Daniel 4:14-16

4:14 He called out loudly ¹  as follows: ² 

‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches!

Strip off its foliage

and scatter its fruit!

Let the animals flee from under it

and the birds from its branches!

4:15 But leave its taproot ³  in the ground,

with a band of iron and bronze around it ⁴ 

surrounded by the grass of the field.

Let it become damp with the dew of the sky,

and let it live with ⁵  the animals in the grass of the land.

4:16 Let his mind ⁶  be altered from that of a human being,

and let an animal’s mind be given to him,

and let seven periods of time ⁷  go by for ⁸  him.

Daniel 4:25-26

4:25 You will be driven ⁹  from human society, ¹⁰  and you will live ¹¹  with the wild animals. You will be fed ¹²  grass like oxen, ¹³  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  rules.

[4:14]  ¹ tn Aram “in strength.”

[4:14]  ² tn Aram “and thus he was saying.”

[4:15]  ³ tn Aram “the stock of its root.” So also v. 23. The implication here is that although the tree is chopped down, it is not killed. Its life-giving root is spared. The application to Nebuchadnezzar is obvious.

[4:15]  ⁴ sn The function of the band of iron and bronze is not entirely clear, but it may have had to do with preventing the splitting or further deterioration of the portion of the tree that was left after being chopped down. By application it would then refer to the preservation of Nebuchadnezzar’s life during the time of his insanity.

[4:15]  ⁵ tn Aram “its lot be.”

[4:16]  ⁶ tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.

[4:16]  ⁷ sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.

[4:16]  ⁸ tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[4:25]  ⁹ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

[4:25]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ¹¹ tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

[4:25]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “until.”

[4:26]  ¹⁵ 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).