8. Finally, Daniel came to me. He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him my dream.
9. I said, "Belteshazzar, you are chief of the magicians. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No mystery is too hard for you to figure out. Here is my dream. Tell me what it means.
10. "Here are the visions I saw while I was lying on my bed. I looked up and saw a tree standing in the middle of the land. It was very tall.
11. It had grown to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen anywhere on earth.
12. Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found shade. The birds of the air lived in its branches. Every creature was fed from that tree.
13. "While I was still lying on my bed, I looked up. In my visions, I saw a holy messenger. He was coming down from heaven.
14. He called out in a loud voice. He said, 'Cut the tree down. Break off its branches. Strip its leaves off. Scatter its fruit. Let the animals that are under it run away. Let the birds that are in its branches fly off.