Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language that live in all the earth: “May your ^apeace abound! 2 It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the ^aMost High God has done for me.

4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and ^aprospering in my palace. 5 I saw a ^adream and it made me afraid; and the fantasies and thoughts and the ^bvisions that appeared in my mind as I lay on my bed kept alarming me. 6 So I gave orders to ^abring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the ^amagicians, the enchanters (Magi) , the Chaldeans who were the master astrologers and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not ^binterpret it and make known its meaning to me. 8 But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name is ^aBelteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is ^1ba spirit of the holy gods; and I told the dream to him, saying, 9 ‘O Belteshazzar, ^achief of the magicians, because I know that ^ba spirit of the holy gods is in you and ^cno mystery baffles or troubles you, ^dtell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

10 ‘The ^avisions that passed through my mind as I lay on my bed were these: I was looking, and behold, there was a ^btree in the middle of the earth, and its height was great.

13 ‘And behold, I saw in the ^avisions of my mind as I lay on my bed, ^ban angelic watcher, a ^choly one, descended from heaven.

18 This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, explain its meaning, since none of the ^awise men of my kingdom are able to reveal its interpretation to me; but you are able, for a ^bspirit of the holy gods is in you.’

19 “Then Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar, was appalled and speechless for a while because he was deeply concerned about the destiny of the king, and his ^athoughts alarmed him. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^blet the dream or its interpretation frighten you.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘^cMy lord, may the dream be meant for those who hate you and its message for ^dyour enemies! 20 The ^atree that you saw, which became great and grew strong, whose height reached to heaven and which was visible to all the earth, 21 whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and on which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the sky nested— 22 it is ^ayou, O king, who have become great and grown strong; your greatness has increased and it reaches to heaven, and your ^bdominion reaches to the ends of the earth. 23 In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^aCut the tree down and destroy it; but leave the stump with its roots in the earth, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him feed with the beasts of the field until ^bseven periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is the decree of the Most High God, which has ^acome upon my lord the king: 25 that you shall be ^adriven from mankind and your dwelling place shall be with the beasts of the field; and that you be given grass to eat like the cattle and be wet with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know without any doubt that the ^bMost High God rules over the kingdom of mankind and He ^cbestows it to whomever He desires. 26 And in that it was commanded to ^aleave the stump with the roots of the tree in the earth, your kingdom shall be restored to you after you recognize (understand fully) that ^bHeaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my ^aadvice to you be considered and found acceptable; ^bbreak away now from your sins and exhibit your repentance by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by ^cshowing mercy to the poor, so that if you repent there may possibly be a ^dcontinuance of your prosperity and tranquility and a healing of your error.’

28 “All this ^ahappened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 ^aTwelve months later he was walking on the upper level of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king said thoughtfully, ‘Is not this the ^agreat Babylon which I myself have built as the royal residence and seat of government by the might of my power and for the honor and glory of my majesty?’ 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came as if falling from heaven, saying, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: “The kingdom has been removed from you, 32 and ^ayou will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the animals of the field. You will be given grass to eat like the cattle, and ^bseven periods of time will pass over you until you know without any doubt that the ^cMost High God rules over the kingdom of mankind and He bestows it on whomever He desires.”’ 33 Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was ^1adriven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.

34 “But at the end of the days that is, at the seven periods of time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my understanding and reason returned to me; and I blessed the ^aMost High God and I praised and honored and glorified ^bHim who lives forever,For His dominion is an ^ceverlasting dominion;And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

36 Now at the same time my ^areason returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and ^bsplendor were returned to me, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was re-established in my kingdom, and still more ^cgreatness than before was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the King of ^aheaven, for ^ball His works are true and faithful and His ways are just, and He is able to humiliate and humble those who ^cwalk in self-centered, self-righteous pride.”