Chronological
Dream: “Chop Down the Tree!”
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. 2 I had a dream that frightened me. While on my bed the images and visions in my mind[a] terrified me. 3 So I issued a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon before me so that they could make known to me the meaning of the dream. 4 When the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and diviners came in, I recounted the dream to them, but they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.
5 Finally Daniel—whose name was Belteshazzar after the name of my god and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—came in before me and I told him the dream.
6 I said, “Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. Consider my dream that I have seen and tell me its interpretation.
7 “These are the visions in my head while I was on my bed: I looked, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth. Its height was enormous. 8 The tree grew large and became strong and its top reached to heaven; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 9 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Beneath it the beasts of the field found shade and birds of the sky lived in its branches, and from it all creatures were fed.
10 “I was watching the visions in my mind while on my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven. 11 He called loudly, saying:
‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit!
Let beasts flee from under it,
and birds from its branches.
12 Yet leave a stump with its roots in the earth,
in fetters of iron and bronze,
in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be damp with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth.
13 Let his mind be altered from that of a man
and let an animal’s mind be given to him
and let seven periods of time pass over him.
14 This sentence is by the decree of the watchers,
this verdict by the command of the holy ones,
so that the living may know
that the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man
and bestows it to whomever He wishes,
and may set over them even the lowliest of men.’
15 “I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw this dream. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning, for none of the wise men of my kingdom are able to make known to me its interpretation. But you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Interpretation: A King Eats Grass
16 Then Daniel, whose name is also Belteshazzar, was perplexed for a brief time; his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered, and said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or the interpretation disturb you.”
But Belteshazzar replied, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 17 The tree that you saw grow large and strong, whose top reached to heaven and that was visible to all the earth, 18 whose leaves were beautiful and whose fruit was so abundant that there was food for all in it and beneath which the beasts of the fields lived and in its branches birds of the sky dwelt— 19 it is you, O king! For you have grown great and mighty. Your greatness reaches to heaven, and your authority extends to the end of the earth.
20 “‘You, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one,
coming down from heaven and saying,
‘Chop down the tree and destroy it!
Yet leave a stump with its roots
in the ground,
in fetters of iron and bronze,
in the grass of the field.
Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion be with the beasts of the field,
until seven time periods pass over him.’
21 “This is the interpretation, O king. It is the decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king:
22 “You will be driven away from people and will dwell with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass over you until you know that the Most High is sovereign over the realm of mankind and gives it to whomever He wishes.
23 “The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you[b] as soon as you understand that Heaven is sovereign. 24 Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: Renounce your sins through righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream Fulfilled
25 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 26 At the end of twelve months, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 27 the king exclaimed, “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
28 The words were still in the king’s mouth when a voice fell from heaven. “King Nebuchadnezzar, it has been decreed to you that your kingdom has been removed from you! 29 You will be driven away from men and you will live with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and seven periods of time will pass over you until you come to know that the Most High is sovereignover the realm of mankind and gives it to whomever He wishes.”
30 Immediately the word about Ne-buchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from men, ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
31 But at the end of the appointed days, I Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes up to heaven and my sanity returned to me. So I blessed the Most High and I praised and honored Him who lives forever.
“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and His kingdom endures from generation to generation!
32 All the inhabitants of earth are counted as nothing.
He does as He wills with the army of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can hold back His hand,
or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’
33 “At that moment my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and my splendor were restored to me, for the glory of my kingdom. My ministers and nobles sought me out and I was reestablished over my kingdom. I became even greater than before. 34 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, because all His works are right and His ways just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
Handwriting on the Wall
5 King Belshazzar held a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles and was drinking wine in front of the thousand. 2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his consorts and his concubines could drink from them. 3 So they brought the gold vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, consorts and concubines drank from them. 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.
5 At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand emerged and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace opposite the lampstand, so that the king could see the back of the hand that was writing. 6 The color drained from the king’s face, his thoughts alarmed him, his hips gave way and his knees began knocking together.
7 The king called loudly to summon the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain around his neck, and will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom!”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription nor tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew pale. His nobles were baffled.
10 The queen hearing the words of the king and his nobles entered the banquet hall. The queen spoke out and said, “May the king live forever! Do not let your thoughts frighten you, or your face be so pale! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father, he was found to have insight and intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. So King Nebuchadnezzar your father made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and diviners. 12 This man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, was found to have extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight for interpreting dreams, explaining riddles, and solving problems. Now, let Daniel be summoned and he will explain the interpretation.”
13 So Daniel was brought before the king and the king said to Daniel, “Are you Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah that my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard about you, how a spirit of the gods is in you and how there has been found in you insight, discernment and extraordinary wisdom. 15 Just now the wise men and diviners were brought before me to read this writing and to make its meaning known to me, but they are unable to declare its interpretation. 16 However, I have heard about you that you are able to provide interpretations and to solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and explain to me its meaning, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain around your neck and have the authority to rule as the third in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered the king saying, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and tell him its meaning. 18 Your majesty, God Most High gave your father Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom, as well as greatness, glory, and splendor. 19 Because of the grandeur that He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and languages dreaded and feared him. He killed whomever he wanted and spared anyone he wanted; he raised up whomever he wished and humbled anyone he wished. 20 But when his heart became haughty and his spirit hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from among men and his mind became like an animal, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he fed on grass like an ox, and his body was damp with the dew of heaven until he recognized that God Most High is sovereign over the realm of mankind and that He sets up over it whomever He wills.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. 23 Instead you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of His House brought before you, and you and your nobles, your consorts and your concubines have been drinking wine in them. You have praised the gods made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. Yet you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways. 24 Therefore, the hand was sent from Him that wrote this inscription.
25 “Now this is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the inscription:
MENE: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.
28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, they clothed Daniel with purple, put a chain of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation about him that he would have the authority as third ruler in the kingdom.
30 On that very night King Belshazzar of the Chaldeans was slain.
6 So Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of 62.
Delivered from the Lions’ Den
2 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the whole kingdom 3 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them so that the king would not be troubled. 4 Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself among the supervisors and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit in him. In fact, the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. 5 At this time the supervisors and satraps tried to find ground for a charge against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they were unable to find fault or corruption, because he was trustworthy and no negligence or dishonesty could be found in him. 6 Finally these men said, “We’re not going to find any basis for charges against this man Daniel, unless we find something against him regarding the law of his God.”
7 So these supervisors and satraps went in to the king as a group, and said to him, “King Darius, live forever! 8 All the supervisors of the realm, the magistrates and satraps, ministers and governors, have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce a decree that anyone who prays to any god or man for 30 days other than you O king, will be cast into the lions’ den. 9 Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it may not be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 10 Thereupon King Darius issued the written decree.
11 Now when Daniel learned that a written decree had been issued, he went into his house, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt down, prayed and gave thanks before his God, just as he did before. 12 Then these men came as a group and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 13 So they approached the king and spoke to him about the royal decree: “Didn’t you issue a written decree that anyone who prays to any god or man for 30 days—except for you, O king—shall be cast into the den of lions?”
The king replied, “The decree stands, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
14 Then they answered and said to the king: “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree that you put in writing. He still prays three times a day!” 15 When the king heard this report, he was deeply distressed, and he set his mind on how he might rescue Daniel. Until sunset he struggled to find a way to save him.
16 Then these men came as a throng in to the king, and said to the king: “Remember, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or edict which the king issues may be altered.”
17 So the king gave the order and Daniel was brought and thrown into the lions’ den. Now the king spoke to Daniel saying, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 18 A stone was brought to block the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet of his nobles, so that nothing could be changed regarding Daniel. 19 Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting—no entertainment was brought before him. He was unable to sleep.
20 At dawn the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 21 As he reached the den, he cried out to Daniel with a voice of anguish. The king spoke out to Daniel saying: “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God, whom you serve continually, able to rescue you from the lions?”
22 Daniel spoke to the king: “May the king live forever! 23 My God sent His angel to shut the lions’ mouths[c] so that they haven’t harmed me, because I was found innocent before Him. Nor have I committed any crime against you, O king.”
24 Then the king was overjoyed, and ordered Daniel taken up out of the den. So Daniel was lifted out of the pit. No injury of any kind was found on him because he had trusted in his God. 25 At the king’s command, those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives. They had not even reached the bottom of the pit before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
26 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages dwelling in all the earth:
“May your peace be abundant!
27 I issue a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom people are to tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.
“For He is the living God,
enduring forever!
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
His dominion will never end.[d]
28 He delivers and rescues.
He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth.
He has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions!”
29 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.