God’s Word for You
Daniel 4:23 retelling the king’s dream
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, October 8, 2025
23 “And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump and its roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, right there in the grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven, Let him live with the animals of the field, till seven times pass over him.’
Daniel finishes retelling the king’s dream, almost as the king had told him. A few minor details are omitted. Daniel doesn’t mention the command to the animals and to the birds to run away (4:14). Daniel summarizes the language of the felling of the tree by saying “Cut down the tree and destroy it,” while previously the angel’s words included chopping off the branches, stripping the leaves, and scattering the fruit. “Destroy it” is a satisfying way of condensing these things, and Daniel has the tact not to linger on those things which are really details of Nebuchadnezzar’s own destruction. The prophet also sets aside the command to give the king the mind of an animal (4:16). This, too, is probably a matter of tact from the prophet. Daniel was horrified by this prophecy, and he didn’t see any reason to kick the king when he was down.
This retelling, with its tactful omissions, shows that the Holy Spirit had perhaps different ways of telling and retelling the same information without being mechanically locked into the precise phrases and terms of a message; that even the same writer or speaker might tell and retell the same account using different words, or emphasizing different points.
My son and I were talking just last night about Eve’s words in the Garden of Eden, “and you must not touch it” (Genesis 3:3). Those words are not part of what Moses records of the command about the tree in the Garden in Genesis 2:16-17. People have wondered about that phrase for as long as there have been Bibles. Did Eve lie? Did Eve exaggerate? Did Moses perhaps fail to record all of God’s original command in chapter 2, since he was going to present this fuller account in chapter 3 through Eve? Or was Eve just applying God’s command with what we might call correct theology, since there would be no point in touching the forbidden fruit unless one were going to pick it and eat it? The Bible does not call her a liar or an exaggerator, but the Lord only condemns her sin of eating the forbidden fruit.
There are other examples of parallel accounts by the same writer or speaker. Luke records three separate tellings or retellings of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus: Acts 9, Acts 22, and Acts 26. In the first two accounts, some of what Jesus said to Paul is recorded. But the third time, quite a bit more is revealed, as Paul tells Herod Agrippa about his conversion and his desire to leave Judea and to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Luke records Paul, who is quoting Jesus: “I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (unique to Acts 26:16-18). And of course there are too many examples to count throughout the Gospels, the building of the tabernacle and other things in Exodus, and by comparing Chronicles with the accounts in Samuel and Kings.
These things serve the purpose of showing the truth of the Scriptures to us, and of reminding us that while human beings wrote the text of the Bible down, they were inspired—given their message to write—by God the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). The essence of Holy Scripture is the revealed divine meaning of the words. The Word of God has power to give eternal life. Jesus says: “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). And James says, “Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21).
Daniel’s repeated words, as well as those of other authors of the Bible, show that the word of God has various uses. Sometimes the law shows our sins, other times the law guides believers toward Christian living. The gospel displays Jesus our Savior and all of God’s saving acts that prefigure Christ’s word. The word has the power to illuminate, convert, and sanctify, all by itself. It has the power of salvation for all who believe it (Romans 1:16).
When the Scriptures present more than one account of the same teaching, the same historical incident, or (as we have here) the very same vision or dream, we do well to pay close attention. But then, we always do well to pay close attention to everything that the words and promises of God declare. “Every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5). It has led you to believe, to be forgiven, and to be saved.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.