{ "apiVersion": "v1", "kind": "Chapter", "metadata": { "generated": "2026-09-12T06:52:38Z", "language": "en", "book": "daniel-woh", "chapter": 4 }, "data": { "n": 4, "bookSlug": "daniel-woh", "bookCode": "DAN-WOH", "refId": "", "title": "Daniel 4 — Nebuchadnezzar's tree-dream, madness, and restoration", "translation": {"track":"translation","version":"1.0.0","sourceText":"Daniel — per-verse layered-witness reconstruction (Masoretic Text Aramaic per BHS Codex Leningradensis primary; DSS 4Q112-4Q113 + 4Q242 Prayer of Nabonidus parallel-tradition secondary where divergent; Old Greek + Theodotion-Greek tertiary where text-critically significant). Chapter 4 = BHS 3:31–4:34 = English 4:1–37; entirely Aramaic; uniquely autobiographical (first-person royal proclamation, with third-person interlude vv 19-33).","sourceLicense":"Best-effort reconstruction; scholarly editions cited; English original to this project","sourceUrl":"(see source-4.json citations)","sourceAccessedVia":"BHS + DJD XVI 2000 + Collins 1993 Hermeneia + Goldingay 1989 WBC + Newsom 2014 OTL + Montgomery 1927 ICC PD + Ziegler-Munnich 1999 + 4Q242 Prayer of Nabonidus per Milik 1956 + Collins DJD XXII","verificationStatus":"best-effort reconstruction; verification pending against BHS apparatus + DJD XVI 2000 DSS apparatus + Ziegler-Munnich 1999 + original codicology","glossaryVersion":"2.69.0","overlayGlossaryVersion":"1.1.0","modelDrafts":["claude-opus-4-7 (translator)","claude-opus-4-7 (editor)","claude-opus-4-7 (reviewer)"],"reviewer":"zarazinsfuss","reviewedAt":"2026-06-07T00:00:00+00:00","status":"stable","reviewerReport":{"reviewer":"claude-opus-4-7 acting as woh-reviewer","reviewedAt":"2026-06-07T00:00:00+00:00","verdicts":[{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:1","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:2","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:3","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:4","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:5","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:6","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:7","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:8","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:9","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:10","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:11","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:12","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:13","status":"approve","citations":["Collins 1993 Hermeneia pp 222-223; cf. 1 Enoch 6-11 'Watchers' (Aramaic ʿîr)"],"reasoning":"ʿîr wə-qaddîš preserved as 'a watcher, a holy one' — lexically transparent and not capitalized; Watchers cross-corpus apparatus correctly attached."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:14","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:15","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:16","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:17","status":"approve","citations":["Collins 1993 Hermeneia pp 222-223; cf. 1 Enoch 6-11 'Watchers' (Aramaic ʿîr)"],"reasoning":"ʿîr wə-qaddîš preserved as 'a watcher, a holy one' — lexically transparent and not capitalized; Watchers cross-corpus apparatus correctly attached."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:18","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:19","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:20","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:21","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:22","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:23","status":"approve","citations":["Collins 1993 Hermeneia pp 222-223; cf. 1 Enoch 6-11 'Watchers' (Aramaic ʿîr)"],"reasoning":"ʿîr wə-qaddîš preserved as 'a watcher, a holy one' — lexically transparent and not capitalized; Watchers cross-corpus apparatus correctly attached."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:24","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:25","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:26","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:27","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:28","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:29","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:30","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:31","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:32","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:33","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:34","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:35","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:36","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."},{"refId":"DAN-WOH-4:37","status":"approve","citations":[],"reasoning":"Faithful rendering."}],"glossaryReview":[],"lens-leakage-flags":[],"glossaryReviewNote":"Full glossary review is attached to chapter-1.json (single-home convention to avoid duplication across 12 chapters)."}}, "segments": [], "lines": [], "paragraphs": [{ "n": 1, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:1", "text": "Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you!" },{ "n": 2, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:2", "text": "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has wrought toward me." },{ "n": 3, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:3", "text": "How great are his signs! How mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation." },{ "n": 4, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:4", "text": "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house, and flourishing in my palace." },{ "n": 5, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:5", "text": "I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the fancies upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me." },{ "n": 6, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:6", "text": "Therefore I made a decree to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream." },{ "n": 7, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:7", "text": "Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them, but they did not make known to me its interpretation." },{ "n": 8, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:8", "text": "But at the last Daniel came in before me — whose name was Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods — and I told the dream before him, saying:" },{ "n": 9, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:9", "text": "O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery troubles you, declare to me the visions of my dream which I have seen, and its interpretation." },{ "n": 10, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:10", "text": "These were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great." },{ "n": 11, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:11", "text": "The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of all the earth." },{ "n": 12, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:12", "text": "Its foliage was fair, and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all; the beasts of the field had shade under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it." },{ "n": 13, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:13", "text": "I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven." },{ "n": 14, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:14", "text": "He cried aloud, and said thus: \"Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches; strip off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches." },{ "n": 15, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:15", "text": "Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, 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." },{ "n": 16, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:16", "text": "Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let the mind of a beast be given to him; and let seven times pass over him." },{ "n": 17, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:17", "text": "The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will, and sets up over it the lowliest of men.\"" },{ "n": 18, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:18", "text": "This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. And you, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you." },{ "n": 19, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:19", "text": "Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, \"Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble you.\" Belteshazzar answered and said, \"My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your adversaries." },{ "n": 20, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:20", "text": "The tree which you saw, which grew and became strong, whose top reached to heaven, and the sight of which was to all the earth;" },{ "n": 21, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:21", "text": "whose leaves were fair, and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation —" },{ "n": 22, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:22", "text": "it is you, O king, that have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth." },{ "n": 23, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:23", "text": "And as for that which the king saw, a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, 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' —" },{ "n": 24, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:24", "text": "this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:" },{ "n": 25, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:25", "text": "that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; you shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will." },{ "n": 26, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:26", "text": "And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be sure to you, from the time that you shall know that Heaven rules." },{ "n": 27, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:27", "text": "Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, that there may be a lengthening of your tranquility.\"" },{ "n": 28, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:28", "text": "All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar." },{ "n": 29, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:29", "text": "At the end of twelve months he was walking upon the royal palace of Babylon." },{ "n": 30, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:30", "text": "The king spoke and said, \"Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal residence, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?\"" },{ "n": 31, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:31", "text": "While the word was still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, \"O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you;" },{ "n": 32, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:32", "text": "and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; you shall be made to eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will.\"" },{ "n": 33, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:33", "text": "In that very hour the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven from among men, and ate grass like 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." },{ "n": 34, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:34", "text": "And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives for ever — for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation;" },{ "n": 35, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:35", "text": "and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say to him, \"What are you doing?\"" },{ "n": 36, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:36", "text": "At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought me; and I was established in my kingdom, and surpassing greatness was added to me." },{ "n": 37, "refId": "DAN-WOH-4:37", "text": "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase." } ] }, "links": { "self": "/v1/library/books/daniel-woh/chapters/4", "book": "/v1/library/books/daniel-woh/", "chapters": "/v1/library/books/daniel-woh/chapters/", "library": "/v1/library/", "schema": "/v1/schema/book/" } }