Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 4:20-21

"The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation:" — Daniel 4:20-21 (ASV)

The tree that thou sawest ... - In these two verses, Daniel refers to the leading circumstances respecting the tree as it appeared in the dream, without any allusion yet to the order to cut it down. He probably designed to show that he had clearly understood what had been said, or that he had attended to the most minute circumstances as narrated. It was important to do this in order to show clearly that it referred to the king; a fact which Nebuchadnezzar himself probably realized, yet it was still important that this should be so firmly fixed in his mind that he would not reject it when Daniel came to disclose the fearful import of the remainder of the dream.