ናቡከደነፆር በሕልሙ ዛፍ አየ
1ከንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር፣
በምድር ሁሉ ለሚኖሩ ሕዝቦች፣ መንግሥታትና ልዩ ልዩ ቋንቋዎችን ለሚናገሩ ሰዎች ሁሉ፤
ሰላም ይብዛላችሁ!
2ልዑል አምላክ ያደረገልኝን ታምራዊ ምልክቶችንና ድንቅ ሥራዎች ስነግራችሁ እጅግ ደስ እያለኝ ነው።
3ምልክቱ እንዴት ታላቅ ነው!
ድንቁስ እንዴት ብርቱ ነው!
መንግሥቱ የዘላለም መንግሥት ነው፤
ግዛቱም ከትውልድ እስከ ትውልድ ይኖራል።
4እኔ ናቡከደነፆር በቤቴ ደልቶኝ በቤተ መንግሥቴም ተመችቶኝ እኖር ነበር። 5አንድ ያስፈራኝ ሕልም አየሁ፤ በዐልጋዬ ላይ ተኝቼ ሳለሁ፣ ወደ አእምሮዬ የመጡት ምስሎችና ራእዮች አስደነገጡኝ። 6ስለዚህ የባቢሎን ጠቢባን ሁሉ ወደ እኔ መጥተው ሕልሜን እንዲተረጕሙልኝ አዘዝሁ። 7ጠንቋዮቹ፣ አስማተኞቹ፣ ኮከብ ቈጣሪዎቹና4፥7 ወይም ከለዳውያን መተተኞቹ በመጡ ጊዜ ሕልሙን ነገርኋቸው፤ ነገር ግን ሊተረጕሙልኝ አልቻሉም። 8በመጨረሻም በአምላኬ ስም ብልጣሶር ተብሎ የተጠራውና የቅዱሳን አማልክት መንፈስ ያለበት ዳንኤል ገብቶ በፊቴ ቆመ፤ ሕልሜንም ነገርሁት።
9እኔም እንዲህ አልሁት፤ “የጠቢባን አለቃ ብልጣሶር ሆይ፤ የቅዱሳን አማልክት መንፈስ በአንተ ውስጥ እንዳለ ዐውቃለሁ፤ ምንም ዐይነት ምስጢር አያስቸግርህም፤ ያየሁት ሕልም እነሆ፤ ተርጕምልኝ። 10በዐልጋዬ ላይ ተኝቼ ሳለሁ ያየሁት ራእይ ይህ ነው፦ እነሆ በፊቴ በምድር መካከል ቁመቱ እጅግ ረዥም የሆነ ዛፍ ቆሞ ተመለከትሁ። 11ዛፉም እጅግ አደገ፤ ጠነከረም፤ ጫፉም ሰማይ ደረሰ፤ እስከ ምድር ዳርቻ ድረስም ይታይ ነበር። 12ቅጠሎቹ ያማሩ፣ ፍሬዎቹ የተንዠረገጉ ነበሩ፤ በላዩም ለሁሉ የሚሆን ምግብ ነበረበት። የምድር አራዊት ከጥላው በታች ያርፉ ነበር፤ በቅርንጫፎቹም ላይ የሰማይ ወፎች ይኖሩ ነበር፤ ፍጥረትም ሁሉ ከእርሱ ይመገብ ነበር።
13“በዐልጋዬ ላይ ተኝቼ ሳለሁ ባየሁት ራእይ አንድ ቅዱስ መልእክተኛ4፥13 ወይም ጕበኛ፤ እንዲሁም 17 እና 23 ከሰማይ ሲወርድ አየሁ። 14እርሱም ድምፁን ከፍ አድርጎ እንዲህ አለ፤ ‘ዛፉን ቍረጡ፤ ቅርንጫፎቹን ጨፍጭፉ፤ ቅጠሎቹን አራግፉ፤ ፍሬውንም በትኑ፤ ከሥሩ ያሉት እንስሶች፣ በቅርንጫፎቹም ላይ ያሉት ወፎች ይሽሹ። 15ነገር ግን ጕቶውና ሥሩ በሜዳው ሣር ላይ በብረትና በናስ ታስሮ በመሬት ውስጥ ይቈይ።
“ ‘በሰማይ ጠል ይረስርስ፤ በጥሻም ውስጥ ከአራዊት ጋር ይኑር። 16አእምሮው ከሰው አእምሮ ይለወጥ፤ የእንስሳም አእምሮ ይሰጠው፤ ሰባት ዓመትም ይለፍበት።
17“ ‘ውሳኔው በመልእክተኞች ተገልጿል፤ ፍርዱም በቅዱሳኑ ተነግሯል፤ ይኸውም፣ ልዑል በሰዎች መንግሥታት ሁሉ ላይ እንደሚገዛና እነዚህንም መንግሥታት ለወደደው እንደሚሰጥ፣ ከሰዎችም የተናቁትን በላያቸው እንደሚሾም፣ ሕያዋን ሁሉ ያውቁ ዘንድ ነው።’
18“እኔ ናቡከደነፆር ያየሁት ሕልም ይህ ነው፤ አሁንም ብልጣሶር ሆይ፤ በመንግሥቴ ካሉ ጠቢባን ሁሉ አንዳቸውም ሊተረጕሙልኝ ስላልቻሉ፣ ምን ማለት እንደ ሆነ ንገረኝ። አንተ የአማልክት መንፈስ በውስጥህ ስላለ ልትተረጕምልኝ ትችላለህ።”
ዳንኤል ሕልሙን ተረጐመ
19ከዚያም ብልጣሶር የተባለው ዳንኤል ለጥቂት ጊዜ በጣም ታወከ፤ ሐሳቡም አስደነገጠው። ንጉሡም፣ “ብልጣሶር ሆይ፤ ሕልሙም ሆነ ትርጕሙ አያስደንግጥህ” አለው።
ብልጣሶርም እንዲህ ብሎ መለሰ፤ “ሕልሙ ለሚጠሉህ ይሁን፤ ትርጕሙም ለጠላቶችህ! 20እጅግ አድጎና ጠንክሮ ያየኸው ዛፍ፣ ጫፉም እስከ ሰማይ ደርሶ በምድር ሁሉ የሚታየው፣ 21ቅጠሎቹ የሚያምሩ፣ ፍሬውም ተንዠርግጎ ለሁሉ ምግብ የሆነው፣ የዱር አራዊት መጠለያ የሆነውና በቅርንጫፎቹ ላይ ለሰማይ ወፎች ጐጆ መሥሪያ ያለው፣ 22ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ ያ ዛፍ አንተ ነህ፤ ታላቅና ብርቱ ሆንህ፤ ታላቅነትህ አድጎ እስከ ሰማይ ደረሰ፤ ግዛትህም እስከ ምድር ዳርቻ ተንሰራፋ።
23“ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ አንተ፣ ‘ዛፉን ቍረጡ፣ አጥፉትም፤ በብረትና በናስ የታሰረውን ጕቶና ሥሩን በሜዳው ሣር ላይ በብረትና በናስ ታስሮ በመሬት ውስጥ ይቈይ፤ በሰማይ ጠል ይረስርስ፤ እንደ ዱር አራዊትም ይኑር፤ ሰባት ዓመትም ይለፍበት’ እያለ ከሰማይ የወረደውን ቅዱሱን መልእክተኛ አየህ።
24“ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ ትርጕሙ ይህ ነው፤ ልዑሉ በንጉሡ በጌታዬ ላይ ያወጣው ዐዋጅ ይህ ነው፤ 25ከሕዝብ ተለይተህ ትሰደዳለህ፤ ዱር አራዊትም ጋር ትኖራለህ። እንደ ከብት ሣር ትበላለህ፤ በሰማይ ጠልም ትረሰርሳለህ፤ ልዑሉ በሰዎች መንግሥታት ሁሉ ላይ እንደሚገዛና እነዚህንም መንግሥታት ለወደደው እንደሚሰጥ እስክታውቅ ድረስ ሰባት ዓመታት ያልፉብሃል። 26የዛፉ ጕቶ ከነሥሩ እንዲቀር መታዘዙ፣ ሥልጣን ከሰማይ መሆኑን ስታውቅ መንግሥትህ እንደሚመለስልህ ያመለክታል። 27ስለዚህ ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ ምክሬን ስማ፤ ኀጢአት መሥራትን ትተህ ትክክለኛ የሆነውን አድርግ፤ ክፋትን ትተህ ለተጨቈኑት ቸርነትን አድርግ፤ ምናልባት በሰላም የምትኖርበት ዘመን ይራዘምልህ ይሆናል።”
ሕልሙ ተፈጸመ
28ይህ ሁሉ በንጉሡ በናቡከደነፆር ላይ ደረሰ፤ 29ከዐሥራ ሁለት ወራት በኋላ፣ ንጉሡ በባቢሎን ቤተ መንግሥት ሰገነት ላይ ሲመላለስ ሳለ፣ 30“በብርቱ ኀይሌ፣ ለገናናው ክብሬ ንጉሣዊ መኖሪያ ትሆን ዘንድ ያሠራኋት ታላቂቷ ባቢሎን ይህች አይደለችምን?” አለ።
31ንግግሩን ገና ከአፉ ሳይጨርስ፣ እንዲህ የሚል ድምፅ ከሰማይ መጣ፤ “ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር ሆይ፤ ስለ አንተ የታወጀው ይህ ነው፤ መንግሥትህ ከአንተ ተወስዷል፤ 32ከሕዝብ መካከል ትሰደዳለህ፤ ከዱር አራዊት ጋርም ትኖራለህ፤ እንደ ከብት ሣር ትበላለህ፤ ልዑሉ በሰዎች መንግሥት ሁሉ ላይ ሙሉ ሥልጣን እንዳለውና እነዚህንም መንግሥታት ለወደደው እንደሚሰጥ እስክታውቅ ድረስ ሰባት ዓመት ያልፋል።”
33ወዲያውኑ በናቡከደነፆር ላይ የተነገረው ሁሉ ተፈጸመ፤ ከሕዝቡ መካከል ተሰደደ፤ እንደ ከብትም ሣር በላ። የራስ ጠጕሩ እንደ ንስር ላባና፣ ጥፍሮቹም እንደ ወፍ ጥፍሮች እስኪያድጉ ድረስ ሰውነቱ በሰማይ ጠል ረሰረሰ።
34ጊዜው ከተፈጸመ በኋላ፣ እኔ ናቡከደነፆር ዐይኖቼን ወደ ሰማይ አነሣሁ፤ አእምሮዬም ተመለሰልኝ፤ ልዑሉንም ባረክሁት፤ ለዘላለምም የሚኖረውን ወደስሁት፤ ክብርንም ሰጠሁት።
ግዛቱ የዘላለም ግዛት ነው፤
መንግሥቱም ከትውልድ እስከ ትውልድ ይኖራል።
35የምድር ሕዝቦች ሁሉ፣
እንደ ኢምንት ይቈጠራሉ፤
በሰማይ ኀይላት፣
በምድርም ሕዝቦች ላይ፣
የወደደውን ያደርጋል፤
እጁን መከልከል የሚችል የለም፤
“ምን ታደርጋለህ?” ብሎ የሚጠይቀውም የለም።
36አእምሮዬ እንደ ተመለሰልኝ፣ ወዲያው ለመንግሥቴ ክብር፣ ግርማዊነቴና ሞገሴ ተመለሱልኝ፤ አማካሪዎቼና መኳንንቴ ፈለጉኝ፤ ወደ ዙፋኔም ተመለስሁ፤ ከቀድሞውም የበለጠ ታላቅ ሆንሁ። 37የሰማይ አምላክ የሚያደርገው ሁሉ ትክክል፣ መንገዶቹም ሁሉ ጽድቅ ስለሆኑ፣ አሁንም እኔ ናቡከደነፆር እርሱን አወድሰዋለሁ፤ ከፍ ከፍ አደርገዋለሁ፤ አከብረዋለሁም፤ እርሱም በትዕቢት የሚመላለሱትን ማዋረድ ይችላል።
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree
4:0 In Aramaic texts 4:1-3 is numbered 3:31-33, and 4:4-37 is numbered 4:1-34. 1King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:
May you prosper greatly!
2It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.
4I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers4:7 Or Chaldeans and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. 8Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)
9I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. 11The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
13“In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger,4:13 Or watchman; also in verses 17 and 23 coming down from heaven. 14He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree 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. 15But 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. 16Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times4:16 Or years; also in verses 23, 25 and 32 pass by for him.
17“ ‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’
18“This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
19Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! 20The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— 22Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
23“Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
24“This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”
The Dream Is Fulfilled
28All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
31Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
33Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
34At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”
36At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
