Bible Strands
Daniel 4:5
I had a dream, and it frightened me; while I was in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nebuchadnezzar speaks in the first person while recounting a sudden shift from palace comfort to personal dread, occurring immediately before he issues a decree to summon Babylon's wise men.
The words — The Hebrew חֵלֶם (chelem) identifies the dream event, וִדַחֲלִנִּי (vidachalinni) states the dream's active role in causing fear, and הַרְהֹרִין (harhorin) specifies the mental "imaginings" that surface while he lies on his bed.
The thread — This account parallels Daniel 2:1 regarding Nebuchadnezzar's sleepless, troubled dreams, echoes the royal dream sequence in Genesis 41:1, and contrasts with Job 7:13 where a bed typically brings rest rather than alarm.
Why it lands — The text records that a divine vision can override physical rest and demand immediate scrutiny, requiring the reader to treat mental visions as events that disrupt normal routine and warrant formal investigation.
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
I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Cross-references
- Daniel 2:1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- Genesis 41:1 After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
- Job 7:13 When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,
- Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
- Daniel 5:5 At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
- Daniel 5:10 Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.
- Daniel 7:28 Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”