Daniel Interprets the Vision

¹⁹ “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his ^(A)thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^(B)let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘^(C)My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you, and its interpretation to ^(D)your adversaries! ²⁰ The ^(E)tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, ²¹ and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky settled— ²² it is ^(F)you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your ^[a]majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and your ^(G)dominion to the end of the earth. ²³ And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^(H)Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump ^[b]with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let ^[c]him share with the animals of the field until ^(I)seven ^[d]periods of time pass over him,” ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has ^(J)come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ that you be ^(K)driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven ^[e]periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the ^(L)Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and ^(M)bestows it on whomever He wishes. ²⁶ And in that it was commanded to ^(N)leave the stump ^[f]with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will ^[g]remain as yours after you recognize that it is ^(O)Heaven that rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, may my ^(P)advice be pleasing to you: ^(Q)wipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by ^(R)showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a ^(S)prolonging of your prosperity.’