Daniel 4

Daniel 4, the fourth chapter of the Bible's Book of Daniel, is presented in the form of a letter from king Nebuchadnezzar II in which he learns a lesson of God's sovereignty, "who is able to bring low those who walk in pride". Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree that shelters the whole world, but an angelic "watcher" appears and decrees that the tree must be cut down and that for seven years, he will have his human mind taken away and will eat grass like an ox. This comes to pass, and at the end of his punishment, Nebuchadnezzar praises God. Daniel's role is to interpret the dream for the king. The message of the story is that all earthly power, including that of kings, is subordinate to the power of God. This chapter forms a contrasting pair with chapter 5, where Nebuchadnezzar learns that God alone controls the world and he is restored to his kingdom, while Belshazzar fails to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's example and has his kingdom taken from him and given to the Medes and Persians. Summary (Summary of Daniel 4 partly based on the translation of C. L. Seow in his commentary on Daniel.) Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon, addresses a letter "to all peoples, nations and languages that live throughout the earth" telling them he will recount the "signs and wonders" that the Most High God has worked for me." Nebuchadnezzar was living in his palace in peace and prosperity when he had a strange dream which troubled him. None of his diviners and magicians were able to explain it for him, and he called for Daniel, chief of all his wise men. This is the dream: The king saw a great tree at the centre of the earth, its top touching heaven, visible to the ends of the earth, and providing food and shelter to all the creatures of the world. As the king watched he saw a "holy watcher" come from heaven and call for the tree to be cut down and his human mind changed to that of a beast for seven "times". This sentence "is rendered by decree of the watchers ... in order that all who live may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of mortals..."