Daniel 2:32-33

2:32 As for that statue, its head was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze. 2:33 Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. ¹ 

Daniel 2:37-40

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 2:38 Wherever human beings, ²  wild animals, ³  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ⁴  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold. 2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁵  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth. 2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces ⁶  all of these metals, ⁷  so it will break in pieces and crush the others. ⁸ 

Zechariah 6:1-8

Vision Eight: The Chariots

6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ⁹  6:2 Harnessed to the first chariot were red horses, to the second black horses, 6:3 to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong. ¹⁰  6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ¹¹  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?” 6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ¹²  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6:6 The chariot with the black horses is going to the north country and the white ones are going after them, but the spotted ones are going to the south country. 6:7 All these strong ones ¹³  are scattering; they have sought permission to go and walk about over the earth.” The Lord had said, “Go! Walk about over the earth!” So they are doing so. 6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ¹⁴  peace about the northland.” ¹⁵ 

[2:33]  ¹ sn Clay refers to baked clay, which – though hard – was also fragile. Cf. the reference in v. 41 to “wet clay.”

[2:38]  ² tn Aram “the sons of man.”

[2:38]  ³ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[2:38]  ⁴ tn Aram “hand.”

[2:39]  ⁵ sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

[2:40]  ⁶ tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”

[2:40]  ⁷ tn The Aramaic text does not have this word, but it has been added in the translation for clarity.

[2:40]  ⁸ tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:3]  ¹⁰ tc For the MT reading אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) Aquila and Syriac presuppose אֲדֻמִּים (’adummim, “red”), thus giving the red horse an assignment and eliminating the problem of a fifth, “spotted” horse. The fourth would be a mottled red horse according to this view. There is, however, no manuscript support for this interpretation.

[6:4]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[6:5]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).

[6:7]  ¹³ tn The present translation takes אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) to be a descriptive of all the horses – white, black, red, and spotted (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[6:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my spirit.” The subject appears to be the Lord who exclaims here that the horsemen have accomplished their task of bringing peace.

[6:8]  ¹⁵ sn The immediate referent of peace about the northland is to the peace brought by Persia’s conquest of Babylonia, a peace that allowed the restoration of the Jewish people (cf. 2 Chr 36:22-23; Isa 44:28; 45:1-2). However, there is also an eschatological dimension, referring to a time when there will be perfect and universal peace.