In the eighteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar he said: I was at peace in my house and prospering upon my throne. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was prospering in my house and flourishing.
I saw a dream, and I was afraid, and fear fell upon me. I saw a dream, and it terrified me; and I was troubled upon my bed, and the visions of my head alarmed me.
And a decree was set forth by me to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
And the enchanters, the magicians, the diviners and the Chaldeans came in, and I told the dream before them, but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
until Daniel came in, whose name is Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, who has a holy spirit of God within himself; and I told the dream before him:
“Belteshazzar, chief of the enchanters, of whom I know that a holy spirit of God is in you, and no mystery is beyond you: hear the vision of the dream that I saw, and tell me its interpretation.
I was sleeping, and behold, a lofty tree growing upon the earth; its appearance was great, and there was no other like it. Upon my bed I was watching, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.
And its appearance was great; its top drew near to heaven, and its girth reached to the clouds, filling the places beneath heaven; the sun and the moon dwelt in it and gave light to all the earth. The tree grew great and strong, and its height reached to heaven, and its girth to the ends of all the earth.
Its branches were about thirty stadia in length, and beneath it all the beasts of the earth took shade, and in it the birds of heaven nested; its fruit was abundant and good, and it supplied all living creatures. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all; and beneath it the wild beasts sheltered, and in its branches the birds of heaven dwelt, and from it all flesh was fed.
I was watching in my sleep, and behold, an angel was sent in strength from heaven. I was watching in a vision of the night upon my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.
And he called out and said to him: Cut it down and destroy it, for it has been decreed by the Most High to uproot it and make it useless. And he cried out with strength and spoke thus: Cut down the tree and pluck off its branches and shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit; let the beasts be shaken away from beneath it, and the birds from its branches.
And he spoke thus: Leave one root of it in the earth, so that with the beasts of the earth he may feed on grass like an ox in the mountains. Only leave the growth of its roots in the earth, and in a band of iron and bronze; and he shall lie down in the grass outside and in the dew of heaven, and his portion shall be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.
And let his body be changed by the dew of heaven, and let him feed with them for seven years. His heart shall be changed from that of men, and the heart of a beast shall be given to him, and seven seasons shall be changed over him.
until he knows that the Lord of heaven has authority over all that is in heaven and on earth, and does among them whatever he wills. Before me it was cut down in a single day, and its ruin came in one hour of the day; its branches were given to every wind, and it was dragged away and cast off. And he ate the grass of the earth with the beasts of the earth, and he was handed over to confinement and was bound fast by them with fetters and bronze manacles. I marvelled exceedingly at all these things, and my sleep departed from my eyes. The word is by the decree of a watcher, and the demand is the utterance of holy ones, so that the living may know that the Most High is lord of the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomever it seems good to him, and will set over it the most despised of men.
And rising early from my bed I called Daniel, the chief of the sages and the leader of those who judge dreams, and I told him the dream, and he showed me the whole interpretation of it. This is the dream which I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. And you, Baltasar, tell the interpretation, for all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to make its interpretation known to me; but you, Daniel, are able, because a holy spirit of God is in you.
But Daniel marvelled greatly, and misgiving pressed hard upon him; and being afraid, with trembling laying hold of him and his countenance altered, he shook his head for one hour in utter astonishment, and answered me with a gentle voice: O king, may this dream be for those who hate you, and may its interpretation come upon your enemies. Then Daniel, whose name was Baltasar, was struck dumb for about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. And the king answered and said: Baltasar, let not the dream and its interpretation press hard upon you. And Baltasar answered and said: My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies.
The tree planted in the earth, whose appearance was great — it is you, O king. The tree which you saw, which grew great and became strong, whose height reached to heaven and its mass to all the earth.
And all the birds of heaven that nested in it — these are the strength of the earth, and of the nations and of all the tongues to the ends of the earth; and all the countries serve you. And its leaves were luxuriant and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all; beneath it the wild beasts dwelt, and in its branches the birds of heaven lodged.
But as for the tree being lifted high and drawing near to heaven, and its mass touching the clouds: you, O king, have been exalted above all the men who are on the face of the whole earth; your heart was lifted up in pride and in strength against the Holy One and his angels; and your deeds were seen, in that you laid waste the house of the living God because of the sins of the sanctified people. It is you, O king, for you were magnified and grew strong, and your greatness was magnified and reached to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.
And the vision which you saw, that an angel was sent in strength from the Lord and that he said to take away the tree and cut it down: the judgement of the great God will come upon you. And that the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and he said: Pluck up the tree and destroy it, but leave the growth of its roots in the earth, and in a band of iron and bronze; and he shall lodge in the grass outside and in the dew of heaven, and his portion shall be with wild beasts, until seven seasons are changed over him.
And the Most High and his angels are bearing down upon you. This is its interpretation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king.
They will lead you away into confinement and send you off to a desert place. And they shall drive you out from among men, and your dwelling shall be with wild beasts, and they shall feed you grass like an ox, and you shall lodge in the dew of heaven, and seven seasons shall be changed over you, until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever it seems good to him.
And as for the root of the tree that was left, since it was not uprooted: the place of your throne shall be kept for you until a season and an hour. Behold, they are making ready against you, and they will scourge you and bring upon you the things that have been decreed. And as for their saying, Leave the growth of the roots of the tree: your kingdom shall remain yours from the time you come to know the heavenly authority.
The Lord lives in heaven, and his authority is over all the earth; entreat him concerning your sins, and ransom all your iniquities with acts of mercy, so that clemency may be granted you and you may be long-lived upon the throne of your kingdom, and that he may not destroy you. Love these words, for my word is exact and your time is full. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be pleasing to you: ransom your sins with acts of mercy and your iniquities with compassion on the poor; perhaps God will be long-suffering toward your transgressions.
And at the conclusion of the words, Nebuchadnezzar, when he heard the judgement of the vision, kept the words in his heart. All these things came upon Nebuchadnezzar the king.
And after twelve months the king was walking on the walls of the city with all his glory, and was passing along upon its towers. After twelve months, as he was walking upon the temple of his kingdom in Babylon,
And he answered and said: This is Babylon the great, which I built, and it shall be called the house of my kingdom by the might of my power, to the honour of my glory. The king answered and said: Is not this Babylon the great, which I built as a royal house by the might of my strength, to the honour of my glory?
And at the end of his word he heard a voice from heaven: To you it is said, King Nebuchadnezzar: the kingdom of Babylon has been taken from you and is given to another, a despised man in your house. Behold, I set him over your kingdom, and he shall take over your authority and your glory and your luxury, so that you may recognize that the God of heaven has authority in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he wills. And by the rising of the sun another king shall make merry in your house and shall take hold of your glory and your strength and your authority. While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven: To you they say, King Nebuchadnezzar: the kingdom has passed from you.
And the angels shall pursue you for seven years, and you shall not be seen nor shall you speak with any man; they shall feed you grass like an ox, and the green herb of the earth shall be your pasture. Behold, in place of your glory they shall bind you, and another shall hold the house of your luxury and your kingdom. And they shall drive you out from among men, and your dwelling shall be with wild beasts, and they shall feed you grass like an ox, and seven seasons shall be changed over you, until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever it seems good to him.
And by morning all shall be accomplished upon you, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and nothing of all these things shall be lacking. I, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, was bound for seven years; they fed me grass like an ox, and I ate of the green herb of the earth. And after seven years I gave my soul to supplication and made petition for my sins before the face of the Lord God of heaven, and concerning my ignorances I entreated the great God of gods. And my hairs became like an eagle's wings, my nails like a lion's; my flesh and my heart were changed; naked I walked about with the beasts of the earth. I saw a dream, and misgivings seized me, and after a time much sleep took me and drowsiness fell upon me. In that very hour the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven out from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched by the dew of heaven, until his hairs grew long like lions' and his nails like birds'.
And at the completion of the seven years my time of release came, and my sins and my ignorances were filled up before the God of heaven, and I entreated the great God of gods concerning my ignorances. And behold, one angel called me from heaven, saying: Nebuchadnezzar, serve the holy God of heaven and give glory to the Most High; the kingship of your nation is being given back to you. And after the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my senses returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and glorified him who lives forever, for his authority is an everlasting authority and his kingdom endures to generation and generation.
And all who dwell on the earth were reckoned as nothing, and according to his will he acts among the power of heaven and among the dwellers of the earth, and there is no one who can withstand his hand and say to him: What have you done?
At that time my kingdom was restored to me, and my glory was given back to me. At that same time my senses returned to me, and I came back to the honour of my kingdom, and my form returned to me; and my rulers and my nobles sought me out, and I was made strong over my kingdom, and yet greater majesty was added to me.
To the Most High I give thanks, and I praise him who created the heaven and the earth and the seas and the rivers and all that is in them; I confess and praise, because he is God of gods and Lord of lords and King of kings, because he himself does signs and wonders and alters seasons and times, taking away the kingdom of kings and setting up others in their stead. From now on I will serve him, and from fear of him trembling has taken hold of me, and I praise all his holy ones; for the gods of the nations do not have in themselves the strength to turn the kingdom of a king over to another king, nor to kill and to make alive, nor to do signs and great and fearful wonders, nor to alter exceedingly great matters, as the God of heaven did with me and altered great matters upon me. I, all the days of my reign, will offer sacrifices to the Most High for my soul, as a fragrant odour to the Lord, and I will do what is pleasing before him — I and my people, my nation and my provinces that are under my authority. And as many as have spoken against the God of heaven, and as many as may be caught saying anything, these I will condemn to death. And King Nebuchadnezzar wrote a circular letter to all the nations in every place and to the countries and to all the tongues dwelling in all the countries, throughout generations and generations: Praise the Lord the God of heaven, and bring him sacrifice and offering gloriously; I, king of kings, give him thanks gloriously, because he has dealt thus with me; on that very day he seated me upon my throne, and I took hold of my authority and my kingdom among my people, and my majesty was restored to me. Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the nations and all the countries and all who dwell in them: may peace be multiplied to you at every season. And now I will set before you the deeds which the great God has done with me; it seemed good to me to demonstrate to you and to your sages that God exists, and his wonders are great, his kingship a kingship forever, his authority from generations to generations. And he sent letters concerning all the things that had befallen him in his kingdom to all the nations that were under his kingdom. Now therefore I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and highly exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because all his works are true and his paths are judgement, and all who walk in pride he is able to humble.