The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.
- KJV The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
- NKJV The tree grew and became strong; Its height reached to the heavens, And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.
- NASB ‘The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
- NLT The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The tree grows strong, reaching the sky and seen to the ends of the earth. Its vastness mirrors the king's far-reaching power.
Overview
The tree's height and visibility depict an empire that dominates the known world. Such grandeur invites the very pride God is about to humble. The loftiness of the tree foreshadows how far it must fall when judgment comes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Deut 9:1Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- Dan 4:21–22whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested—
- Matt 11:23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.
- Gen 11:4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 4:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.