Daniel 4:16

4:16 Let his mind ¹  be altered from that of a human being,

and let an animal’s mind be given to him,

and let seven periods of time ²  go by for ³  him.

Daniel 4:22

4:22 it is you, ⁴  O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth.

[4:16]  ¹ tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.

[4:16]  ² sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.

[4:16]  ³ tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[4:22]  ⁴ sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often cited for parallels to these events.