions of my head, will cause me to tremble.

6 And an edict being set from me to bring up before me to all the wise of Babel, that they shall make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

7 At that time the sacred scribes, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners, coming in: and I told the dream before them: and its interpretation they making not known to me.

8 And even at last Daniel came up before me, whose name Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods in him: and before him I told the dream:

9 O Belteshazzar, leader of the sacred scribes, for I knew that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and my secret pressed not upon thee; the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation, say thou.

10 And the visions of my head upon my bed; I was seeing, and lo, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height great.

11 And the tree increased and was strong, and its height will reach to the heavens, and its sight to the end of all the earth:

12 Its foliage beautiful, and its fruit great, and food for all in it: and the beasts of the open field will be shaded under it, the buds of the heavens will dwell in its boughs, and all flesh will be nourished from it.

13 I was seeing in the visions of my head upon my bed, and lo, a watcher and holy one came down from the heavens;

14 He called with strength, and thus he said, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit: the beasts shall flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the open field; and in the dew of the heavens it shall be wet, and its portion with the beasts in the green herb of the earth.

16 Its heart shall be changed from man, and the heart of a beast shall be given to it; and seven times shall pass over him.

17 The word by the decree of the watchers, and the saying of the holy ones is the question: for the reason that the living shall know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and to whom that he will, he will give it, and he will raise up over it the low of men.

18 This dream, I king Nebuchadnezzar saw. And thou Belteshazzar, tell the interpretation, because that all the wise of my kingdom not being able to make known to me the interpretation: and thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

19 Then Daniel, his name Belteshazzar, was astonished for one moment, and his thoughts terrified him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, the dream and its interpretation shall not terrify thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream to those hating thee, and its interpretation to thine enemies.

20 The tree that thou sawest that increased and was strong, and its height will reach to the heavens, and its sight to all the earth,

21 And its foliage beautiful, and its fruit great, and food for all in it; under it the beast of the open field will dwell, and in its branches the birds of the heavens will dwell: