Daniel 4:14

14 He cried {aloud} and so he said: "Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

Daniel 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 4:14

He cried aloud
Or, with strengths; ^F12 being a mighty angel, and that he might be heard far and near: and said thus, hew down the tree;
remove this mighty monarch from his throne; take away his government from him: this is said to fellow angels employed in the affairs of Providence, and the execution of them, to bring about an event so momentous: and cut off his branches;
take away his provinces, each of the parts of his dominion, from him: shake off his leaves:
cause his deputy governors to shake off their allegiance to him: and scatter his fruit;
the revenues of his vast empire, and let others take them: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches;
those that have either voluntarily betook themselves to him for protection; or have been carried captive by him, and have lived under his shadow, whether of the more barbarous nations, or more civilized, as the Jews; let them take the opportunity of withdrawing from him, and returning to their own lands; see ( Jeremiah 51:9 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (lyxb) "in virtute", Montanus; "cum robore", Gejerus; "fortier", Cocceius, Michaelis; "strenue", Junius & Tremellius, Broughtonus.

Daniel 4:14 In-Context

12 Its foliage [was] beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it [was] provision for all. Under it the animals of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven nested, and from it all the living beings were fed.

13 " 'I was looking in the vision of my head [as I lay] on my bed, and look, a watcher, and [a] holy [one], came down from heaven.

14 He cried {aloud} and so he said: "Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

15 But the stump of its roots leave in the earth, {along with} a band of iron and bronze; [leave it] in the grass of the field. And in the dew of heaven let it be watered, and with the animals let his lot [be] in [the] grass of the earth.

16 Let his mind be changed from [that of a] human, and let [the] mind of an animal be given to him, and let seven times pass over him.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "in strength"