Have I sinned— what have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target? Have I become a burden to You?

“I was watching the visions in my mind while on my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, this verdict by the command of the holy ones, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man and bestows it to whomever He wishes, and may set over them even the lowliest of men.’

“‘You, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it! Yet leave a stump with its roots in the ground, in fetters of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, until seven time periods pass over him.’