Daniel 4:10-26

New American Standard Bible

¹⁰‘Now these were the ^(A)visions ^[a]in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a ^(B)tree in the middle of the ^[b]earth and its height was great.

¹¹The tree grew large and became strong
And its height ^(C)reached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
¹²Its foliage was ^(D)beautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The ^(E)animals of the field ^[c]found ^(F)shade under it,
And the ^(G)birds of the sky lived in its branches,
And all ^[d]living creatures fed from it.

¹³‘I was looking in the ^(H)visions ^[e]in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, ^(I)an angelic watcher, a ^(J)holy one, descended from heaven.

¹⁴He shouted out and spoke as follows:
“^(K)Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the ^(L)animals flee from under it
And the birds from its branches.
¹⁵Yet ^(M)leave the stump ^[f]with its roots in the ground,
But with a band of iron and bronze around it
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And let ^[g]him share with the animals in the grass of the earth.
¹⁶Let his ^[h]mind change from that of a human
And let an animal’s ^[i]mind be given to him,
And let ^(N)seven ^[j]periods of time pass over him.
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 ^(O)know
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And ^(P)He grants it to whomever He wishes
And sets over it the ^(Q)lowliest of people.”

¹⁸This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, since none of the ^(R)wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because a ^(S)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 ^(T)thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^(U)let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘^(V)My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you, and its interpretation to ^(W)your adversaries! ²⁰The ^(X)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 ^(Y)you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your ^[k]majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and your ^(Z)dominion to the end of the earth. ²³And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^(AA)Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump ^[l]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 ^[m]him share with the animals of the field until ^(AB)seven ^[n]periods of time pass over him,” ²⁴this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has ^(AC)come upon my lord the king: ²⁵that you be ^(AD)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 ^[o]periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the ^(AE)Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and ^(AF)bestows it on whomever He wishes. ²⁶And in that it was commanded to ^(AG)leave the stump ^[p]with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will ^[q]remain as yours after you recognize that it is ^(AH)Heaven that rules.