25 Allt detta hände med kung Nebukadnessar. 26 Tolv månader senare, när kungen en gång gick omkring på taket av det kungliga palatset i Babel, 27 tog han till orda och sade: "Se, detta är det stora Babel som jag har byggt upp till ett kungavälde genom min krafts styrka, min härlighet till ära!"

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25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched(A) with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High(B) is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.(C) 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots(D) means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.(E) 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.(F) It may be that then your prosperity(G) will continue.(H)

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25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

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25 You will be driven[a] from human society,[b] and you will live[c] with the wild animals. You will be fed[d] grass like oxen,[e] and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before[f] you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes. 26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven[g] rules. 27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.”[h]

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 4:25 tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive, as also in vv. 28, 29, and 32.
  2. Daniel 4:25 tn Aram “from mankind,” as also in v. 32.
  3. Daniel 4:25 tn Aram “your dwelling will be,” as also in v. 32.
  4. Daniel 4:25 tn Or perhaps: “be made to eat.”
  5. Daniel 4:25 sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.
  6. Daniel 4:25 tn Aram “until.”
  7. Daniel 4:26 sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Compare the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as: “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).
  8. Daniel 4:27 tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”