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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Daniel 4 ESV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/daniel/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/daniel/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ESV</a> > Daniel 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../daniel/3.htm" title="Daniel 3">◄</a> Daniel 4 <a href="../daniel/5.htm" title="Daniel 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">English Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/esv/nas/daniel/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div></a><div class="chap"><p class="heading">Nebuchadnezzar Praises God</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span><span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Ch 3:31 in Aramaic">a</a></sup></span> King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.</p> <span class="block-indent"><p class="line-group"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">How great are his signs,</span><br /><span class="indent">how mighty his wonders!</span><br /><span class="ln-group">His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,</span><br /><span class="indent">and his dominion endures from generation to generation.</span></p> <p class="heading">Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span><span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Ch 4:1 in Aramaic">b</a></sup></span> I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or Spirit of the holy God; also verses 9, 18">c</a></sup></span>—and I told him the dream, saying, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.</p> <p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”</p> <p class="heading">Daniel Interprets the Second Dream</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”</p> <p class="heading">Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.</p> <p class="heading">Nebuchadnezzar Restored</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,</p><span class="block-indent"><p class="line-group"><span class="ln-group">for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,</span><br /><span class="indent">and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;</span><br /> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span><span class="ln-group">all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,</span><br /><span class="indent">and he does according to his will among the host of heaven</span><br /><span class="indent">and among the inhabitants of the earth;</span><br /><span class="ln-group">and none can stay his hand</span><br /><span class="indent">or say to him, “What have you done?”</span></p> <p class="same-paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/daniel/4-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="footnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">1</span> Ch 3:31 in Aramaic<br /><span class="footnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">4</span> Ch 4:1 in Aramaic<br /><span class="footnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">8</span> Or <i><span class="catch-word">Spirit of the holy</span> God</i>; also verses 9, 18<br /></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">ESV Text Edition® (2016).<br /><br />The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by <a href="http://www.crossway.org/home/esv/">Crossway Bibles</a>, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.<br /><br />The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. 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