Daniel 4:3-13

3 His wonderful acts are great, and his miracles are mighty. His kingdom goes on forever, and his rule continues from now on.

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was happy and successful at my palace,

5 but I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying on my bed, I saw pictures and visions in my mind that alarmed me.

6 So I ordered all the wise men of Babylon to come to me and tell me what my dream meant.

7 The fortune-tellers, magicians, and wise men came, and I told them about the dream. But they could not tell me what it meant.

8 Finally, Daniel came to me. (I called him Belteshazzar to honor my god, because the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I told my dream to him.

9 I said, "Belteshazzar, you are the most important of all the fortune-tellers. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, so there is no secret that is too hard for you to understand. This was what I dreamed; tell me what it means.

10 These are the visions I saw while I was lying in my bed: I looked, and there in front of me was a tree standing in the middle of the earth. And it was very tall.

11 The tree grew large and strong. The top of the tree touched the sky and could be seen from anywhere on earth.

12 The leaves of the tree were beautiful. It had plenty of good fruit on it, enough food for everyone. The wild animals found shelter under the tree, and the birds lived in its branches. Every animal ate from it.

13 "As I was looking at those things in the vision while lying on my bed, I saw an observer, a holy angel coming down from heaven.

Daniel 4:3-13 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.