Exile · c. 570 BC
Chapter 10
The Tree Cut Down
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
For parents
While King Nebuchadnezzar boasts of the great city he has built, a voice from the sky takes his kingdom from him. He is driven from people and lives with the wild animals, eating grass like oxen, until his hair has grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws (Daniel 4:29–33). At the end his understanding and his kingdom come back to him (4:34–36). It is told plainly, without frightening detail.
King sent a letter to all the peoples and nations of every language, everywhere on earth. “May you have more and more peace!” he wrote. “ has done signs and wonders for me, and it pleases me to tell you about them.”
In the letter he says:
How great his signs are!How mighty his wonders!His kingdom is a kingdom without end.His rule goes on from generation to generation.
The letter goes on with the king’s story. Nebuchadnezzar was resting in his house, and all was going well for him in his palace, when a dream made him afraid. As he lay in bed, the thoughts and visions that came into his head troubled him.
So he gave orders for all the wise men of to be brought to him. They were to tell him what the dream meant. The magicians, the enchanters, the and the fortune-tellers came in, and he told them the dream. But they did not tell him what it meant.
At last came in to see the king. Daniel’s other name was , which came from the name of the king’s god. The king writes that the spirit of the holy gods is in Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar told him the dream.
“Belteshazzar, master of the magicians,” the king said, “I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret is too hard for you. Tell me the visions I saw in my dream, and what they mean.
“This is what I saw as I lay in bed. I looked, and there in the middle of the earth was a tree, and it was very tall. The tree grew big and strong. Its top reached the sky, and it could be seen from the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, and it had plenty of fruit, with food on it for everyone. The wild animals had shade under it, and the birds of the sky lived in its branches. Every living thing got its food from it.
“As I lay there, watching the visions in my head, I saw a holy coming down from the sky. He shouted, ‘Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches! Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit! Let the animals get away from under it, and the birds from its branches. Yet leave its stump in the earth, roots and all, with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of the sky. Let him have his share with the animals in the grass of the earth.
“‘Let his heart be changed from a human heart, and let him be given the heart of an animal. Then let seven times pass over him. The watchers have decreed it, and the holy ones have given the command, so that everyone alive may know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of people. He gives them to whoever he wants, and he sets the lowest of people over them.’
“I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had this dream. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None of the wise men of my kingdom can explain it to me. But you can do it, because you have the spirit of the holy gods in you.”
Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar, was struck silent for a while, and his thoughts troubled him.
“Belteshazzar,” said the king, “don’t let the dream or its meaning trouble you.”
“My lord,” Belteshazzar answered, “if only the dream were for those who hate you, and its meaning for your enemies!
“The tree you saw grew big and strong. Its top reached the sky, and all the earth could see it. Its leaves were beautiful, it had plenty of fruit, and there was food on it for everyone. The wild animals lived under it, and the birds of the sky made their home in its branches. It is you, O king. You have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown so much that it reaches the sky, and your rule reaches to the end of the earth.
“You saw a holy watcher come down from the sky and say, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, yet leave its stump in the earth, roots and all, with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of the sky, and let him have his share with the wild animals until seven times pass over him.’
“This is what it means, O king. It is the Most High’s decree about my lord the king. You will be driven from people, and your home will be with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like oxen, and you will be wet with the dew of the sky. Seven times will pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of people and gives them to whoever he wants.
“The command was to leave the tree’s stump, roots and all. That means your kingdom will be given back to you after you learn that Heaven rules.
“So, O king, please take my advice. Break off your sins by doing right, and break off your wrongs by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your peace will last longer.”
All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Twelve months later, he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon. “Isn’t this great Babylon,” the king said, “which I have built as my royal home, by my own great strength and for the glory of my majesty?”
The king was still speaking when a voice came from the sky. “King Nebuchadnezzar, these words are for you: the kingdom has gone from you. You will be driven from people, and your home will be with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like oxen. Seven times will pass over you, until you come to know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of people and gives them to whoever he wants.”
That same hour it came true. Nebuchadnezzar was driven from people, and he ate grass like oxen. His body was wet with the dew of the sky until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
The letter ends in the king’s own words. “When that time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my understanding came back to me. I blessed the Most High. I praised and honored the one who lives forever:
His rule will never end.His kingdom goes on from generation to generation.Everyone who lives on the earth counts as nothing.He does as he wishes with the army of heavenand with the people who live on the earth.No one can stop his handor ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
“At that same time my understanding came back to me. My majesty and my splendor came back to me too, to bring glory to my kingdom. My counselors and my nobles came looking for me. I was set firmly in my kingdom, and I was made greater than before.
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and lift high and honor the King of heaven. He is true in all he does, and his ways are fair. And he is able to bring down those who walk in pride.”