“Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Great Tree, Describing the King’s Fall and Madness”
Daniel 4:20–27
20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 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.
23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet 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;
24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee 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.
26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
President Marion G. Romney said:
“[Daniel] evidenced outstanding courage when, in interpreting the king’s dream, he told the old king that it was ‘the decree of the most High’ (Dan. 4:24), and that he, Nebuchadnezzar, would be driven from men and live with the beasts of the field, eating ‘grass as oxen’ for seven years ‘till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.’ (Dan. 4:25.) And then he counseled the king to ‘break off thy sin . . . and . . . iniquities.’ (Dan. 4:27; see Dan. 4:20, 22, 24–25, 27.)
“Can you imagine the courage that it took for a captive slave to talk like that to the king, whose dominion the record said reached to ‘the end of the earth’? (Dan. 4:22.) Well, that is what he did. And strange as it may seem, he outlived the old king.”
(“We Need Men of Courage,” Ensign, May 1975, 73.)
