Daniel 4:23-33

4:23 As for the king seeing a holy sentinel coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven periods of time go by for him’ – 4:24 this is the interpretation, O king! It is the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king. 4:25 You will be driven ¹  from human society, ²  and you will live ³  with the wild animals. You will be fed ⁴  grass like oxen, ⁵  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ⁶  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes. 4:26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven ⁷  rules. 4:27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.” ⁸ 

4:28 Now all of this happened ⁹  to King Nebuchadnezzar. 4:29 After twelve months, he happened to be walking around on the battlements ¹⁰  of the royal palace of Babylon. 4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ¹¹  by my own mighty strength ¹²  and for my majestic honor?” 4:31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, ¹³  a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, ¹⁴  King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you! 4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ¹⁵  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

4:33 Now in that very moment ¹⁶  this pronouncement about ¹⁷  Nebuchadnezzar came true. ¹⁸  He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws. ¹⁹ 

[4:25]  ¹ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

[4:25]  ² tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ³ tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

[4:25]  ⁵ sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder known as boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.

[4:25]  ⁶ tn Aram “until.”

[4:26]  ⁷ sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Cf. the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).

[4:27]  ⁸ tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”

[4:28]  ⁹ tn Aram “reached.”

[4:29]  ¹⁰ tn The word “battlements” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context. Many English versions supply “roof” here (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NLT “on the flat roof.”

[4:30]  ¹¹ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ¹² tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

[4:31]  ¹³ tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”

[4:31]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “to you they say.”

[4:32]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “until.”

[4:33]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “hour.”

[4:33]  ¹⁷ tn Or “on.”

[4:33]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “was fulfilled.”

[4:33]  ¹⁹ tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.