Daniel 4:15

4:15 But leave its taproot ¹  in the ground,

with a band of iron and bronze around it ² 

surrounded by the grass of the field.

Let it become damp with the dew of the sky,

and let it live with ³  the animals in the grass of the land.

Daniel 4:32-33

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 ⁴  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 ⁵  this pronouncement about ⁶  Nebuchadnezzar came true. ⁷  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. ⁸ 

Daniel 4:25

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.

Daniel 5:21

5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ¹⁵  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ¹⁶  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

[4:15]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Aram “its lot be.”

[4:32]  ⁴ tn Aram “until.”

[4:33]  ⁷ tn Aram “hour.”

[4:33]  ⁸ tn Or “on.”

[4:33]  ⁹ tn Aram “was fulfilled.”

[4:33]  ¹⁰ tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[4:25]  ¹⁰ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

[4:25]  ¹¹ tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ¹² tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

[4:25]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

[4:25]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “until.”

[5:21]  ¹³ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “his dwelling.”