Daniel 4

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the peoples, the races and the tongues who are dwelling in all the earth, Let, your prosperity, abound!

King Nabuchodonosor to all nations, tribes, and tongues, who dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.

2 The signs, and the wonders, which the most high God, hath wrought with me, it is pleasing before me to declare.

It seemed good to me to declare to you the signs and wonders which the most high God has wrought with me,

3 His signs, how great! and, his wonders, how mighty! His kingdom, is an age-abiding kingdom, and, his dominion, lasteth from generation to generation.

how great and mighty [they are]: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to all generations.

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at peace in mine own house, and was prosperous in my palace.

I Nabuchodonosor was thriving in my house, and prospering.

5 A dream, I saw, and it made me afraid, —and, fancies upon my bed, and visions of my head, terrified me.

I saw a vision, and it terrified me, and I was troubled on my bed, and the visions of my head troubled me.

6 Therefore made I a decree, to bring in before me, all the wise men of Babylon, —who, the interpretation of the dream, should make known to me.

And I made a decree to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

7 Then came in the sacred scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers, —and, the dream, told I before them, but, the interpretation, could they not make known to me.

So the enchanters, magicians, soothsayers, [and] Chaldeans came in: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof;

8 Howbeit, at last, came before me—Daniel, whose, name, was Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and, the dream—before him, I told [saying]:

until Daniel came, whose name is Baltasar, according to the name of my God, who has within him the Holy Spirit of God; to whom I said,

9 O Belteshazzar, chief of the sacred scribes, because I know that, the spirit of the holy gods, is in thee, —and no secret giveth thee trouble, [therefore], the visions of my dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof, do thou tell.

O Baltasar, chief of the enchanters, of whom I know that the Holy Spirit of God is in thee, and no mystery is too hard for thee, hear the vision of my dream which I had, and tell me the interpretation of it.

10 The visions then of my head upon my bed [were these], —I was looking, when lo! a tree in the midst of the land, and, the height thereof, was great.

I had a vision upon my bed; and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

11 The tree, grew, and became strong, —and, the height thereof, reached unto the heavens, and, the view thereof, unto the end of all the land:

The tree grew large and strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its extent to the extremity of the whole earth:

12 The foliage thereof, was beautiful, and, the fruit thereof, abundant, and there was food for all therein, —under it, the wild beast of the field found shade, and, among its branches, dwelt the birds of the heavens, and, therefrom, was well fed, all flesh.

its leaves were fair, and its fruit abundant, and in it was meat for all; and under it the wild beasts of the field took shelter, and the birds of the sky lodged in the branches of it, and all flesh was fed of it.

13 I was looking, in the visions of my head, upon my bed, when lo! a watcher and holy one, outer the heavens, coming down.

I beheld in the night vision upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven, and cried aloud, and thus he said,

14 He cried aloud, and, thus, he said—Hew ye down the tree, and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves, and scatter its fruit, —let the wild beasts flee from under it, and the birds, out of its branches;

Cut down the tree, and pluck off its branches, and shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the wild beasts be removed from under it, and the birds from its branches.

15 Nevertheless, the stock of its roots in the earth, leave ye, yea in a bond of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and, with the dew of the heavens, let it be drenched, and, with the wild beasts, be its portion, amongst, the herbage of the earth;

Only leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and [bind it] 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 [shall be] with the wild beasts in the grass of the field.

16 Let, its heart, from a man’s, be changed, and, the heart of a wild beast, be given to it, —and let seven seasons pass over it.

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.

17 By the decree of the watchers, is the thing, and [by] the mandate of the holy ones, the matter: to the intent that the living, may get to know, that the Most High, hath dominion, over the kingdom of men, and, to whomsoever he pleaseth, he giveth it, and, one low among men, he setteth up over it.

The matter is by the decree of the watcher, and the demand is a word of the holy ones; that the living may know that the Lord is most high [over] 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.

18 This dream, have, I, King Nebuchadnezzar, seen. Thou, therefore, O Belteshazzar, the interpretation, do thou tell, forasmuch as, all the wise men of my kingdom, are unable, the interpretation, to make known to me, but, thou, art able, because, the spirit of the holy gods, is in thee.

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.

19 Then, Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for about one moment, and, his thoughts, troubled him. The king spake and said, O Belteshazzar, let neither, the dream, nor the interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My Lord, The dream, be for them who hate thee, and, the interpretation, for them who are thy foes.

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

20 The tree which thou sawest, which grew and became strong, whose, height, reached unto the heavens, and, the view, thereof to all the earth:

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

21 Whose, foliage, was beautiful, and whose, fruit, abundant, and, food for all, was in it, —under it, dwelt the wild beasts of the field, and, in the branches thereof, nestled the birds of the heavens:

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: )

22 Thyself, it is, O king, in that thou art grown, and become strong, —and, thy greatness hath grown, and reached to the heavens, and, thy dominion, to the end of the earth.

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.

23 And, whereas the king saw a watcher and holy one coming down out of the heavens, who said, Hew ye down the tree and despoil it, nevertheless, the stock of its roots—in the earth, leave ye, even in a bond of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, —and, with the dew of the heavens, let it he drenched, and, along with the wild beasts of the field, be its portion, until that, seven seasons, pass over it.

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 [bind it] 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;

24 This, is the interpretation, O king, —and, the decree of the Most High, it is, which hath come upon my lord the king:

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.

25 That, thee, are they going to drive forth from among men, and, along with the wild beasts of the field, shall be thy dwelling, and, grass—like oxen, will they suffer, thee, to eat, and, with the dew of the heavens, will they suffer, thee, to be drenched, and, seven seasons, shall pass over thee, —until that thou come to know, that the Most High, hath dominion, over the kingdom of men, and, to whomsoever he pleaseth, he giveth it.

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 shalt have thy lodging under the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and will give it to whom he shall please.

26 And, whereas they gave word to leave the stock of the roots of the tree, thy kingdom, unto thee, is sure, —after that thou come to know, that the heavens, have dominion.

And whereas they said, Leave the stumps of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom abides [sure] to thee from the time that thou shalt know the power of the heavens.

27 Wherefore, O king, let, my counsel, be pleasing unto thee, thy sin, then, —by righteousness, break thou off, and, thine iniquities, by shewing favour to the oppressed, —if so be it may become the lengthening out of thy security.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel please thee, and atone for thy sins by alms, and [thine] iniquities by compassion on the poor: it may be God will be long-suffering to thy trespasses.

28 All this, came upon Nebuchadnezzar the king.

All these things came upon king Nabuchodonosor.

29 At the end of twelve months, over the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, was he walking:

After a twelvemonth, as he walked in his palace in Babylon,

30 the king spake and said, Is not, this, Babylon the great, —which, I myself, have built as the home of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the dignity of my majesty?

the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal residence, by the might of my power, for the honour of my glory?

31 While yet the word was in the mouth of the king, a voice, out of the heavens, fell, —Unto thee, is it said, O Nebuchadnezzar the king, The kingdom, hath departed from thee;

While the word was yet in the king’s mouth, there came a voice from heaven, [saying], To thee, king Nabuchodonosor, they say, The kingdom has departed from thee.

32 And, from among men, are they going to drive, thee, forth, and, with the wild beast of the field, shall be thy dwelling, grass—like oxen, will they suffer, thee, to eat, and, seven seasons, shall pass over thee, —until that thou come to know that the Most High, hath dominion, over the kingdom of men, and, to whomsoever he pleaseth, he giveth it.

And they [shall] drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the wild beasts of the field, and they shall feed thee with grass as an ox: and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomsoever he shall please.

33 Immediately, the word, was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and, from among men, was he driven forth, and, grass—like oxen, did he eat, and, with the dew of the heavens, his body was drenched, —until that, his hair, like to eagles’ feathers, was grown, and his nails, like birds’ claws.

In the same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor: and he was driven forth from men, and he ate grass as an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hairs were grown like lions’ [hairs], and his nails as birds’ [claws].

34 And, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, mine eyes unto the heavens, did uplift, and, mine understanding, unto me, returned, and, the Most High, I blessed, and, to him that liveth age-abidingly, I rendered praise and honour, —whose dominion, is an age-abiding dominion, and, his kingdom, lasteth from generation to generation;

And at the end of the time I Nabuchodonosor lifted up mine eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised him that lives for ever, and gave [him] glory; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom [lasts] to all generations:

35 And, all the inhabitants of the earth, as nothing, are accounted, and, according to his own pleasure, dealeth he—with the army of the heavens, and the inhabitants of the earth, —and none there is who can smite upon his hand, or say to him, What hast thou done?

and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and there is none who shall withstand his power, and say to him, What hast thou done?

36 At the same time, mine understanding, returned unto me, and, for the dignity of my kingdom, my majesty and my brightness, returned unto me, and, unto me, my nearest friends and my nobles, did seek, —and, over my kingdom, was I restored, and, surpassing greatness, was added unto me.

At the same time my reason returned to me, and I came to the honour of my kingdom; and my [natural] form returned to me, and my princes, and my nobles, sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and more abundant majesty was added to me.

37 Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, am praising and extolling and honouring the King of the Heavens, all whose works, are truth, and, his ways, right; and, them who walk in pride, he is able to abase,

Now therefore I Nabuchodonosor praise and greatly exalt and glorify the King of heaven; for all his works are true, and his paths are judgment: and all that walk in pride he is able to abase.