³ Four great beasts,^(A) each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

⁴ “The first was like a lion,^(B) and it had the wings of an eagle.^(C) I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’^(D)

⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.^(E) And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

⁷ “After that, in my vision^(F) at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron^(G) teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled^(H) underfoot whatever was left.^(I) It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.^(J)

⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little^(K) one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being^(L) and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^(M)

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.^(V) I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.^{(W) 12} (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^[a](X) coming^(Y) with the clouds of heaven.^(Z) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority,^(AA) glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.^(AB) His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom^(AC) is one that will never be destroyed.^(AD)

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,^(A) awesome^(B) in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.^(C) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed^(D) them.^{(E) 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^(F) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain^(G) and filled the whole earth.^(H)

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.”