Daniel begins the official interpretation: The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong, whose top reached to heaven and which was visible to all the earth; whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all; under which animals of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests—it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth. Daniel explicitly identifies the tree as Nebuchadnezzar himself, his empire, and his power. The repetition of the dream's images (great tree, reaching to heaven, visible to all) emphasizes the accuracy of Daniel's interpretation. Daniel's address (it is you, O king!) is direct; he does not soften the identification or allow the king false hope that the prophecy concerns someone else. The affirmation that the king has grown great and strong and that his greatness has increased and reaches to heaven acknowledges the reality of Nebuchadnezzar's power while implicitly suggesting that such power contains seeds of its own downfall.

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