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Daniel 4:25
ESV that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.
NIV You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.
NASB that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.
CSB You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.
NLT You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.
KJV That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

What does Daniel 4:25 mean?

This is the climax of Daniel's terrible news, as given to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar. The king's recent dream (Daniel 4:10–17) means he will be driven insane. The now-mighty ruler will be like a mindless animal, bound in madness for "seven periods of time." Only when the king grasps his humble state, compared to God, will this judgment be lifted. It's not clear if the king came to believe he was, in fact, an animal, and attempted to eat grass. The other possibility is that he was "only" mindless and incoherent, lacking any sense or reason.

When this inevitable doom comes, it will last long enough for the king's hair and nails to grow into a disheveled mess (Daniel 4:33). In Nebuchadnezzar's time, mental health institutions did not exist. The common practice was to simply drive insane people out of inhabited areas. It seems unlikely this would be Nebuchadnezzar's fate, considering that he would eventually be restored (Daniel 4:34). Yet he may well have been kept with livestock or other animals during his time of insanity.
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