Daniel 4:12-22

12 Only leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and 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 with the wild beasts in the grass of the field.

13 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.

14 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 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.

15 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.

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

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

18 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:)

19 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.

20 And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and he said, Strip the tree, and destroy it; only leave the stump of its roots in the ground, and with a band of iron and brass; and it shall lie in the grass that is without, and in the dew of heaven, and its portion shall be with wild beasts, until seven times have passed over it;

21 this is the interpretation of it, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king.

22 And they shall drive thee forth from men, and thy dwelling shall be with wild beasts, and they shall feed thee with grass as an ox, and thou shall have thy lodging under the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou known that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and will give it to whom he shall please.

Daniel 4:12-22 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.