Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 Nebuchadnezzar the king,

to all peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you.

² I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace. ⁵ I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. ⁶ Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷ Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.

⁸ But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar according to the name of my god and in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God, and before him I told the dream, saying, ⁹ “Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. ¹⁰ Now these were the visions of my mind while on my bed: I saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. ¹¹ The tree grew and became strong, and its height reached heaven, and it was visible to the end of all the earth. ¹² Its leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all. The animals of the field had shadow under it, and the fowl of the heavens lived in its boughs, and all flesh was fed of it.

¹³ “I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and there was a holy watcher coming down from heaven. ¹⁴ He cried aloud and said thus: ‘Hew down the tree and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get away from under it, and the fowl from its branches. ¹⁵ Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field.

“ ‘And let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth. ¹⁶ Let its heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of an animal. And let seven periods of time pass over it.

¹⁷ “ ‘This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills and sets up over it the basest of men.’

¹⁸ “This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell its interpretation to me, 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 God is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Dream

¹⁹ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream, or its interpretation, trouble you.”

Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, if only the dream was for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies! ²⁰ The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens, and was visible to all the earth, ²¹ and whose leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived, and upon whose branches the fowl of the heavens had their habitation: ²² It 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.

²³ “Whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut the tree down and destroy it, yet leave the stump of its roots in the ground, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. And let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the animals of the field until seven periods of time pass over it’—

²⁴ “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ You shall be driven away from men, and your dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be given grass to eat like oxen, and wet with the dew of heaven. And seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses. ²⁶ Inasmuch as they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, your kingdom shall be assured to you after you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

The Dream Is Fulfilled

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ At the end of twelve months he walked on the roof of the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. ³⁰ The king spoke, saying, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I myself have built as a royal residence by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

³¹ While the word was 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! ³² And you shall be driven away from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be given grass to eat as oxen, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.”

³³ Immediately the thing was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar. And he was driven from men and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

³⁴ But at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him who lives forever:

³⁶ At the same time my reason returned to me. And for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. And my counselors and my lords sought me out. Then I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and those who walk in pride He is able to abase.

Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his mind while on his bed. Then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.

² Daniel spoke and said: I saw in my vision by night the four winds of the heaven striving upon the Mediterranean Sea. ³ Four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse from one another.

⁴ The first was like a lion and had eagle’s wings. I watched until its wings were plucked and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

⁵ Another beast appeared, a second, like a bear, and it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said to it, “Arise, devour much flesh.”

⁶ After this I looked and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a fowl. The beast also had four heads. And dominion was given to it.

⁷ After this I saw in the visions at night a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

⁸ I considered the horns, when there came up among them another little horn before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ I watched until

¹¹ Then I watched because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking. I watched even until the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

¹³ I saw in the night visions, and there was one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. ¹⁴ There was given to Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵ I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those who were standing by and asked him the truth of all this.

So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things. ¹⁷ “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.”

¹⁹ Then I desired to know the truth of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron and its nails of bronze, and which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet; ²⁰ and of the ten horns that were in its head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastful words, whose look was more stout than its fellows. ²¹ I beheld, and the same horn was warring with the saints and prevailing against them ²² until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ Thus he said: “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth and shall tread it down and break it in pieces. ²⁴ The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall rise after them, and he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. ²⁵ He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and plan to change times and law. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.^[a]

²⁶ “But the court shall sit for judgment, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it forever. ²⁷ Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

²⁸ At this point the matter ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me much, and my countenance changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.