Daniel 4

ARC · Chapter 4/12

¹Nabucodonozor rei: a todos os povos, nações, e linguas, que moram em toda a terra: Paz vos seja multiplicada.

²Pareceu-me bem fazer notorios os signaes e maravilhas que Deus, o Altissimo, tem feito para comigo.

³Quão grandes são os seus signaes, e quão poderosas as suas maravilhas! o seu reino é um reino sempiterno, e o seu dominio de geração em geração.

⁴Eu, Nabucodonozor, estava socegado em minha casa, e florescente no meu palacio.

⁵Tive um sonho, que me espantou; e as imaginações na minha cama e as visões da minha cabeça me turbaram.

⁶Por mim pois se fez um decreto, para introduzir á minha presença todos os sabios de Babylonia, para que me fizessem saber a interpretação do sonho.

⁷Então entraram os magos, os astrologos, os chaldeos, e os adivinhadores, e eu contei o sonho diante d'elles; mas não me fizeram saber a sua interpretação.

⁸Porém por fim entrou na minha presença Daniel, cujo nome é Belteshazzar, segundo o nome do meu deus, e no qual ha o espirito dos deuses sanctos; e eu contei o sonho diante d'elle:

⁹Belteshazzar, principe dos magos, pois eu sei que ha em ti o espirito dos deuses sanctos, e nenhum segredo te é difficil; dize-me as visões do meu sonho que tive e a sua interpretação.

¹⁰Eram pois as visões da minha cabeça, na minha cama: eu estava vendo, e eis uma arvore no meio da terra, cuja altura era grande;

¹¹Crescia esta arvore, e se fazia forte, de maneira que a sua altura chegava até ao céu; e foi vista até á extremidade de toda a terra.

¹²A sua folhagem era formosa, e o seu fructo muito, e havia n'ella sustento para todos: debaixo d'ella as bestas do campo achavam sombra, e as aves do céu faziam morada nos seus ramos, e toda a carne se mantinha d'ella.

¹³Estava vendo nas visões da minha cabeça, na minha cama; e eis que um vigia, um sancto, descia do céu,

¹⁴Clamando fortemente, e dizendo assim: Cortae a arvore, e decotae-lhe os ramos, sacudi as suas folhas, espalhae o seu fructo; afugentem-se as bestas de debaixo d'ella, e as aves dos seus ramos.

¹⁵Porém o tronco com as suas raizes deixae na terra, e com atadura de ferro e de bronze, na herva do campo: e seja molhado do orvalho do céu, e a sua porção seja com as bestas na gramma da terra:

¹⁶Seja mudado o seu coração, que não seja mais coração de homem, e lhe seja dado coração de besta; e passem sobre elle sete tempos

¹⁷Esta sentença é por decreto dos vigiadores, e este mando por dito dos sanctos; a fim de que conheçam os viventes que o Altissimo domina sobre os reinos dos homens; e os dá a quem quer, e até ao mais baixo dos homens constitue sobre elles.

¹⁸Isto em sonho vi eu, rei Nabucodonozor: tu, pois, Belteshazzar, dize a interpretação: porque todos os sabios do meu reino não poderam fazer-me saber a sua interpretação; mas tu podes; pois ha em ti o espirito dos deuses sanctos.

¹⁹Então Daniel, cujo nome era Belteshazzar, esteve attonito quasi uma hora, e os seus pensamentos o turbavam; fallou pois o rei, e disse: Belteshazzar, não te espante o sonho, nem a sua interpretação. Respondeu Belteshazzar, e disse; Senhor meu: o sonho seja contra os que te teem odio, e a sua interpretação aos teus inimigos.

²⁰A arvore que viste, que cresceu, e se fez forte, cuja altura chegava até ao céu, e que foi vista por toda a terra,

²¹E cujas folhas eram formosas, e o seu fructo muito, e em que para todos havia mantimento, debaixo da qual moravam as bestas do campo, e em cujos ramos habitavam as aves do céu;

²²Esta arvore és tu, ó rei, que cresceste, e te fizeste forte; e a tua grandeza cresceu, e chegou até ao céu, e o teu dominio até á extremidade da terra

²³E quanto ao que viu o rei, um vigia, um sancto, que descia do céu, e disse: Cortae a arvore, e a destrui, porém o tronco com as suas raizes deixae na terra, e com atadura de ferro e de bronze, na herva do campo; e seja molhado do orvalho do céu, e a sua porção seja com as bestas do campo, até que passem sobre elle sete tempos:

²⁴Esta é a interpretação, ó rei: e este é o decreto do Altissimo, que virá sobre o rei, meu senhor,

²⁵A saber: Lançar-te-hão de entre os homens, e a tua morada será com as bestas do campo, e te farão comer herva como os bois, e serás molhado do orvalho do céu; e passar-se-hão sete tempos por cima de ti: até que conheças que o Altissimo domina sobre o reino dos homens, e os dá a quem quer

²⁶E quanto ao que foi dito, que deixassem o tronco com as raizes da arvore, o teu reino te ficará firme, depois que tiveres conhecido que o céu reina.

²⁷Portanto, ó rei, acceita o meu conselho, e desfaze os teus peccados pela justiça, e as tuas iniquidades usando de misericordia com os pobres, se porventura houver prolongação da tua paz

²⁸Todas estas coisas vieram sobre o rei Nabucodonozor.

²⁹Porque ao cabo de doze mezes, quando andava passeando sobre o palacio real de Babylonia,

³⁰Fallou o rei, e disse: Porventura não é esta a grande Babylonia que eu edifiquei para a casa real, com a força da minha potencia, e para gloria da minha magnificencia?

³¹Ainda estava a palavra na bocca do rei, quando caiu uma voz do céu: A ti se diz, ó rei Nabucodonozor: Passou de ti o reino.

³²E te lançarão d'entre os homens, e a tua morada será com as bestas do campo: far-te-hão comer herva como os bois, e passar-se-hão sete tempos sobre ti, até que conheças que o Altissimo domina sobre os reinos dos homens, e os dá a quem quer.

³³Na mesma hora se cumpriu a palavra sobre Nabucodonozor, e foi lançado d'entre os homens, e comia herva como os bois, e o seu corpo foi molhado do orvalho do céu, até que lhe cresceu pello, como as pennas da aguia, e as suas unhas como as das aves.

³⁴Mas ao fim d'aquelles dias eu, Nabucodonozor, levantei os meus olhos ao céu, e tornou-me a vir o meu entendimento, e eu bemdisse o Altissimo, e louvei e glorifiquei ao que vive para sempre, cujo dominio é um dominio sempiterno, e cujo reino é de geração em geração.

³⁵E todos os moradores da terra são reputados em nada, e segundo a sua vontade faz com o exercito do céu e os moradores da terra: não ha quem possa estorvar a sua mão, e lhe diga, Que fazes?

³⁶No mesmo tempo me tornou a vir o meu entendimento, e para a dignidade do meu reino tornou-me a vir a minha magestade e o meu resplandor; e me buscaram os meus capitães e os meus grandes; e fui restabelecido no meu reino, e se me accrescentou uma gloria maior do que nunca.

³⁷Agora pois eu, Nabucodonozor, louvo, e exalço, e glorifico ao rei do céu; porque todas as suas obras são verdade, e os seus caminhos juizo, e pode humilhar aos que andam na soberba.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree cut down and, despite Daniel's warning for him to humble himself, his pride leads him to lose his sanity for seven years, living like an animal, until he acknowledges that God rules over all kingdoms.

Explanation

This chapter is written in the first person, as a personal testimony from King Nebuchadnezzar himself, a unique format in the Bible that documents the spiritual transformation of a powerful pagan ruler. Daniel's counsel for the king to practice justice and mercy toward the poor (v.27) shows that even a severe warning of judgment comes accompanied by a possible way out through genuine repentance. The medical condition described, in which the king believes himself to be an animal and lives as one for years, has recognized parallels in modern psychiatry to a rare condition called clinical lycanthropy, though the text attributes it directly to God's judgment. The king's final restoration, with the public acknowledgment that 'the Most High rules in the kingdom of men' (v.34-37), shows that even the most powerful can learn genuine humility.

Fun facts

Real Babylonian archaeological inscriptions show an intriguing period in which Nebuchadnezzar appears to have withdrawn from affairs of state, which some scholars see as possible indirect historical confirmation of this episode.
The condition described of believing oneself to be an animal and living accordingly, today clinically called clinical lycanthropy syndrome, is a real psychiatric condition, though rare, recognized by contemporary medicine.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Daniel 4:1The whole chapter is presented as a letter or decree written in the first person by Nebuchadnezzar himself — a rare format in the Bible, in which a pagan king tells his own experience with God.
Daniel 4:2The king chooses to publicly disclose something that could be seen as weakness, his own temporary madness, as a voluntary testimony to God’s power over him.
Daniel 4:3This declaration that God’s kingdom is ‘an everlasting kingdom’ directly contrasts with the sequence of temporary human empires described in the statue dream in chapter 2.
Daniel 4:4The description of peace and prosperity at the start serves as a deliberate contrast with the crisis about to unfold — the text marks that the fall comes precisely at the height of the king’s success.
Daniel 4:5This is the second troubling dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s recorded in the book: after the statue in chapter 2, once again he turns to the court’s wise men before finally calling Daniel.
Daniel 4:6Repeating the same procedure as in chapter 2, summoning all the wise men at once, shows that despite his earlier experience, the king still trusts the traditional methods first before turning to Daniel.
Daniel 4:7This time the king tells the wise men the whole dream, unlike in chapter 2 — yet they still cannot interpret it, showing that the problem was never just remembering the dream, but actually deciphering it.
Daniel 4:8The king explains that he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar in honor of his own god — a reminder that, even while recognizing Daniel’s power, Nebuchadnezzar still thinks within his own Babylonian religious framework.
Daniel 4:9Calling Daniel ‘master of the magicians’ confirms the post given to him at the end of chapter 2: chief over all the wise men of Babylon, including the very ones who had just failed in this chapter.
Daniel 4:10The gigantic tree cut down by order of the ‘watchers’ — heavenly beings, a kind of divine council appearing in other ancient Jewish texts — represents Nebuchadnezzar himself: great and thriving like the tree, but destined to be cut down because of his very greatness.
Daniel 4:11A tree visible ‘to the end of all the earth’ is a common poetic exaggeration for describing empires in ancient literature — the image of a power so great it becomes a landmark for the entire known world.
Daniel 4:12Describing the tree as sustaining animals and people at the same time uses a farming image common in the ancient Near East to represent a ruler who guarantees prosperity to all peoples under his rule.
Daniel 4:13‘Watcher’ and ‘holy one’ are terms that appear only in this chapter of Daniel, likely designating a heavenly being charged with observing and carrying out divine decisions, close to the angels mentioned elsewhere in the book.
Daniel 4:14The order to destroy the tree is given aloud, like a public decree — the same formal, solemn tone used in the other royal decrees scattered throughout the book of Daniel.
Daniel 4:15Leaving the stump bound ‘with a band of iron and brass’ suggests both protection and restraint: the kingdom will not be destroyed completely, but stays confined, unable to grow again until the appointed time.
Daniel 4:16‘Seven times’ is generally understood as seven years, but the text uses deliberately vague language — round numbers like this were common in ancient texts to mark a symbolic period of judgment, without necessarily being an exact count.
Daniel 4:17Saying that God can set ‘the basest of men’ in power is a strong statement about how political authority works in Daniel’s view: neither status nor human merit decides who rules.
Daniel 4:18The king publicly acknowledges, once again, Daniel’s superiority over all the other wise men — a pattern repeated at every crisis in the book, explaining why he ends up promoted so many times.
Daniel 4:19Daniel’s anguished silence for nearly an hour shows he had already grasped the dream’s bad meaning for the king himself — his hesitation to speak is a gesture of genuine reluctance, not mere protocol.
Daniel 4:20Daniel begins by repeating the description of the tree almost word for word, a device common to the book’s dream interpretations, before revealing who it actually refers to.
Daniel 4:21The repetition continues, detailing every element of the tree before the final revelation — a way of making sure the king follows the logic of the interpretation step by step.
Daniel 4:22After repeating the whole description, Daniel finally reveals the obvious thing no one had dared tell the king: the giant tree in the dream is Nebuchadnezzar himself.
Daniel 4:23Repeating the destruction as well confirms that the sentence applies equally to the king: the very tree representing his greatness will be cut down the same way seen in the dream.
Daniel 4:24Daniel makes clear that he is not inventing a punishment, only reporting a decision already made — his role is merely that of messenger for something already decreed.
Daniel 4:25‘Seven times’ probably means seven years, though the word used in the original Aramaic does not specify the unit with certainty — the number carries the sense of a complete, fixed period, more than an exact count.
Daniel 4:26Leaving the roots intact in the dream was already a sign of hope: even the harshest punishment foretold here comes with the assurance that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would not be lost forever.
Daniel 4:27This is the only moment in the book where Daniel gives a pagan king direct, practical advice, caring for the poor, as a possible way to delay or soften a judgment already announced.
Daniel 4:28The short, direct sentence marks the narrative’s turning point: after all the prophetic warning of the previous verses, the text flatly confirms that the sentence was indeed carried out.
Daniel 4:29The twelve-month gap between the warning and the sentence being carried out suggests the king had plenty of time to change his ways before the fall, which makes his arrogance in the next verse all the more glaring.
Daniel 4:30‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built...’ is the exact moment of pride that triggers the punishment — the line sounds like something a ruler would really say while admiring his own work, making the contrast with the humiliation that follows even sharper.
Daniel 4:31The punishment comes the very instant the king finishes boasting about his own greatness — an immediate narrative reversal, with no gap at all between the arrogance and the fall.
Daniel 4:32This is the third time the text repeats almost the same line about eating ‘grass as oxen’ — the hammering repetition reinforces that this is not a vague threat but something that will actually happen, word for word.
Daniel 4:33The description of the king eating grass like oxen, with hair like eagles’ feathers and nails like birds’ claws, is one of the strangest scenes in the Bible — it depicts some kind of severe mental and behavioral collapse, without the text offering any clearer diagnosis beyond that.
Daniel 4:34Nebuchadnezzar’s recovery, ending in praise of the one who ‘ruleth in the kingdom of men,’ closes the chapter with the same lesson as chapter 2: even the most powerful king in the known world is shown to depend on an authority greater than his own.
Daniel 4:35Set against the heavenly army and the earth’s inhabitants, this extreme contrast, everything reduced to ‘nothing’ before God, is exactly the lesson Nebuchadnezzar’s experience was meant to teach any powerful ruler.
Daniel 4:36Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration is not only mental: his counselors and nobles come seeking him out again, showing that the court accepts him back into power as soon as he regains his senses.
Daniel 4:37The chapter ends with the pagan king himself making a declaration of faith — an unusual ending for a biblical story, in which the one who learns the lesson is not an Israelite character, but the most powerful foreign ruler of the age.