The Prophet Daniel

⭑ Literal Standard Version 2020 ⭑

- Kapitel 4 -

“Nebuchadnezzar the king to all peoples, nations, and languages, who are dwelling in all the earth: Your peace be great!

The signs and wonders that God Most High has done with me, it is good before me to show.

How great His signs! And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom [is] a continuous kingdom, and His rule [is] with generation and generation.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Great Tree

I, Nebuchadnezzar, have been at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace:

a dream I have seen, and it makes me afraid, and the conceptions on my bed, and the visions of my head, trouble me.

And 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.

Then 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.

And at last Daniel has come up before me, 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:

O Belteshazzar, master of the scribes, as I have known that the spirit of the holy gods [is] in you, and no secret presses you, the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation, tell.

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

the tree has become great, indeed, strong, and its height reaches to the heavens, and its vision to the end of the whole land;

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

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

He is calling mightily, and thus has 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;

but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, 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;

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

by 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 wills He gives it, and the lowest of men He raises up over it.

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

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

Then Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, has been astonished about one hour, and his thoughts trouble him; the king has answered and said, “O Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its interpretation trouble you.” Belteshazzar has answered and said, “My lord, the dream—to those hating you, and its interpretation—to your enemies!

The tree that you have seen, that has become great and strong, and its height reaches to the heavens, and its vision to all the land,

and its leaves [are] beautiful, and its budding great, and food for all [is] in it, under it the beast of the field dwells, and on its boughs the birds of the heavens sit.

It [is] you, O king, for you have become great and mighty, and your greatness has become great, and has reached to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth;

and that which the king has seen—a sifter, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, and he has 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 bronze, 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, until seven times pass over him.

This [is] the interpretation, O king, and it [is] the decree of the Most High that has come against my lord the king:

and they are driving you away from men, and your dwelling is with the beast of the field, and they cause you to eat the herb as oxen, and they are wetting you by the dew of the heavens, and pass over you seven times, until you know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He wills He gives it.

And that which they said—to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom abides for you, after that you know that the heavens are ruling.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and your sins by righteousness break off, and your perversity by pitying the poor, behold, it is a lengthening of your ease.”

The Second Dream Fulfilled

All—has come on Nebuchadnezzar the king.

At the end of twelve months, on the palace of the kingdom of Babylon he has been walking;

the king has answered and said, “Is this not that great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, in the might of my strength, and for the glory of my honor?”

While the word is [in] the king’s mouth a voice from the heavens has fallen: “They are saying to you: O Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom has passed from you,

and from men they are driving you away, and your dwelling [is] with the beast of the field, they cause you to eat the herb as oxen, and pass over you seven times, until you know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He wills He gives it.”

In that hour the thing has been fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar, and from men he is driven, and he eats the herb as oxen, and his body is wet by the dew of the heavens, until his hair has become great as eagles, and his nails as birds.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

“And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, have lifted up my eyes to the heavens, and my understanding returns to me, and I have blessed the Most High, and the Perpetual Living One I have praised and honored, whose dominion [is] a continuous dominion, and His kingdom with generation and generation;

and all who are dwelling on the earth are reckoned as nothing, 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 claps with his hand and says to Him, What have You done?

At that time my understanding returns to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and my brightness return to me, and to me my counselors and my great men seek, and over my kingdom I have been made right, and abundant greatness has been added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, am praising and exalting and honoring 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.”