Daniel 4:1-22 ▼

1 King Nabuchodonosor to all nations, tribes, and tongues, who dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.

2 It seemed good to me to declare to you the signs and wonders which the most high God has wrought with me,

3 how great and mighty they are : his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to all generations.

4 I Nabuchodonosor was thriving in my house, and prospering.

5 I saw a vision, and it terrified me, and I was troubled on my bed, and the visions of my head troubled me.

6 And I made a decree to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

7 So the enchanters, magicians, soothsayers, and Chaldeans came in: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof;

8 until Daniel came, whose name is Baltasar, according to the name of my God, who has within him the Holy Spirit of God; to whom I said,

9 O Baltasar, chief of the enchanters, of whom I know that the Holy Spirit of God is in thee, and no mystery is too hard for thee, hear the vision of my dream which I had, and tell me the interpretation of it.

10 I had a vision upon my bed; and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

11 The tree grew large and strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its extent to the extremity of the whole earth:

12 its leaves were fair, and its fruit abundant, and in it was meat for all; and under it the wild beasts of the field took shelter, and the birds of the sky lodged in the branches of it, and all flesh was fed of it.

13 I beheld in the night vision upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven and cried aloud, and thus he said,

14 Cut down the tree, and pluck off its branches, and shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the wild beasts be removed from under it, and the birds from its branches.

15 Only leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and bind it with an iron and brass band; and it shall lie in the grass that is without and in the dew of heaven, and its portion shall be with the wild beasts in the grass of the field.

16 His heart shall be changed from that of man, and the heart of a wild beast shall be given to him; and seven times shall pass over him.

17 The matter is by the decree of the watcher, and the demand is a word of the holy ones; that the living may known that the Lord is most high over the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomsoever he shall please, and will set up over it that which is set at nought of men.

18 This is the vision which I king Nabuchodonosor saw: and do thou, Baltasar, declare the interpretation, for none of the wise men of my kingdom are able to shew me the interpretation of it: but thou, Daniel, art able; for the Holy Spirit of God is in thee.

19 Then Daniel, whose name is Baltasar, was amazed about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. And Baltasar answered and said, My lord, let the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation of it to thine enemies.

20 The tree which thou sawest, that grew large and strong, whose height reached to the sky and its extent to all the earth;

21 and whose leaves were flourishing, and its fruit abundant, (and it was meat for all; under it the wild beasts lodged, and the birds of the sky took shelter in its branches:)

22 is thyself, O king; for thou art grown great and powerful, and thy greatness has increased and reached to heaven, and thy dominion to the ends of the earth.