The Koine Bible

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, he said: I was at peace in my house and prospering upon my throne.

I saw and was afraid, and fear fell upon me.

And behold, a tall tree growing upon the earth; its appearance was great, and there was no other like it.

Its appearance was great; its top reached as far as heaven, and its breadth filled as far as the clouds beneath heaven; the sun and the moon dwelt in it, and they illumined all the earth.

Its branches were thirty stadia in length, and beneath it all the beasts of the earth found shade, and in it the birds of heaven nested; its fruit was abundant and good, and it supplied all the living creatures.

In my sleep, and behold, an angel was sent in strength from heaven.

He called out and said to him, “Cut it down and destroy it, for it has been commanded by the Most High to uproot it and render it worthless.”

Thus he said: Leave one root of it in the earth, so that with the beasts of the earth in the mountains it may graze grass like an ox.

May his body be changed from the dew of heaven, and may he be fed with them for seven years.

if he should know that the Lord of heaven has authority over all that is in heaven and over those on the earth, and whatever he wishes he does among them

Mine was cut down in one day, and its destruction in one hour of the day; and its branches were given to every wind, and it was dragged and cast away, and it ate the grass of the earth with the beasts of the earth, and it was handed over to confinement, and with fetters and bronze handcuffs it was bound by them. I was greatly amazed at all these things, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

Rising in the morning from my bed, I called Daniel, the ruler of the wise men and the leader of those who interpret dreams, and I related the dream to him, and he showed me all its interpretation.

But Daniel was astonished, and suspicion hastened upon him; and, becoming afraid, when trembling seized him and the appearance of his vision was changed, he shook his head and, having been astonished for one hour, answered me in a gentle voice: O king, may this dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies.

The tree planted in the earth, whose appearance was great—you are it, O king.

all the birds of heaven nesting in it, the strength of the earth and of all the nations and languages, to the ends of the earth, and all the regions serve you

and for that tree to be exalted and to approach the sky, and for its top to touch the clouds—you, O king, have been exalted above all the people who are upon the face of all the earth; your heart was exalted in arrogance and in power against the Holy One and his angels; your deeds were seen, because you laid waste the house of the living God on account of the sins of the sanctified people.

The vision that you saw, that an angel in strength was sent from the Lord, and that he said to uproot the tree and cut it down—the judgment of the great God will come upon you.

The Most High and his angels are pursuing you.

They will take you into custody and send you to a desolate place.

The root of the tree that was left, since it was not uprooted—the place of your throne shall be preserved for you for a time and an hour. Behold, they are being prepared against you, and they shall scourge you and bring upon you the decreed things.

He lives in heaven, and his authority is over all his earth. Therefore, plead concerning your sins, and redeem all your injustices with acts of mercy, so that clemency may be granted to you and you may become long-lived upon the throne of your kingdom, and these words may not destroy you. For my word is exact, and your time is complete.

At the conclusion of the words, Nabouchodonosor, when he heard the judgment of the vision, kept the words in his heart.

After twelve months, the king was walking upon the walls of the city with all his glory, and he was proceeding upon its towers.

And answering, he said, “This is Babylon the great, which I built, and my royal house; it shall be called in the strength of my power, for the honor of my glory.”

At the completion of his word, he heard a voice from heaven: To you it is said, Nebuchadnezzar the king: The kingdom of Babylon has been taken away from you, and it is given to another, a despised man, in your house. Behold, I appoint him over your kingdom, and he shall take possession of your authority, your glory, and your luxury, so that you may know that the God of heaven has authority over the kingdom of humans, and to whomever he may wish, he gives it. Until sunrise, another king shall rejoice in your house and shall seize your glory, your strength, and your authority.

The angels will drive you away for seven years, and you shall by no means be seen, nor shall you by any means speak with any human being; they will feed you grass like an ox, and your pasture shall be from the grass of the earth. Behold, instead of your glory they will bind you, and another shall possess your house of delight and your kingdom.

And in the morning all these things shall be fulfilled upon you, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and nothing of all these things shall be delayed.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: for seven years I was bound with grass; they fed me like an ox, and I ate from the vegetation of the earth. And after seven years I gave my soul to supplication, and I pleaded concerning my sins before the Lord, the God of heaven, and concerning my ignorances I entreated the great God of gods.

My hairs became like an eagle’s wings, my nails were changed like a lion’s; my flesh and my heart were altered. Naked I walked about with the beasts of the earth. I saw a dream, and suspicions seized me; and after some time a long sleep took hold of me, and drowsiness fell upon me.

At the completion of the seven years, the time of my release came, and my sins and my ignorances were fulfilled before the God of heaven; and I pleaded concerning my ignorances with the God of gods, the great one. And behold, one angel called to me from heaven, saying, “Nebuchadnezzar, serve the holy God of heaven and give glory to the Most High; the kingdom of your nation is being restored to you.”

At that time my kingdom was restored to me, and my glory was returned to me.

I acknowledge and praise the Most High, and I confess and praise the one who created heaven and earth and the seas and the rivers and all that is in them, because he is God of gods and Lord of lords and King of kings, because he performs signs and wonders and changes times and seasons, removing kingdoms from kings and appointing others in their place.

Now I will serve him, and fear of him has seized me, and I praise all his holy ones; for the gods of the nations have no power in themselves to turn a kingdom from one king to another, and to kill and to make alive, and to perform great, wondrous, fearful signs, and to alter exceedingly great things, as the God of heaven did in me and altered great things for me. All the days of my kingdom I will offer sacrifices concerning my soul to the Most High, as a fragrant odor to the Lord, and I will do what is pleasing before him—I and my people and my nation and my lands that are under my authority; and whoever spoke against the God of heaven, and whoever may be caught speaking anything, these I will condemn to death.

And King Nebuchadnezzar: a circular letter to all the peoples and countries and languages in every place, all who dwell in all the countries, throughout generations and generations: Praise the Lord, the God of heaven, and offer sacrifice and offering to him gloriously. I, king of kings, give thanks to him gloriously, because this is what he did with me: on that very day he seated me upon my throne and my authority and my kingdom; among my people I held power, and my greatness was restored to me.

King to all the nations and all the countries and all who dwell in them: May peace be multiplied to you at every time. And now I will show you the deeds that the great God did with me. And it seemed good to me to declare to you and to your wise men that he is God, and his wonders are great; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his authority is from generation to generation. And he sent letters concerning everything that had happened to him in his kingdom, to all the nations that were under his kingdom.