Daniel 4:10

Christian Standard Bible ®

In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the eretz; and the height of it was great.

King James Version
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

English Standard Version
The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

New American Standard Bible
'Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the middle of the earth and its height was great.

New Century Version
These are the visions I saw while I was lying in my bed: I looked, and there in front of me was a tree standing in the middle of the earth. And it was very tall.

Amplified Bible
'The visions that passed through my mind as I lay on my bed were these: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height was great.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed. And beholde, I sawe a tree in the middes of the earth and the height thereof was great:

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.

Berean Standard Bible
In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the middle of the land, and its height was great.

Contemporary English Version
In my sleep I saw a very tall tree in the center of the world.

Complete Jewish Bible
I looked in the visions of my head as I lay on my bed, and there appeared a holy watcher coming down from heaven.

Darby Translation
Thus 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.

Easy-to-Read Version
These are the visions I saw while I was lying in my bed: I looked, and there in front of me was a tree standing in the middle of the earth. The tree was very tall.

George Lamsa Translation
These were the visions which I saw in my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

Good News Translation
"While I was asleep, I had a vision of a huge tree in the middle of the earth.

Lexham English Bible
Now these were the visions of my head as I was lying on my bed: I was gazing and, look, a tree was in the midst of the earth, and its height was exalted.

Literal Translation
As to the visions of my head on my bed, I was looking, and, behold, a tree was in the middle of the earth. And its height was great.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I sawe a vision in my heade vpon my bed: and beholde, there stode a tre vpon the grounde,

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
On my bed I saw a vision: there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very high.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.

King James Version (1611)
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the middest of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thus were the visions of my head vpon my bed: And behold, I saw a tree in the mids of the earth, and the heyght therof was great,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I beheld in the night vision upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven and cried aloud, and thus he said,

English Revised Version
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.

World English Bible
Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height of it was great.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This is the visioun of myn heed in my bed. Y siy, and lo! a tree was in the myddis of erthe, and the hiynesse therof was ful greet.

Update Bible Version
Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I looked, and saw a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thus [were] the visions of my head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its hight [was] great.

New English Translation
Here are the visions of my mind while I was on my bed. While I was watching, there was a tree in the middle of the land. It was enormously tall.

New King James Version
"These were the visions of my head while on my bed: I was looking, and behold, A tree in the midst of the earth, And its height was great.

New Living Translation
"‘While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth.

New Life Bible
This is what I saw in my mind as I lay on my bed: I saw a tree in the center of the land. It was very tall.

New Revised Standard
Upon my bed this is what I saw; there was a tree at the center of the earth, and its height was great.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The visions then of my head upon my bed were these , - I was looking, when lo! a tree in the midst of the land, and, the height thereof, was great.

Douay-Rheims Bible
10 [7] [fn] This was the vision of my head in my bed: I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was exceeding great.

Revised Standard Version
The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and its height was great.

Young's Literal Translation
As to the visions of my head on my bed, I was looking, and lo, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height [is] great:

THE MESSAGE
"‘This is what I saw as I was stretched out on my bed. I saw a big towering tree at the center of the world. As I watched, the tree grew huge and strong. Its top reached the sky and it could be seen from the four corners of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant—enough food for everyone! Wild animals found shelter under it, birds nested in its branches, everything living was fed and sheltered by it.

Contextual Overview

⁴I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. ⁵I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me. ⁶So I issued a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon to me in order that they might make the dream’s interpretation known to me. ⁷When the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. ⁸Finally Daniel, named Belteshazzar after the name of my god—and a spirit of the holy gods is in him—came before me. I told him the dream: ⁹“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, because I know that you have the spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery puzzles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation. ¹⁰In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:¹¹The tree grew large and strong;its top reached to the sky,and it was visible to the ends of the earth. ¹²Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,and on it was food for all.Wild animals found shelter under it,the birds of the sky lived in its branches,and every creature was fed from it. ¹³“As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

saw: Chal, was seeing

a tree: This represented his exceedingly prosperous condition, the height of his exaltation, the extent of his dominions and renown, the splendour of his kingdom, the multitude of his subjects who received protection from him, and the peace and plenty they enjoyed. Daniel 4:20-26, Psalms 37:35, Psalms 37:36, Isaiah 10:33, Isaiah 10:34, Jeremiah 12:2, Ezekiel 31:3-18

Reciprocal: Genesis 40:9 - a vine Judges 9:8 - The trees Ezekiel 17:23 - under Daniel 1:17 - Daniel had understanding Daniel 4:13 - in the Hosea 14:6 - branches Mark 4:32 - shooteth

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
So the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?”

Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

Genesis 4:10
Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!

Genesis 9:5
And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.

Genesis 18:20
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.

Exodus 3:7
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings,

Numbers 35:33
“Do not defile the land where you live, for bloodshed defiles the land, and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

Joshua 7:19
So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make a confession to him. I urge you, tell me what you have done. Don’t hide anything from me.”

2 Kings 9:26
‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday’—this is the Lord’s declaration—’so will I repay you on this plot of land’—this is the Lord’s declaration. So now, according to the word of the Lord, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.”

Job 16:18
Earth, do not cover my blood;may my cry for help find no resting place.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed,.... So things appeared to my fancy thus; they ran in my head or brain in a dream in my bed, as if I saw them with my eyes, as follows; for so I thought,

I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth; an emblem of a powerful prince well settled, and strongly supported in his power and government; so the Assyrian monarch, Ezekiel 31:3 and here Nebuchadnezzar himself, as it is afterwards explained; who was well established in his monarchy, the metropolis of which was Babylon; and which stood pretty much in the midst of the then known world:

and the height thereof was great; taller than trees in common; denoting the superiority of the Babylonian monarch over all kings and kingdoms of the earth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thus were the visions of my head in my bed - These are the things which I saw upon my bed. When he says that they were the “visions of his head,” he states a doctrine which was then doubtless regarded as the truth, that the head is the seat of thought.

I saw - Margin, “was seeing.” Chaldee, “seeing I saw.” The phrase would imply attentive and calm contemplation. It was not a flitting vision; it was an object which he contemplated deliberately so as to retain a distinct remembrance of its form and appearance.

And, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth - Occupying a central position on the earth. It seems to have been by itself - remote from any forest: to have stood alone. Its central position, no less than its size and proportions, attracted his attention. Such a tree, thus towering to the heavens, and sending out its branches afar, and affording a shade to the beasts of the field, and a home to the fowls of heaven Daniel 4:12, was a striking emblem of a great and mighty monarch, and it undoubtedly occurred to Nebuchadnezzar at once that the vision had some reference to himself. Thus in Ezekiel 31:3, the Assyrian king is compared with a magnificent cedar: “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature, and his top was among the thick boughs.” Compare also Ezekiel 17:22-24, where “the high tree and the green tree” refer probably to Nebuchadnezzar. See the note at Isaiah 2:13. Compare Isaiah 10:18-19; Jeremiah 22:7, Jeremiah 22:23. Homer often compares his heroes to trees. Hector, felled by a stone, is compared with an oak overthrown by a thunderbolt. The fall of Simoisius is compared by him to that of a poplar, and that of Euphorbus to the fall of a beautiful olive. Nothing is more obvious than the comparison of a hero with a lofty tree of the forest, and hence, it was natural for Nebuchadnezzar to suppose that this vision had a reference to himself.

And the height thereof was great - In the next verse it is said to have reached to heaven.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Daniel 4:10. I saw - a tree — This vision Nebuchadnezzar says made him afraid. What a mercy it is that God has hidden futurity from us! Were he to show every man the lot that is before him, the misery of the human race would be complete.

Great men and princes are often represented, in the language of the prophets, under the similitude of trees; see Ezekiel 17:5-6; Dan 31:3, c. Jeremiah 22:15; Psalms 1:3; Psalms 37:35.