4:1  Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: "May your peace abound!

4:2  "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.

4:3  "How great do we consider His signs And how mighty do we consider His wonders! His kingdom will become an everlasting kingdom And His dominion endures from generation to generation.

4:4  "I, Nebuchadnezzar, felt at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.

4:5  "I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.

4:6  "So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

4:7  "Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

4:8  "But finally Daniel came in before me, who also has the name as Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom dwells a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,

4:9  'O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods dwells in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

4:10  'Now these constituted the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I looked, and behold, there grew a tree in the midst of the earth and it had great height.

4:11  'The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the sky, And it became visible to the end of the whole earth.

4:12  'Its foliage looked beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it contained food for all The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed themselves from it.

4:13  'I looked in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

4:14  'He shouted out and spoke as follows: " Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit; Let the beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches.

4:15  "Yet leave the stump 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 become drenched with the dew of heaven, And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

4:16  "Let his mind become changed from that of a man And let a beast's mind become given to him, And let seven periods of time pass over him.

4:17  " Angelic watchers decreed his sentence And the holy ones commanded the decision , In order that the living may know That the Most High rules over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men."

4:18  'This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom can make known to me the interpretation; but you can, for a spirit of the holy gods dwells in you.'

4:19  "Then Daniel, who also has the name Belteshazzar, felt appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him The king responded and said, 'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you ' Belteshazzar replied, ' My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!

4:20  'The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and appeared visible to all the earth

4:21  and whose foliage looked beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which provided food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged--

4:22  it represents you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth.

4:23  'In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, " Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump 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 become drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,"

4:24  this constitutes the interpretation, O king, and this constitutes the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:

4:25  that God will drive you away from mankind and your dwelling place will become with the beasts of the field, and you will eat grass like cattle and become drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High rules over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.

4:26   'And in that the command came to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will return to you after you recognize that Heaven rules.

4:27  'Therefore, O king, may my advice please you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may continue a prolonging of your prosperity.'

4:28  "All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.

4:29  " Twelve months later he walked on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.

4:30  "The king reflected and said, ' Has not Babylon achieved greatness, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'

4:31  "While the word became uttered in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you I declare: I will remove your sovereignty from you,

4:32  and you will become driven away from mankind, and you will dwell with the beasts of the field You will eat grass like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High rules over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.'

4:33  "Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar became fulfilled; and God drove him away from mankind and Nebuchadnezzar began eating grass like cattle, and his body became drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

4:34  "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion endures as an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

4:35  " All the inhabitants of the earth I account as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ' What have You done?'

4:36  "At that time my reason returned to me And my majesty and splendor became restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I became reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness increased in me.

4:37  "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works I know as true and His ways just, and He can humble those who walk in pride."