8 Then Daniel came in. (He is also called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god.) The spirit of the holy gods is in him, so I told him what I had dreamt. I said to him:
9 Belteshazzar, chief of the fortune tellers, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and that you understand all mysteries. This is my dream. Tell me what it means.
10 “While I was asleep, I had a vision of a huge tree in the middle of the earth.
11 It grew bigger and bigger until it reached the sky and could be seen by everyone in the world.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, and it was loaded down with fruit — enough for the whole world to eat. Wild animals rested in its shade, birds built nests in its branches, and every kind of living being ate its fruit.
13 “While I was thinking about the vision, I saw coming down from heaven an angel, alert and watchful.
14 He proclaimed in a loud voice, ‘Cut the tree down and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Drive the animals from under it and the birds out of its branches.