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Verse

Daniel 4:10

ESV The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.
NIV These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.
NASB ‘Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the middle of the earth and its height was great.
CSB In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this: There was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very tall.
NLT '‘While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth.
KJV Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

What does Daniel 4:10 mean?

When Nebuchadnezzar had his first disturbing dream, he insisted his wise men relate the vision, itself, instead of simply giving him an interpretation (Daniel 2:1–6, 17–19). It's possible he did the same thing here (Daniel 4:9), asking Daniel to first describe the dream, and then to give its meaning. But the narrative seems to indicate that the king told the enchanters and Daniel the content of the dream (Daniel 4:7–8). One way or another, the king and his captive advisor (Daniel 1:1–6) agreed on the content of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

The king's dream depicted an enormous tree. He was familiar with Lebanon, the home of infamously massive trees with wide branches and cones the size of a person's hand. There, the king would have observed the process of cutting down tall cedars for his construction projects in Babylon. The cedars of Lebanon were also prominent in the construction of David's palace and in the construction of Solomon's temple and palace six centuries prior to Nebuchadnezzar's reign. According to 2 Chronicles 2:3–10, Solomon had requested that Hiram, King of Tyre, send him cedars in exchange for massive quantities of wheat, barley, wine, and oil.

The cedar of Lebanon has been called the "king of trees" in comparison with other trees found in Bible lands. This sense of dominance will connect to the dream's meaning, as explained later by Daniel (Daniel 4:22).
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