Daniel 4:4-18

The Vision of a Great Tree

4 "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and ¹flourishing in my palace.

5 "I saw a ²dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the ³visions in my mind kept alarming me.

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

7 "Then the ⁵magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its ⁶interpretation known to me.

8 "But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is ⁷Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is ⁸a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,

9 'O Belteshazzar, ⁹chief of the magicians, since I know that ¹⁰a spirit of the holy gods is in you and ¹¹no * mystery baffles you, ¹²tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

10 'Now these were the ¹³visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a ¹⁴tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.

11 'The tree grew large and became strong And its height ¹⁵reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

12 'Its foliage was ¹⁶beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The ¹⁷beasts of the field found ¹⁸shade under it, And the ¹⁹birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed themselves from it.

13 'I was looking in the ²⁰visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, ²¹an angelic watcher, a ²²holy one, descended from heaven.

14 'He shouted out and spoke as follows: "²³Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit; Let the ²⁴beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches.

15 "Yet ²⁵leave 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 ²⁶seven 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 * that the living may ²⁷know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And ²⁸bestows it on whom * He wishes And sets over it the ²⁹lowliest of men."

18 'This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch * * as none * of the ³⁰wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a ³¹spirit of the holy gods is in you.'

Daniel 4:4-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 4

This chapter was written by Nebuchadnezzar himself; and was either taken out of his archives, or given by him to Daniel, who under divine inspiration inserted it into this work of his; and a very useful instruction it contains, showing the sovereignty of God over the greatest kings and potentates of the earth, and this acknowledged by one of the proudest monarchs that ever lived upon it. It begins with a preface, saluting all nations, and declaring the greatness and power of God, Da 4:1-3 then follows the narrative of a dream the king dreamed, which troubled him; upon which he called for his wise men to interpret it, but in vain; at length he told it to Daniel, Da 4:4-9: the dream itself; which being told, astonished Daniel, the king being so much interested in it, Da 4:10-19, the interpretation of it, with Daniel's advice upon it, is in Da 4:20-27 the fulfilment of it, time and occasion thereof, Da 4:28-33. Nebuchadnezzar's restoration to his reason and kingdom, for which he praises God, Da 4:34-37.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 30:6; Isaiah 47:7, 8
• 2. Daniel 2:3
• 3. Daniel 2:1, 28; Daniel 4:10, 13
• 4. Genesis 41:8; Daniel 2:2
• 5. Genesis 41:8; Daniel 2:10, 27; Daniel 5:7
• 6. Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 27:9, 10; Daniel 2:7
• 7. Daniel 1:7; Daniel 2:26; Daniel 5:12
• 8. Daniel 4:9, 18; Daniel 5:11, 14
• 9. Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:48; Daniel 5:11
• 10. Genesis 41:38; Daniel 4:8
• 11. Ezekiel 28:3; Daniel 2:47
• 12. Genesis 41:15; Daniel 2:4, 5
• 13. Daniel 4:5
• 14. Ezekiel 31:3, 6
• 15. Deuteronomy 9:1; Daniel 4:21, 22
• 16. Ezekiel 31:7
• 17. Jeremiah 27:6; Ezekiel 31:6
• 18. Lamentations 4:20
• 19. Ezekiel 17:23; Matthew 13:32; Luke 13:19
• 20. Daniel 7:1
• 21. Daniel 4:17, 23
• 22. Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalms 89:7; Daniel 8:13
• 23. Ezekiel 31:10-14; Daniel 4:23; Matthew 3:10; Matthew 7:19; Luke 13:7-9
• 24. Ezekiel 31:12, 13; Daniel 4:12
• 25. Job 14:7-9
• 26. Dan 4:23, 25, 32
• 27. Psalms 9:16; Psalms 83:18; Daniel 2:21; Daniel 5:21
• 28. Jeremiah 27:5-7; Daniel 4:25; Daniel 5:18, 19
• 29. 1 Samuel 2:8; Daniel 11:21
• 30. Genesis 41:8, 15; Daniel 4:7; Daniel 5:8, 15
• 31. Daniel 4:8, 9

Footnotes

• [a]. Ch 4:1 in Aram
• [b]. Lit "of my head"
• [c]. Or "soothsayer priests," and so throughout the ch
• [d]. Or "master astrologers"
• [e]. Lit "before"
• [f]. Or possibly "the Spirit of the holy God," and so throughout the ch
• [g]. Lit "before"
• [h]. Lit "of my head"
• [i]. Or "land," and so throughout the ch
• [j]. Lit "flesh"
• [k]. Lit "of my head"
• [l]. Lit "of"
• [m]. Lit "his portion be with"
• [n]. Lit "heart"
• [o]. Lit "heart"
• [p]. I.e. years