4 ¶ King Nebuchadnezzar, to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

² The signs and wonders that the high God has wrought with me are such that I must publish them.

³ How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

⁴ ¶ I Nebuchadnezzar was quiet in my house and flourishing in my palace;

⁵ I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the imaginations and visions of my head troubled me in my bed.

⁶ Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me that they might show me the interpretation of the dream.

⁷ Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the fortune-tellers came in and I told the dream before them; but they never showed me its interpretation.

⁸ But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, who when I name him it seems to me that I name my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy God; and before him I told the dream, saying,

⁹ Belteshazzar, prince of the wise men, now that I have understood that the spirit of the holy God is in thee, and that no mystery is hidden from thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation.

¹⁰ Thus were the visions of my head in my bed: It seemed that I saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

¹¹ The tree grew and made itself strong, and its height reached unto heaven, and its sight to the end of all the earth:

¹² His leaves were fair, and his fruit abundant, and in him was food for all; underneath him the beasts of the field lay down in his shadow, and in his branches dwelt the fowls of the heaven, and all flesh was fed of him.

¹³ I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, one who was a watchman and holy descended from heaven;

¹⁴ he cried aloud and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under him and the fowls from his branches:

¹⁵ nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and of brass shall he be bound in the green grass of the field; and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:

¹⁶ let his heart be changed from a man’s heart, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

¹⁷ By sentence of the watchmen is the matter resolved, and the case by the word of the holy ones to the intent that the living may know that the most High takes rule over the kingdom of men and gives it to whoever he will and sets up over it the man who is the lowest.

¹⁸ I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw this dream. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, shall declare its interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom could never show me its interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy God in thee.

¹⁹ ¶ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was silent for almost one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. Then the king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, let the dream be to thine enemies, and its interpretation to those that wish thee evil.

²⁰ The tree that thou didst see, which grew and made himself strong, whose height reached unto the heaven and the sight thereof to all the earth;

²¹ whose leaves were fair and his fruit abundant and in him was food for all, under whom the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the fowls of the heaven dwelt:

²² it is thou, O king, that grew and made thyself strong; for thy greatness has grown and has reached unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

²³ And regarding that which the king saw, one who was a watchman and holy who came down from heaven and said, Hew the tree down and destroy it; yet leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and with a band of iron and of brass let it remain bound in the green grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field until seven times pass over him:

²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

²⁵ that they shall drive thee from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall feed thee with grass of the field as the oxen, and with the dew of heaven shalt thou be bathed, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou shalt understand that the most High takes rule over the kingdom of men and that he shall give it to whoever he will.

²⁶ And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots in the earth; thy kingdom shall remain sure unto thee, that thou shalt understand that the rule is in the heavens.

²⁷ Therefore, O king, approve my counsel and redeem thy sins with righteousness and thine iniquities with mercies unto the poor: behold the medicine for thy sin.

²⁸ ¶ All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.

²⁹ At the end of twelve months as he was walking upon the palace of the kingdom of Babylon,

³⁰ the king spoke and said, Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the glory of my greatness?

³¹ The word was yet in the king’s mouth when there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee;

³² and they drive thee from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; and they shall feed thee as the oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee until thou know that the most High takes rule in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he will.

³³ The same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from among men and ate grass as the oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

³⁴ ¶ But at the end of the time I Nebuchad­nezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding was returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and glorified him that lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is through all ages:

³⁵ and all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing; and in the army of heaven and in the inhabitants of the earth, he does according to his will; nor is there anyone who can interfere with his hand and say unto him, What doest thou?

³⁶ In the same time my reason was returned unto me, and I turned to the majesty of my kingdom; my dignity and greatness returned unto me; and my governors and my great ones sought me; and I was restored in my kingdom, and more excellent greatness was added unto me.

³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and build up and glorify the King of heaven because all his works are truth, and his ways judgment: and he is able to humble those that walk with arrogance.