“‘But leave its stump!
Leave its roots
In the ground!
Let it be bound
With a band
Of iron,
As well as bronze,
In the tender grass
Of the field.
Let him be bathed
With the dew of heaven!
Let his lot be
With the animals
Of the field
In the grass
Of the earth!
Let his mind
Be changed
From that of a human!
Let the mind
Of an animal
Be given to him!
Let seven times
Pass over him!’”
This holy watcher or angel told the king to leave the stump of the tree with its roots in the ground. They were to bind this stump with an iron and bronze band in a grassy field, so that heavenly dew would fall on it. This tree has suddenly become a ‘he,’ a masculine personality, that will have to suffer like the animals of the grass fields. The human mind of this tree stump was to be changed to that of an animal. This was to last at least 7 years or pass over him 7 times.