²⁹ Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck,^(C) and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.^(D)

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar,^(E) king^(F) of the Babylonians,^[b] was slain,^{(G) 31} and Darius^(H) the Mede^(I) took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.^[c]

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) 45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock^(D) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands^(E)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.^(F) The dream is true^(G) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

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)