“The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.”
The watcher's proclamation begins: He cried aloud and said thus: Hew down the tree and lop off its branches; strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. The command is to destroy the tree completely: cut it down, remove its branches, strip its foliage, scatter its fruit, and drive away the animals that sheltered in it. The systematic destruction eliminates every element of the tree's beneficence; it will no longer provide food, shelter, or shade. The command's severity suggests divine judgment of extraordinary intensity. The address to the watchers (plural, though previously singular) to carry out the destruction suggests that heavenly forces execute divine judgment. For Nebuchadnezzar hearing this dream interpreted, the message is unmistakable: his empire and power, however magnificent, face imminent judgment and destruction by heavenly decree.
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