The Last Scribe

Daniel 4 · 37 verses · The palace of Babylon

Daniel 4 as a game: the great tree, the humbled king and his praise

Read the chapter as Nebuchadnezzar wrote it, a letter to all the earth about what the high God did for him. See the dream of the tree, hear Daniel’s counsel, and follow the king from the palace roof to the field and back to his throne.

Play free Try the quiz questions

No download. Plays in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Revelation 1 and the Baptism of Jesus are free to try first.

What you will see

One king’s own story, told from his letter to his praise

You arrive as a Scribe, sent to witness the chapter and write it down. Daniel 4 is one map you can walk end to end, and the people of the chapter stand on it: Nebuchadnezzar, who tells his own story, Daniel, the watcher from heaven, the wise men of Babylon, and a guide who explains the chapter. Each speaks only from their own verses, so what you hear is the chapter, in order.

Five things wait to be found and read. Start with the king’s letter “unto all people, nations, and languages”. See the great tree of his dream, and the stump left in the earth “with a band of iron and brass”, a sign that the kingdom would come back to him. Stand on the palace roof where he said “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built”, and find the field where he lived among the beasts until he knew who rules. The quest takes you through them in the chapter’s order: the letter, the dream, the watcher’s decree, Daniel’s counsel, the voice on the roof, the field, and the day he looked up.

The ending is told as the king tells it: “I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me”. When you have seen it all, step into the quiz zone and fifteen questions ask what you saw.

Daniel 4 in the game: the map of the chapter with its people standing where the passage puts them
The game itself, not a mock-up: Daniel 4.

The chapter, in order

The quest, The Most High Rules, has seven steps, and they follow the chapter in order. Nothing is added to the text; the steps are a way of making sure you miss none of it.

  1. Read Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony to the nations
  2. See the dream of the great tree reaching to heaven
  3. Hear the watcher’s decree to cut down the tree
  4. Hear Daniel’s interpretation and plea for repentance
  5. Stand on the palace roof and hear the voice from heaven
  6. See the king among the beasts of the field
  7. Witness the upward look and the restored kingdom

Who you meet

Five people and voices stand in the chapter. Each speaks only from their own place in the chapter.

  • Nebuchadnezzar, the King Who Gives Testimony — the king of Babylon, who tells you of his dream, his pride, his seven times in the field, and how he came to praise “the King of heaven”.
  • Daniel, the Reluctant Interpreter — the prophet who “was astonied for one hour”, told the king the meaning, and urged him to show “mercy to the poor”.
  • The Watcher from Heaven — the holy one who came down in the dream with the decree, “that the living may know that the most High ruleth”.
  • The Wise Men of Babylon — the magicians and astrologers who heard the dream and could not tell its meaning.
  • The Interpretation Angel — a guide who explains why a king’s letter stands in the book of Daniel, and what the tree and the stump teach.

What you find

Walk up to any of these and the game reads you the verses it comes from, in the King James Version.

  • The Great Tree of the Dream (Daniel 4:10–12)
  • The Stump Bound in Iron and Bronze (Daniel 4:15)
  • The Palace Roof (Daniel 4:29–31)
  • The Field Where the King Grazed (Daniel 4:33)
  • The Empire-Wide Testimony Scroll (Daniel 4:1–3)

The verse where the king looks up

“And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:” Daniel 4:34, King James Version

Every verse the game quotes is the KJV. Where a character speaks in their own words, the dialogue is written from the chapter and checked against our doctrinal rules before release. The about page says plainly how we read the Bible.

Try five of the fifteen

Daniel 4 quiz questions, with answers

Five real questions from the Daniel 4 quiz, in the game's own words. In the game the options are shuffled every time, and you need 70% to pass.

1. What did Nebuchadnezzar see in the dream at the center of the chapter?

  1. A great tree in the midst of the earth whose height reached to heaven
  2. A ram and a goat
  3. An image of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay
  4. A man with a golden head and bronze loins
Show the answer

A. A great tree in the midst of the earth whose height reached to heaven “I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.”

Daniel 4:10–11

2. Why was the sentence decreed, according to the watcher?

  1. So that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men
  2. So that the Jews could return to Jerusalem
  3. So that Daniel could be promoted over all the wise men
  4. So that Marduk could be replaced as chief god of Babylon
Show the answer

A. So that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men “To the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” The sovereignty of God over earthly thrones is the central lesson of the whole chapter.

Daniel 4:17

3. What was Daniel’s plea to the king after interpreting the dream?

  1. Sacrifice a hundred bulls to the God of heaven
  2. Break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor
  3. Step down from the throne at once
  4. Return the temple vessels to Jerusalem immediately
Show the answer

B. Break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor “Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.”

Daniel 4:27

4. What did Nebuchadnezzar do that marked the moment his reason returned?

  1. He ate a proper meal
  2. He lifted his eyes to heaven
  3. He called for Daniel
  4. He heard a trumpet sound
Show the answer

B. He lifted his eyes to heaven “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High.” One upward look was enough. The whole arc of restoration hangs on that single act.

Daniel 4:34

5. What are the final words of Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony in Daniel 4:37?

  1. “My kingdom shall stand forever”
  2. “I will build a new temple to the Most High”
  3. “Daniel shall rule in my place”
  4. “Those that walk in pride he is able to abase”
Show the answer

D. “Those that walk in pride he is able to abase” “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” A warning addressed to every throne on earth.

Daniel 4:37

Right answers pay 10 XP each and a perfect score pays 50 more. In a room, everyone answers the same quiz and sees how the others did. More on how the quiz works.

Chapter facts

37
verses, every one covered by something you see, hear or read
15
quiz questions, each tied to a verse
5
people and voices to speak with
5
things to find and read
1–6
players in a room; solo play is fine too
KJV
every verse quoted from the King James Version

How to play it

  1. Open the game in your browser and make an account. A child under 13 gives a parent's email instead of their own, and the parent confirms before the child can play with anyone else; see the page for parents.
  2. Play the short intro story in the Archivery, the library where the Scribe finds the Book. It is free and takes a few minutes.
  3. Open the world map and choose Daniel 4. To play with others, start a room and share its code, which looks like SCRIBE-7K4P2Q; up to six people can join from their own devices.
  4. Walk the map, speak with everyone, read everything, then step into the quiz zone.

Free, and with a subscription

Daniel 4 is part of the subscription ($9.99 a month or $79.99 a year). Chapters open in Bible order along a road through the books, era by era, so Daniel 4 opens when you reach Daniel on that road; nobody skips ahead. See pricing.

Free forever, for every player: the intro story, Revelation 1, the story scene The Baptism of Jesus, and four open lands to walk with other players: the City of the Last Days, the Garden of Eden, Judea in the days of Jesus, and Patmos and the Seven Churches. Revelation 1 is a good first chapter to try before you subscribe.

More to play

  • Before: Daniel 3 — Stand on the plain of Dura when the music plays and every ruler of the provinces falls down before the king’s image.
  • After: Daniel 5 — Stand in the king’s palace on the last night of Babylon, when Belshazzar drinks from the vessels of God’s house.
  • Every chapter and story with a page: the list of what you can play.

Walk with the king who looked up.

Daniel 4 takes about twenty minutes alone, a little longer with friends in a room.

Start with the free chapters