Daniel 4 · Verse 23

Daniel 4:23

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;
Daniel 4:23, King James Version

Daniel 4:23 in other translations

BSBAnd you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass him by.’
WEB“Whereas the king saw a holy watcher coming down from the sky 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 the sky. Let his portion be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him.’
ASVAnd 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;
YLTand that which the king hath seen--a sifter, even a holy one, coming down from the heavens, and he hath said, Cut down the tree, and destroy it; but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens it is wet, and with the beast of the field is his portion, till that seven times pass over him.
DARBYAnd whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from the heavens, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; 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 bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him:
BBEAnd as for the vision which the king saw of a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, saying, Let the tree be cut down and given to destruction;
WebsterAnd whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet 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 its portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times shall pass over him;

What does Daniel 4:23 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 4:19-27

Daniel was struck with amazement and terror at so heavy a judgment coming upon so great a prince, and gives advice with tenderness and respect. It is necessary, in repentance, that we not only cease to do evil, but learn to do good. Though it might not wholly prevent the judgment, yet the trouble may be longer before it comes, or shorter when it does come. And everlasting misery will be escaped by all who repent and…

Read the full comment on Daniel 4:19-27 →

Daniel 4:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְדִ֣יve.Diand thatH1768
חֲזָ֣הcha.Zahhe sawH2370
מַלְכָּ֡אmal.Ka'king theH4430
עִ֣יר'ira watcherH5894
וְקַדִּ֣ישׁve.ka.Dishand a holy [one]H6922
נָחִ֣ת\׀na.Chitcoming downH5182
מִן\־min-fromH4481
שְׁמַיָּ֡אshe.mai.Ya'heavens theH8065
וְאָמַר֩ve.'a.Marand sayingH560
גֹּ֨דּוּGo.ducut down!H1414
אִֽילָנָ֜א'i.la.Na'tree theH363
וְחַבְּל֗וּהִיve.cha.be.Lu.hiand destroy itH2255
בְּרַ֨םbe.RamneverthelessH1297
עִקַּ֤ר'i.Kar[the] stump ofH6136
שָׁרְשׁ֙וֹהִי֙sha.re.Sho.hiroots itsH8330
בְּאַרְעָ֣אbe.'ar.'A'in ground theH772
שְׁבֻ֔קוּshe.Vu.kuleave!H7662
וּבֶאֱסוּר֙u.ve.'e.Surand with a fetterH613
דִּֽי\־di-ofH1768
פַרְזֶ֣לfar.ZelironH6523
וּנְחָ֔שׁu.ne.Chashand bronzeH5174
בְּדִתְאָ֖אbe.dit.'A'in grass theH1883
דִּ֣יdiofH1768
בָרָ֑אva.Ra'field theH1251
וּבְטַ֧לu.ve.Taland with [the] dew ofH2920
שְׁמַיָּ֣אshe.mai.Ya'heavens theH8065
יִצְטַבַּ֗עyitz.ta.Ba'let it become wetH6647
וְעִם\־ve.'im-and [be] withH5974
חֵיוַ֤תchei.Vat[the] animal[s] ofH2423
בָּרָא֙ba.Ra'field theH1251
חֲלָקֵ֔הּcha.la.Kehportion itsH2508
עַ֛ד'aduntilH5705
דִּֽי\־di-thatH1768
שִׁבְעָ֥הshiv.'AhsevenH7655
עִדָּנִ֖ין'i.da.NintimesH5732
יַחְלְפ֥וּןyach.le.Funthey will passH2499
עֲלֽוֹהִי\׃a.Lo.hiover itH5922

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Daniel 4:23

  • Daniel 5:21

    And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

  • Daniel 4:13-16

    I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of his 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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
saw.
13-17
and let his.
15; 5:21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Daniel 4:22

    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.

  • Daniel 4:23

    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;

  • Daniel 4:24

    This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

Read all of Daniel 4

Daniel 4:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y cuanto á lo que vió el rey, un vigilante y santo que descendía del cielo, y decía: Cortad el árbol y destruidlo: mas la cepa de sus raíces dejaréis en la tierra, y con atadura de hierro y de metal en la hierba del campo; y sea mojado con el rocío del cielo, y su parte sea con las bestias del campo, hasta que pasen sobre él siete tiempos:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et quant à ce qu’on a dit de laisser le tronc des racines de l’arbre, ton royaume te demeurera, quand tu auras connu que les cieux dominent.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und daß der König einen Wächter und Heiligen vom Himmel herniedersteigen sah, welcher sprach: Hauet den Baum um und verderbet ihn! doch seinen Wurzelstock lasset in der Erde, und zwar in Fesseln von Eisen und Erz, im Grase des Feldes; und von dem Tau des Himmels werde er benetzt, und er habe sein Teil mit den Tieren des Feldes, bis sieben Zeiten über ihm vergehen-
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quod autem præcepit ut relinqueretur germen radicum ejus, id est arboris: regnum tuum tibi manebit postquam cognoveris potestatem esse cælestem.