{[Chapter 3:31 in Aramaic]}Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.
It hath seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me.
How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
{[Chapter 4:1 in Aramaic]}I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the {Or, imaginations}thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying,
O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it.
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.
Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the {Or, matter}demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men.
This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine adversaries.
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation:
it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and {Or, redeem}break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be {Or, as otherwise read, a healing of thine error}a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of twelve months he was walking {Aramaic: upon.}in the royal palace of Babylon.
The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee:
and thou shalt be driven from men; and they dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation;
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can {Aramaic: strike.}stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
At the same time mine understanding returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added unto me.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Querverweise zu Daniel 4,35 Dan 4,35
{According to another reading, If he cause his heart to return unto himself.}If he set his heart upon {Or, man Hebrew: him.}himself,If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what seemeth him good.
Let all the earth fear Jehovah:Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?—
Behold, he seizeth the prey, who can {Or, turn him back}hinder him?Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
All flesh shall perish together,And man shall turn again unto dust.
But {Or, he is one}he is in one mind, and who can turn him?And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
From the place of his habitation he looketh forthUpon all the inhabitants of the earth,
God will not withdraw his anger;The helpers of {Or, arrogancy See Isaiah 30:7.}Rahab {Or, did}do stoop under him.
Behold, {Or, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, For &c.}I will answer thee, in this thou art not just;For God is greater than man.
That respecteth not the persons of princes,Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;For they all are the work of his hands.
In a moment they die, {Or, and at midnight the people &c.}even at midnight;The people are shaken and pass away,And the mighty are taken away without hand.
For his eyes are upon the ways of a man,And he seeth all his goings.
There is no darkness, nor thick gloom,Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
For he needeth not further to consider a man,That he should go before God in judgment.
He breaketh in pieces mighty men {Or, without inquisition}in ways past finding out,And setteth others in their stead.
For he spake, and it was done;He commanded, and it stood fast.
Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to nought;He maketh the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
The counsel of Jehovah standeth fast for ever,The thoughts of his heart to all generations.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.Hear this, all ye peoples;Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
When he giveth quietness, who then can condemn?And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?Alike whether it be done unto a nation, or unto a man:
Why dost thou strive against him,For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, {Or, the isles are as the fine dust that is lifted up}he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as {Or, as a thing of nought}less than nothing, and {Or, confusion}vanity.
But our God is in the heavens:He hath done whatsoever he pleased.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Or hast thou an arm like God?And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;And array thyself with honor and majesty.
Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;And tread down the wicked where they stand.
Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?He that argueth with God, let him answer it.
It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as {Or, gauze}a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as {Or, confusion}vanity.
{Or, Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth, when he bloweth upon them &c.}Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, that hath he done,In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
I know that thou canst do all things,And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Woe unto him that saith unto a father, What begettest thou? or to a woman, With what travailest thou?
Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me.
Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder.
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
There is no wisdom nor understandingNor counsel against Jehovah.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will?
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;
Yea, {Or, from this day forth I &c.}since the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who can hinder it?
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?
calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of {Another reading is, his.}my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.
but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God.
O the depth {Or, of the riches and the wisdom & c.}of the riches {Or, both of wisdom & c.}both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory {Greek: unto the ages.}for ever. Amen.
At that season Jesus answered and said, I {Or, praise}thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
yea, Father, {Or, that}for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
If then God gave unto them the like gift as he did also unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?
to do whatsoever thy hand and thy council foreordained to come to pass.
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and {Or, things of the world below}things under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.