Daniel 4:13

Bible in Basic English

In the visions of my head on my bed I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

Hebrew Names Version
I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the sky.

King James Version
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;

English Standard Version
"I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.

New American Standard Bible
'I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

New Century Version
"As I was looking at those things in the vision while lying on my bed, I saw an observer, a holy angel coming down from heaven.

Amplified Bible
'And behold, I saw in the visions of my mind as I lay on my bed, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I sawe in the visions of mine head vpon my bed, and beholde, a watchman and an holy one came downe from heauen,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

Berean Standard Bible
As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

Contemporary English Version
"While I was in bed, having this vision, a holy angel came down from heaven

Complete Jewish Bible
let his heart and mind cease to be human and become those of an animal; and let seven seasons pass over him.

Darby Translation
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the heavens;

Easy-to-Read Version
"I was looking at those things in the vision while lying on my bed. And then I saw a holy angel coming down from heaven.

George Lamsa Translation
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a holy angel came down from heaven,

Good News Translation
"While I was thinking about the vision, I saw coming down from heaven an angel, alert and watchful.

Lexham English Bible
"‘I was looking in the vision of my head as I lay on my bed, and look, a watcher, and a holy one, came down from heaven.

Literal Translation
I was looking in the visions of my head on my bed. And, behold, a watcher, even a holy one, came down from the heaven.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I sawe in my heade a vision vpon my bed: & beholde, a watcher (eue an holy angel) came downe from heauen,

American Standard Version
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
I sawe in the visions of my head vpon my bed, & behold, a watcher and an holy one came downe from heauen.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I sawe in the visions of my head vpon my bed, and beholde a watcher and a holy one came downe from heauen,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
His heart shall be changed from that of man, and the heart of a wild beast shall be given to him; and seven times shall pass over him.

English Revised Version
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven.

World English Bible
I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the sky.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thus Y siy in the visioun of myn heed, on my bed. And lo! a wakere, and hooli man cam doun fro heuene,

Update Bible Version
I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and, look, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.

Webster's Bible Translation
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven;

New English Translation
While I was watching in my mind's visions on my bed, a holy sentinel came down from heaven.

New King James Version
"I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

New Living Translation
"‘Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

New Life Bible
‘In the dreams I had as I lay on my bed, I looked and saw an angel who kept watch. He was a holy one who came down from heaven.

New Revised Standard
"I continued looking, in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and there was a holy watcher, coming down from heaven.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I was looking, in the visions of my head, upon my bed, when lo! a watcher and holy one, outer the heavens, coming down.

Douay-Rheims Bible
13 [10] [fn] I saw in the vision of my head upon my bed, and behold a watcher, and a holy one came down from heaven.

Revised Standard Version
"I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.

Young's Literal Translation
`I was looking, in the visions of my head on my bed, and lo, a sifter, even a holy one, from the heavens is coming down.

THE MESSAGE
"‘And this also is what I saw as I was stretched out on my bed. I saw a holy watchman descend from heaven, and call out: Chop down the tree, lop off its branches, strip its leaves and scatter its fruit. Chase the animals from beneath it and shoo the birds from its branches. But leave the stump and roots in the ground, belted with a strap of iron and bronze in the grassy meadow. Let him be soaked in heaven's dew and take his meals with the animals that graze. Let him lose his mind and get an animal's mind in exchange, And let this go on for seven seasons. The angels announce this decree, the holy watchmen bring this sentence, So that everyone living will know that the High God rules human kingdoms. He arranges kingdom affairs however he wishes, and makes leaders out of losers. "‘This is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed. It's your turn, Belteshazzar—interpret it for me. None of the wise men of Babylon could make heads or tails of it, but I'm sure you can do it. You're full of the divine Holy Spirit.'" At first Daniel, who had been renamed Belteshazzar in Babylon, was upset. The thoughts that came swarming into his mind terrified him. "Belteshazzar," the king said, "stay calm. Don't let the dream and its interpretation scare you." "My master," said Belteshazzar, "I wish this dream were about your enemies and its interpretation for your foes. "The tree you saw that grew so large and sturdy with its top touching the sky, visible from the four corners of the world; the tree with the luxuriant foliage and abundant fruit, enough for everyone; the tree under which animals took cover and in which birds built nests—you, O king, are that tree. "You have grown great and strong. Your royal majesty reaches sky-high, and your sovereign rule stretches to the four corners of the world. "But the part about the holy angel descending from heaven and proclaiming, ‘Chop down the tree, destroy it, but leave stump and roots in the ground belted with a strap of iron and bronze in the grassy meadow; let him be soaked with heaven's dew and take his meals with the grazing animals for seven seasons'—this, O king, also refers to you. It means that the High God has sentenced my master the king: You will be driven away from human company and live with the wild animals. You will graze on grass like an ox. You will be soaked in heaven's dew. This will go on for seven seasons, and you will learn that the High God rules over human kingdoms and that he arranges all kingdom affairs. "The part about the tree stump and roots being left means that your kingdom will still be there for you after you learn that it is heaven that runs things. "So, king, take my advice: Make a clean break with your sins and start living for others. Quit your wicked life and look after the needs of the down-and-out. Then you will continue to have a good life." All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Just twelve months later, he was walking on the balcony of the royal palace in Babylon and boasted, "Look at this, Babylon the great! And I built it all by myself, a royal palace adequate to display my honor and glory!" The words were no sooner out of his mouth than a voice out of heaven spoke, "This is the verdict on you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your kingdom is taken from you. You will be driven out of human company and live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like an ox. The sentence is for seven seasons, enough time to learn that the High God rules human kingdoms and puts whomever he wishes in charge." It happened at once. Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human company, ate grass like an ox, and was soaked in heaven's dew. His hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a hawk. "At the end of the seven years, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked to heaven. I was given my mind back and I blessed the High God, thanking and glorifying God, who lives forever: "His sovereign rule lasts and lasts, his kingdom never declines and falls. Life on this earth doesn't add up to much, but God's heavenly army keeps everything going. No one can interrupt his work, no one can call his rule into question. "At the same time that I was given back my mind, I was also given back my majesty and splendor, making my kingdom shine. All the leaders and important people came looking for me. I was reestablished as king in my kingdom and became greater than ever. And that's why I'm singing—I, Nebuchadnezzar—singing and praising the King of Heaven: "Everything he does is right, and he does it the right way. He knows how to turn a proud person into a humble man or woman."

Contextual Overview

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my place, and all things were going well for me in my great house: ⁵ I saw a dream which was a cause of great fear to me; I was troubled by the images of my mind on my bed, and by the visions of my head. ⁶ And I gave orders for all the wise men of Babylon to come in before me so that they might make clear to me the sense of my dream. ⁷ Then the wonder-workers, the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs came in to me: and I put the dream before them but they did not make clear the sense of it to me. ⁸ But at last Daniel came in before me, he whose name was Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I put the dream before him, saying, ⁹ O Belteshazzar, master of the wonder-workers, because I am certain that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and you are troubled by no secret; this is the dream which I saw: make clear to me its sense. ¹⁰ On my bed I saw a vision: there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very high. ¹¹ And the tree became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven, and to be seen from the ends of the earth: ¹² Its leaves were fair and it had much fruit, and in it was food enough for all: the beasts of the field had shade under it, and the birds of heaven were resting in its branches, and it gave food to all living things. ¹³ In the visions of my head on my bed I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in the: Daniel 4:5, Daniel 4:10, Daniel 7:1, a watcher. Either a holy angel, or a divine person, called a watcher, as watching over the affairs of men. Daniel 4:17, Daniel 4:23, Psalms 103:20

an holy: Daniel 8:13, Deuteronomy 33:2, Psalms 89:7, Zechariah 14:5, Matthew 25:31, Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, Jude 1:14, Revelation 14:10

Reciprocal: Isaiah 10:34 - by a mighty one

Cross-References

Job 15:22
He has no hope of coming safe out of the dark, and his fate will be the sword;

Revelation 16:9
And men were burned with great heat: and they said evil things against the name of the God who has authority over these punishments; and they were not turned from their evil ways to give him glory.

Revelation 16:11
And they said evil things against the God of heaven because of their pain and their wounds; and they were not turned from their evil works.

Revelation 16:21
And great drops of ice, every one about the weight of a talent, came down out of heaven on men: and men said evil things against God because of the punishment of the ice-drops; for it is very great.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed,.... The king goes on to relate what other things presented themselves to his imagination in his dream, concerning this tree which signified himself:

and, behold, a watcher: which Saadiah interprets of Bath Kol; but Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Jacchiades, and Ben Melech of an angel; so called because incorporeal, ever watches, and never sleeps, and is always attentive to, and observant of, the commands of God so the angels in the fragment of Enoch are called "egregori", watchers; and the same word is here used in the Alexandrian copy. Some k render it "an enemy", "an holy one": according to the sense of the word in 1 Samuel 28:16, and produce it to show that angels are called enemies:

and an Holy One; one of the holy angels that never sinned, nor left their first estate, but continued in it; in which they are established by Christ, and are impeccable; are perfectly pure and holy in their nature and actions: such an one came down from heaven; the place of their abode, as it seemed to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream.

k Lex. Kabalist. in voce איוב p. 54, 55.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed - In the visions that passed before me as I lay upon my bed, Daniel 4:10.

And, behold, a watcher and an holy one - Or rather, perhaps, “even a holy one;” or, “who was a holy one.” He evidently does not intend to refer to two beings, a “watcher,” and “one who was holy;” but he means to designate the character of the watcher, that he was holy, or that he was one of the class of “watchers” who were ranked as holy - as if there were others to whom the name “watcher” might be applied who were not holy. So Bertholdt, “not two, but only one, who was both a watcher, and was holy; one of those known as watchers and as holy ones.” The copulative ו (v) and may be so used as to denote not an additional one or thing, but to specify something in addition to, or in explanation of, what the name applied would indicate. Compare 1 Samuel 28:3 : “In Ramah, even (ו v) in his own city.” 1 Samuel 17:40 : “and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even (ו v) in a scrip.”

Compare Psalms 68:9 (10); Amos 3:11; Amos 4:10; Jeremiah 15:13; Isaiah 1:13; Isaiah 13:14; Isaiah 57:11; Ecclesiastes 8:2. - Gesenius, “Lex.” The word rendered “watcher” (עיר ‛ı̂yr) is rendered in the Vulgate vigil; in the Greek of Theodotion the word is retained without an attempt to translate it - εἴρ eir; the Codex Chisianus has ἄγγελος angelos - “an angel was sent in his strength from heaven.” The original word (עיר ‛ı̂yr) means, properly, “a watcher,” from עיר ‛ı̂yr, to be hot and ardent; then to be lively, or active, and then to awake, to be awake, to be awake at night, to watch. Compare Song of Solomon 5:2; Malachi 2:12. The word used here is employed to denote one who watches, only in this chapter of Daniel, Daniel 4:13, Daniel 4:17, Daniel 4:23. It is in these places evidently applied to the angels, but “why” this term is used is unknown. Gesenius (“Lex.”) supposes that it is given to them as watching over the souls of men.

Jerome (in loc.) says that the reason why the name is given is because they always watch, and are prepared to do the will of God. According to Jerome, the Greek ἴρις iris as applied to the rainbow, and which seems to be a heavenly being sent down to the earth, is derived from this word. Compare the “Iliad,” ii. 27. Theodoret says that the name is given to an angel, to denote that the angel is without a body - ἀσώματον asōmaton - “for he that is encompassed with a body is the servant of sleep, but he that is free from a body is superior to the necessity of sleep.” The term “watchers,” as applied to the celestial beings, is of Eastern origin, and not improbably was derived from Persia. “The seven Amhaspands received their name on account of their great, holy eyes, and so, generally, all the heavenly Izeds watch in the high heaven over the world and the souls of men, and on this account are called the watchers of the world.” - Zendavesta, as quoted by Bertholdt, in loc. “The Bun-Dehesh, a commentary on the Zendavesta, contains an extract from it, which shows clearly the name and object of the watchers in the ancient system of Zoroaster. It runs thus: “Ormuzd has set four “watchers” in the four parts of the heavens, to keep their eye upon the host of the stars.

They are bound to keep watch over the hosts of the celestial stars. One stands here as the watcher of his circle; the other there. He has placed them at such and such posts, as watchers over such and such a circle of the heavenly regions; and this by his own power and might. Tashter guards the east, Statevis watches the west, Venant the south, and Haftorang the north.” - Rhode, Die heilige Sage des Zendvolks, p. 267, as quoted by Prof. Stuart., in loc. “The epithet “good” is probably added here to distinguish this class of watchers from the “bad” ones, for Ahriman, the evil genius, had “Archdeves” and “Deves,” who corresponded in rank with the Amhaspands and Izeds of the Zendavesta, and who “watched” to do evil as anxiously as the others did to do good.” - Prof. Stuart. It is not improbable that these terms, as applicable to celestial beings, would be known in the kingdom of Babylon, and nothing is more natural than that it should be so used in this book. It is not found in any of the books of pure Hebrew.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 13. A watcher and a holy one — These are both angels; but, according to the Chaldean oracles, of different orders. They appear, according to their opinions, to be a kind of judges of human actions who had the power of determining the lot of men; see Daniel 4:17.