Daniel 4:17-32

New American Standard Bible

¹⁷This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers,
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may ^(A)know
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And ^(B)He grants it to whomever He wishes
And sets over it the ^(C)lowliest of people.”

¹⁸This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, since none of the ^(D)wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because a ^(E)spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

Daniel Interprets the Vision

¹⁹“Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his ^(F)thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^(G)let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘^(H)My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you, and its interpretation to ^(I)your adversaries! ²⁰The ^(J)tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, ²¹and 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— ²²it is ^(K)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 ^(L)dominion to the end of the earth. ²³And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^(M)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 ^(N)seven ^[d]periods of time pass over him,” ²⁴this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has ^(O)come upon my lord the king: ²⁵that you be ^(P)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 ^(Q)Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and ^(R)bestows it on whomever He wishes. ²⁶And in that it was commanded to ^(S)leave the stump ^[f]with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will ^[g]remain as yours after you recognize that it is ^(T)Heaven that rules. ²⁷Therefore, O king, may my ^(U)advice be pleasing to you: ^(V)wipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by ^(W)showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a ^(X)prolonging of your prosperity.’

The Vision Fulfilled

²⁸“All of this ^(Y)happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. ²⁹^(Z)Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰The king began speaking and was saying, ‘Is this not Babylon the ^(AA)great, which I myself have built as a royal ^[h]residence by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?’ ³¹While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice ^[i]came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: ^[j]sovereignty has been removed from you, ³²and ^(AB)you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the animals of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and ^(AC)seven ^[k]periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the ^(AD)Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’