41 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples , nations , and men of every language that live in all the earth : "May your peace abound ! 2 "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. 3 "How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders ! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation to generation .
4 "I, Nebuchadnezzar , was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace . 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. 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 . 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. 8 "But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god , and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods ; and I related the dream to him, saying, 9 'O Belteshazzar , chief of the magicians , since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no e mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen , along with its interpretation . 10 'Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed : I was looking , and behold , there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great . 11 'The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the sky , And it was visible to the end of the whole earth . 12 'Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant , And in it was 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. 13 'I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed , and behold , an angelic watcher , a holy one , descended from heaven . 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 . 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 be drenched with the dew of heaven , And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth . 16 "Let his mind be changed from that of a man And let a beast's mind be given to him, And let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 "This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones , In order e that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind , And bestows it on whom e He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men ." 18 'This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar , have seen . Now you, Belteshazzar , tell me its interpretation , inasmuch e e as none e of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation ; but you are able , for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.'
19 "Then Daniel , whose name is Belteshazzar , was 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 ! 20 'The tree that you saw , which became large and grew strong , whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth 21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant , and in which was food for all , under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged - 22 it is 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 . 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 be drenched with the dew of heaven , and let him share with the beasts of the field until e seven periods of time pass over him," 24 this is the interpretation , O king , and this is the decree of the Most High , which has come upon my lord the king : 25 that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field , and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven ; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until e you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever e He wishes . 26 'And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree , your kingdom will be assured to you after e you recognize that it is Heaven that rules . 27 'Therefore , O king , may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor , in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity .'
28 "All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king . 29 " Twelve e months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon . 30 "The king reflected and said , 'Is this not Babylon the great , which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty ?' 31 "While the word was in the king's mouth , a voice came from heaven , saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar , to you it is declared : sovereignty has been removed from you, 32 and you will be driven away from mankind , and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field . You will be given grass to eat like cattle , and seven periods of time will pass over you until e you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever e He wishes .' 33 "Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled ; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle , and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until e his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.
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 is an everlasting dominion , And His kingdom endures from generation to generation . 35 " All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted 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 ?' 36 "At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom , and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty , and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37 "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar , praise , exalt and honor the King of heaven , for all His works are true and His ways just , and He is able to humble those who walk in pride ."
