| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1 King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: “Peace and prosperity to you! |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2“I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His kingdom will last forever, his rule through all generations. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon, so they could tell me what my dream meant. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7When all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8At last Daniel came in before me, and I told him the dream. (He was named Belteshazzar after my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9“I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10“‘While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13“‘Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14The messenger shouted, “Cut down the tree and lop off its branches! Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit! Chase the wild animals from its shade and the birds from its branches. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16For seven periods of time, let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a human. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17For this has been decreed by the messengers ; it is commanded by the holy ones, so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses— even to the lowliest of people.” |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18“‘Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’ Daniel Explains the Dream |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19“Upon hearing this, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) was overcome for a time, frightened by the meaning of the dream. Then the king said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, don’t be alarmed by the dream and what it means.’ “Belteshazzar replied, ‘I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you! |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20The tree you saw was growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21It had fresh green leaves and was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22That tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23“‘Then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals of the field for seven periods of time.” |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24“‘This is what the dream means, Your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to my lord the king. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26But the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules. |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27“‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’ The Dream’s Fulfillment |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28“But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. |
| 29[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 29Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. |
| 30[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 30As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ |
| 31[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 31“While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. |
| 32[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 32You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’ |
| 33[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 33“That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws. Nebuchadnezzar Praises God |
| 34[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 34“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. |
| 35[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 35All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ |
| 36[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 36“When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. |
| 37[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 37“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.” |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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