¹Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ²languages who live in all the earth: “May your ^3apeace be great! 2 I am pleased to declare the signs and miracles that the ^aMost High God has done for me.

4 “¹I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and ^ahappy in my palace. 5 I saw a ^adream and it startled me; and these appearances as I lay on my bed and the ^bvisions ¹in my mind kept alarming me. 6 So I gave orders to ^abring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the ^asoothsayer priests, the sorcerers, the ¹Chaldeans, and the diviners came in and I related the dream ²to them, but they could not make its ^binterpretation known to me. 8 But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is ^aBelteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is ^1ba spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream ²to him, saying, 9 ‘Belteshazzar, ^achief of the soothsayer priests, since I know that ^ba spirit of the holy gods is in you and ^cno secret baffles you, ^dtell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

10 ‘Now these were the ^avisions ¹in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a ^btree in the middle of the ²earth and its height was great.

13 ‘I was looking in the ^avisions ¹in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, ^ban angelic watcher, a ^choly one, descended from heaven.

18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, since none of the ^awise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because a ^bspirit of the holy gods is in you.’

19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his ^athoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^blet the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘^cMy lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you, and its interpretation to ^dyour adversaries! 20 The ^atree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, 21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the sky settled— 22 it is ^ayou, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your ¹majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and your ^bdominion to the end of the earth. 23 And in that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^aChop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump ¹with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let ²him share with the animals of the field until ^bseven ³periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has ^acome upon my lord the king: 25 that you be ^adriven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven ¹periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the ^bMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and ^cbestows it on whomever He wishes. 26 And in that it was commanded to ^aleave the stump ¹with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will ²remain as yours after you recognize that it is ^bHeaven that rules. 27 Therefore, O king, may my ^aadvice be pleasing to you: ^bwipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by ^cshowing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a ^dprolonging of your prosperity.’

28 “All of this ^ahappened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 ^aTwelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king began speaking and was saying, ‘Is this not Babylon the ^agreat, which I myself have built as a royal ¹residence by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?’ 31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice ¹came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: ²sovereignty 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 cattle, and ^bseven ¹periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the ^cMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was ^adriven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

34 “But at the end of ¹that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my ²reason returned to me, and I blessed the ^aMost High and praised and honored ^bHim who lives forever;For His dominion is an ^ceverlasting dominion,And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

36 At that time my ^1areason returned to me. And my majesty and ^bsplendor were ²restored to me for the honor of my kingdom, and my state counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my ³sovereignty, and surpassing ^cgreatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of ^aheaven, for ^ball His works are ¹true and His ways ²just; and He is able to humble those who ^cwalk in pride.”