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14 He called out loudly[a] as follows:[b]
‘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.
15 But leave its taproot[c] in the ground,
with a band of iron and bronze around it[d]
surrounded by the grass of the field.
Let it become damp with the dew of the sky,
and let it live with[e] the animals in the grass of the land.

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 4:14 tn Aram “in strength.”
  2. Daniel 4:14 tn Aram “and thus he was saying.”
  3. Daniel 4:15 tn Aram “the stock of its root,” as also in 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. Daniel 4:15 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.
  5. Daniel 4:15 tn Aram “its lot be.”

14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree(A) and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.(B) 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.

“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.

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