Daniel 4:9

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

saying,“Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, in whom I know there to be a spirit of the holy gods and whom no mystery baffles, consider my dream that I saw and set forth its interpretation!

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

עָפְיֵ֤הּ שַׁפִּיר֙ וְאִנְבֵּ֣הּ שַׂגִּ֔יא וּמָז֨וֹן לְכֹ֖לָּא־בֵ֑הּ תְּחֹת֜וֹהִי תַּטְלֵ֣ל ׀ חֵיוַ֣ת בָּרָ֗א וּבְעַנְפ֙וֹהִי֙ *ידרון **יְדוּרָן֙ צִפֲּרֵ֣י שְׁמַיָּ֔א וּמִנֵּ֖הּ יִתְּזִ֥ין כָּל־בִּשְׂרָֽא׃

Transliteration

ʿāpəyēh šappîr wəʾinbēh śaggîʾ ûmāzôn ləḵōllāʾ-ḇēh təḥōṯôhî taṭlēl ḥêwaṯ bārāʾ ûḇəʿanpôhî yəḏûrān ṣippărê šəmayyāʾ ûminnēh yittəzîn kāl-biśrāʾ

Grammar Details

• *ʿāpəyēh*: noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - its foliage
• *šappîr*: adjective, masculine singular - beautiful/fair
• *wəʾinbēh*: conjunction + noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - and its fruit
• *śaggîʾ*: adjective, masculine singular - abundant/great
• *ûmāzôn*: conjunction + noun - and food
• *ləḵōllāʾ-ḇēh*: preposition + noun + preposition with 3rd person masculine suffix - for all in it
• *təḥōṯôhî*: preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - under it
• *taṭlēl*: imperfect 3rd person feminine singular - found shade
• *ḥêwaṯ*: noun, feminine singular construct - beast of
• *bārāʾ*: noun, masculine singular with definite article - the field
• *ûḇəʿanpôhî*: conjunction + preposition + noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - and in its branches
• *yəḏûrān*: imperfect 3rd person feminine plural - dwelled
• *ṣippărê*: noun, feminine plural construct - birds of
• *šəmayyāʾ*: noun with definite article - the heaven
• *ûminnēh*: conjunction + preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - and from it
• *yittəzîn*: imperfect 3rd person masculine plural - were fed
• *kāl-biśrāʾ*: adjective + noun - all flesh

Word Meanings

• *šappîr*: beautiful/fair/lovely
• *taṭlēl*: found shade/sheltered/took refuge
• *yəḏûrān*: dwelled/lived/nested
• *yittəzîn*: were fed/were nourished

Referenced Verses

• Dan 2:48 : 48 Then the king elevated Daniel to high position and bestowed on him many marvelous gifts. He granted him authority over the entire province of Babylon and made him the main prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
• Dan 5:11 : 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have insight, discernment, and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners.
• Dan 4:8 : 8 Later Daniel entered(whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well,
• Dan 4:5 : 5 I saw a dream that frightened me badly. The things I imagined while lying on my bed– these visions of my mind– were terrifying me.
• Gen 41:38 : 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials,“Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?”
• Ezek 28:3 : 3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.
• Dan 1:20 : 20 In every matter of wisdom and insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.
• Dan 2:3-5 : 3 The king told them,“I have had a dream, and I am anxious to understand the dream.” 4 The wise men replied to the king:[What follows is in Aramaic]“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the wise men,“My decision is firm. If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered and your homes reduced to rubble!
• Gen 11:6-8 : 6 And the LORD said,“If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 8 So the LORD scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city.
• Gen 40:9-9 : 9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph:“In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him.“The three branches represent three days. 13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before when you were cupbearer. 14 But remember me when it goes well for you, and show me kindness. Make mention of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, 15 for I really was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.” 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, he said to Joseph,“I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread on my head. 17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.” 18 Joseph replied,“This is its meaning: The three baskets represent three days. 19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
• Gen 41:15-36 : 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph,“I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard about you, that you can interpret dreams.” 16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh,“It is not within my power, but God will speak concerning the welfare of Pharaoh.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,“In my dream I was standing by the edge of the Nile. 18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 19 Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt! 20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows. 21 When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 22 I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh,“Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. 27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine. 28 This is just what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 30 But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land. 31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. 32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon. 33 “So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should do this– he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. 36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.”
• Judg 7:13-15 : 13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said,“Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” 14 The other man said,“Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.” 15 Gideon Routs the Enemy When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said,“Get up, for the LORD is handing the Midianite army over to you!”
• 1 Sam 4:8 : 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert!
• Isa 33:18 : 18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves,“Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?”
• Isa 54:14 : 14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. You will not experience oppression; indeed, you will not be afraid. You will not be terrified, for nothing frightening will come near you.
• Dan 4:18 : 18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, for none of the wise men in my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”