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Daniel 4
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Chapter 4
Nebuchadnezzar describes his dream
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‘I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease at home, prosperous in my palace.
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I had a dream; it appalled me. Dread assailed me as I lay in bed; the visions that passed through my head tormented me.
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So I decreed that all the sages of Babylon be summoned to explain to me what the dream meant.
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Magicians, enchanters, Chaldaeans and Wizards came, and I told them what I had dreamt, but they could not interpret it for me.
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Daniel, renamed Belteshazzar after my own god,[*a] and in whom the spirit of God Most Holy resides, then came into my presence. I told him my dream:
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‘Belteshazzar, I said, chief of magicians, I know that the spirit of God Most Holy resides in you and that no mystery puts you at a loss. This is the dream I have had; tell me what it means.
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‘The visions that passed through my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw a tree in the middle of the world; it was very tall.
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The tree grew taller and stronger, until its top reached the sky, and it could be seen from the ends of the earth.
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Its foliage was beautiful, its fruit abundant, in it was food for all. For the wild animals it provided shade, the birds of heaven nested in its branches, all living creatures found their food on it.
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I watched the visions passing through my head as I lay in bed. Next a watcher, a holy one came down from heaven.
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At the top of his voice he shouted, “Cut the tree down, lop off its branches, strip off its leaves, throw away its fruit; let the animals flee from its shelter and the birds from its branches.
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But leave stump and roots in the ground bound with hoops of iron and bronze in the grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, let him share the grass of the earth with the animals.
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Let his heart turn from mankind, let a beast’s heart be given him and seven times pass over him!
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Such is the sentence proclaimed by the watchers, the verdict announced by the holy ones, that every living thing may learn that the Most High rules over the kingship of men, he confers it on whom he pleases, and raises the lowest of mankind.”
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‘This is the dream I had, I, Nebuchadnezzar the king. Now it is for you, Belteshazzar, to pronounce on its meaning, since not one of the sages in my kingdom has been able to interpret it for me; you, however, will be able to, because the spirit of God Most Holy resides in you.’
Daniel interprets the dream
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Daniel, known as Belteshazzar, hesitated for a moment in embarrassment. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not be alarmed at the dream and its meaning’. Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, may the dream apply to your enemies, and its meaning to your foes!
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The tree you saw that grew so tall and strong that it is reached the sky and could be seen from the ends of the earth,
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the tree with beautiful foliage and abundant fruit, with food for all in it, providing shade for the wild animals, with the birds of heaven nesting in its branches,
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that tree is yourself, O king, for you have grown tall and strong; your stature is now so great that it reaches the sky, and your rule extends to the ends of the earth.
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‘And the watcher seen by the king, the holy one coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut the tree down and destroy it, but leave stump and roots in the ground, bound with hoops of iron and bronze in the grass of the field; let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, let him share with the wild animals until seven times have passed over him”:
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the meaning of this, O king, this decree of the Most High passed on my lord the king, is this:
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‘You are to be driven from human society, and live with the wild animals; you will feed on grass like the oxen, you will be drenched by the dew of heaven; seven times will pass over you until you have learnt that the Most High rules over the kingship of men, and confers it on whom he pleases.
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‘And the order, “Leave the stump and roots of the tree”, means that your kingdom will be kept for you until you come to understand that heaven rules all.
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May it please the king to accept my advice: by virtuous actions break with your sins, break with your crimes by showing mercy to the poor, and so live long and peacefully.’
The dream comes true
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This all happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
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Twelve months later, while strolling on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon,
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the king was saying ‘Great Babylon! Imperial palace! ‘Was it not built by me alone, by my own might and power to the glory of my majesty?’
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The boast was not out of his mouth when a voice came down from heaven: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, these words are for you! Sovereignty is taken from you,
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you are to be driven from human society, and live with the wild animals; you will feed on grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you until you have learnt that the Most High rules over the kingship of men, and confers it on whom he pleases.’
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The words were immediately fulfilled: Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society and fed on grass like oxen, and was drenched by the dew of heaven; his hair grew as long as eagle’s feathers, and his nails became like bird’s claws.
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‘When the time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven: my reason returned. And I blessed the Most High, ‘praising and extolling him who lives for ever, for his sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty, his empire lasts from age to age.
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The inhabitants of the earth count for nothing: he does as he pleases with the array of heaven, and with the inhabitants of the earth. No one can arrest his hand or ask him, “What are you doing?”
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‘At that moment my reason returned, and, to the glory of my royal state, my majesty and, splendour returned too. My counsellors and noblemen acclaimed me; I was restored to my throne, and to my past greatness even more was added.
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And now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and glorify the King of heaven, his promises are always faithfully fulfilled, his ways are always just, and he has power to humble those who walk in pride.’
Chapters of Daniel
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
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