⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush^(A) all those kingdoms^(B) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.^(C)

³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.^(A) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed^(B) them.^{(C) 35} Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away^(D) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain^(E) and filled the whole earth.^(F)

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.^{(G) 37} Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.^(H) The God of heaven has given you dominion^(I) and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.^(J) You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.^{(K) 40} Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.^{(L) 41} Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush^(M) all those kingdoms^(N) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.^(O)

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth^[a] will mourn^(A) when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven,^(B) with power and great glory.^[b]