Nebuchadnezzar Confesses God's Kingdom

1‘Nebuchadnezzar the king to all peoples, nations, and languages, who are dwelling in all the earth: Your peace be great! 2The signs and wonders that God Most High hath done with me, it is good before me to shew.

3His signs how great! and His wonders how mighty! His kingdom [is] a kingdom age-during, and His rule [is] with generation and generation.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of a Great Tree

4‘I, Nebuchadnezzar, have been at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace: 5a dream I have seen, and it maketh me afraid, and the conceptions on my bed, and the visions of my head, do trouble me. 6And by me a decree is made, to cause all the wise men of Babylon to come up before me, that the interpretation of the dream they may cause me to know. 7Then coming up are the scribes, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and the dream I have told before them, and its interpretation they are not making known to me. 8And at last come up before me hath Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar — according to the name of my god — and in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods, and the dream before him I have told: 9‘O Belteshazzar, master of the scribes, as I have known that the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee, and no secret doth press thee, the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation, tell.

10As to the visions of my head on my bed, I was looking, and lo, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height [is] great:

11become great hath the tree, yea, strong, and its height doth reach to the heavens, and its vision to the end of the whole land;

12its leaves [are] fair, and its budding great, and food for all [is] in it: under it take shade doth the beast of the field, and in its boughs dwell do the birds of the heavens, and of it fed are all flesh.

13‘I was looking, in the visions of my head on my bed, and lo, a sifter, even a holy one, from the heavens is coming down.

14He is calling mightily, and thus hath said, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its budding, move away let the beast from under it, and the birds from off its branches;

15but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens is it wet, and with the beasts [is] his portion in the herb of the earth;

16his heart from man’s is changed, and the heart of a beast is given to him, and seven times pass over him;

17by the decree of the sifters [is] the sentence, and by the saying of the holy ones the requirement, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it, and the lowest of men He doth raise up over it.

18‘This dream I have seen, I king Nebuchadnezzar; and thou, O Belteshazzar, the interpretation tell, because that all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to cause me to know the interpretation, and thou [art] able, for the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee.

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

19‘Then Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, hath been astonished about one hour, and his thoughts do trouble him; the king hath answered and said, O Belteshazzar, let not the dream and its interpretation trouble thee. Belteshazzar hath answered and said, My lord, the dream — to those hating thee, and its interpretation — to thine enemies! 20The tree that thou hast seen, that hath become great and strong, and its height doth reach to the heavens, and its vision to all the land, 21and its leaves [are] fair, and its budding great, and food for all [is] in it, under it dwell doth the beast of the field, and on its boughs sit do the birds of the heavens. 22‘Thou it [is], O king, for thou hast become great and mighty, and thy greatness hath become great, and hath reached to the heavens, and thy dominion to the end of the earth; 23and that which the king hath seen — a sifter, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, and he hath said, Cut down the tree, and destroy it; but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens it is wet, and with the beast of the field [is] his portion, till that seven times pass over him. 24‘This [is] the interpretation, O king, and the decree of the Most High it [is] that hath come against my lord the king: 25and they are driving thee away from men, and with the beast of the field is thy dwelling, and the herb as oxen they do cause thee to eat, and by the dew of the heavens they are wetting thee, and seven times do pass over thee, till that thou knowest that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it. 26And that which they said — to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom for thee abideth, after that thou knowest that the heavens are ruling. 27‘Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and thy sins by righteousness break off, and thy perversity by pitying the poor, lo, it is a lengthening of thine ease.

The Second Dream Fulfilled

28‘All — hath come on Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29‘At the end of twelve months, on the palace of the kingdom of Babylon he hath been walking; 30the king hath answered and said, Is not this that great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, in the might of my strength, and for the glory of mine honour? 31‘While the word is [in] the king’s mouth a voice from the heavens hath fallen: To thee they are saying: O Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom hath passed from thee, 32and from men they are driving thee away, and with the beast of the field [is] thy dwelling, the herb as oxen they do cause thee to eat, and seven times do pass over thee, till that thou knowest that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it. 33‘In that hour the thing hath been fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar, and from men he is driven, and the herb as oxen he eateth, and by the dew of the heavens his body is wet, till that his hair as eagles’ hath become great, and his nails as birds.’

Nebuchadnezzar's Restoration

34‘And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, mine eyes to the heavens have lifted up, and mine understanding unto me returneth, and the Most High I have blessed, and the Age-during Living One I have praised and honoured, whose dominion [is] a dominion age-during, and His kingdom with generation and generation;

35and all who are dwelling on the earth as nothing are reckoned, and according to his will He is doing among the forces of the heavens and those dwelling on the earth, and there is none that doth clap with his hand, and saith to Him, What hast Thou done?

36‘At that time my understanding doth return unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honour and my brightness doth return unto me, and to me my counsellors and my great men do seek, and over my kingdom I have been made right, and abundant greatness hath been added to me. 37‘Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, am praising and exalting and honouring the King of the heavens, for all His works [are] truth, and His paths judgment, and those walking in pride He is able to humble.’