9 “Belteshazzar, head of the diviners, because I know that you have a 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.
10 In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:There was a tree in the middle of the earth,and its height was great.
11 The tree grew large and strong;its top reached to the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,and on it was food for all. Wild animals found shelter under it,the birds of the air 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 an observer, a holy one, coming down from heaven.
14 He called out loudly:Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.Let the animals flee from under it,and the birds from its branches.
15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and with a band of iron and bronze around it,in the tender grass of the field.Let him be drenched with dew from the skyand share the plants of the earth with the animals.