Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

1 ¹ King Nebuchadnezzar to all ^mpeoples, nations, and languages, ⁿthat dwell in all the earth: ^oPeace be multiplied to you! 2 It has seemed good to me to show the ^psigns and wonders that the ^qMost High God has done for me.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 ² I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and ^sthe visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So ^tI made a decree that ^uall the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then ^vthe magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but ^wthey could not make known to me its interpretation. 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named ^xBelteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is ^ythe spirit of the holy gods³—and I told him the dream, saying, 9 “O Belteshazzar, ^zchief of the magicians, because I know that ^ythe spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no ^amystery is too difficult for you, tell me ^sthe visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. 10 ^sThe visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and ^bbehold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 ^cThe tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 ^dIts leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. ^eThe beasts of the field found shade under it, and ^ethe birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

13 “I saw in ^sthe visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, ^fa watcher, ^ga holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He ^hproclaimed aloud and said thus: ⁱ‘Chop down the tree and ^jlop off its branches, ^jstrip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. ^jLet the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 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. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; ^kand let seven periods of time ^lpass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of ^fthe watchers, the decision by the word of ^gthe holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High ^mrules the kingdom of men ⁿand gives it to whom he will and ^osets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O ^pBelteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because ^qall the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for ^rthe spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

19 Then Daniel, whose name was ^pBelteshazzar, was ^sdismayed for a while, and ^this thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, ^umay the dream be for those who hate you ^uand its interpretation for your enemies! 20 ^vThe 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, 21 ^wwhose 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— 22 ^xit is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. ^yYour greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, ^yand your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw ^za watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ^a‘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 ^bseven periods of time pass over him,’ 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 ^cthat you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made ^dto eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and ^bseven periods of time shall pass over you, till ^eyou know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26 And as it was commanded ^fto 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. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by ^gpracticing righteousness, ^hand your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, ⁱthat there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, ^j“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by ^kmy mighty power as a royal residence and for ^kthe glory of my majesty?” 31 ^lWhile 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, 32 ^mand 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, ^muntil you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. ^mHe 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.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

34 ⁿAt the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and ^omy reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored ^phim who lives forever,

36 At the same time ^vmy reason returned to me, and for ^wthe glory of my kingdom, ^wmy majesty and splendor returned to me. ^xMy counselors and ^ymy lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was ^zadded to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, ^apraise and extol and honor the ^bKing of heaven, ^cfor all his works are right and his ways are just; and ^dthose who walk in pride he is able to humble.

The Handwriting on the Wall

1 ^eKing Belshazzar ^fmade a great feast for a thousand of his ^glords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

2 ^eBelshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^hthe vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father¹ had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in ^hthe golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and ⁱpraised the ^jgods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 ^kImmediately ^lthe fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw ^mthe hand as it wrote. 6 ⁿThen the king’s color changed, ^oand his thoughts alarmed him; ^phis limbs gave way, and ^qhis knees knocked together. 7 ^rThe king called loudly to bring in ^rthe enchanters, the ^sChaldeans, and ^tthe astrologers. The king declared² to the wise men of Babylon, ^u“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and ^vshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but ^wthey could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^xalarmed, and his ⁿcolor changed, and his ^ylords were perplexed.

10 The queen,³ because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, ^z“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you ^aor your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom ^bin whom is the spirit of the holy gods.⁴ In the days of your father, ^clight and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—^dmade him chief of the magicians, ^renchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 ^ebecause an excellent spirit, knowledge, and ^funderstanding ^fto interpret dreams, explain riddles, and ^gsolve problems were found in this Daniel, ^hwhom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ⁱthe exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that ^bthe spirit of the gods⁵ is in you, and that ^clight and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now ^jthe wise men, the ^kenchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^lthey could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 ^mBut I have heard that you can give interpretations and ⁿsolve problems. ^oNow if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^oyou shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and ^pshall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^q“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the ^rMost High God ^sgave ^tNebuchadnezzar your father ^ukingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^vall peoples, nations, and languages ^wtrembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But ^xwhen his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^yhe was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 ^zHe was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^zuntil he knew that the ^rMost High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son,^{6 a}Belshazzar, ^bhave not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against ^cthe Lord of heaven. And ^dthe vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^eAnd you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^fbut the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^gwhose are all your ways, ^hyou have not honored.

24 “Then from his presence ⁱthe hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered⁷ the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, ^jyou have been weighed⁸ in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^kthe Medes and ^lPersians.”⁹

29 Then ^aBelshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^mwas clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 ⁿThat very night ^aBelshazzar the ^oChaldean king was killed. 31 ¹⁰ And ^pDarius ^kthe Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.