Daniel 4:15

But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven and graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Daniel relays a divine decree to King Nebuchadnezzar during the interpretation of a dream vision. The utterance occurs at the precise moment of pronounced judgment, immediately following the command to cut down the tree and preceding the king’s loss of reason.

The words — שְׁבֻ֔קוּ (she.Vu.ku) commands to “leave,” and עִקַּ֤ר ('i.Kar) denotes the “stump” that remains after the felling. These terms establish the physical boundary between total destruction and restrained punishment.

The thread — The preserved stump mirrors Job 14:7, where a cut tree survives through its roots, and directly anticipates Daniel 4:25, where the king’s exile among field beasts begins. Ezekiel 29:14 uses a similar rooted preservation motif to mark a period of restrained divine action before eventual restoration.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that judgment operates within measured limits rather than absolute annihilation. It requires the reader to accept that sovereignty over human pride functions through controlled restraint before any reversal of fortune.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:

Cross-references

Job 14:7 For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
Ezekiel 29:14 I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
Daniel 4:25 You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.