Now all of this happened ¹  to King Nebuchadnezzar.

(3:31) ¹  “King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and language groups that live in all the land: Peace and prosperity! ² 

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups who were living in all the land: “Peace and prosperity! ¹ 

“But you, his son ¹  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ²  although you knew all this.

Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

Because of this the king got furiously angry ¹  and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Therefore when they all ¹  heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, ²  and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.

“This is what he told me: ¹  ‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth that will differ from all the other kingdoms. It will devour all the earth and will trample and crush it.

Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful; on it there was food enough for all. Under it the wild animals ¹  used to seek shade, and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest. All creatures ²  used to feed themselves from it.

So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its ¹  interpretation to the king.

He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver, as well as all the treasures of Egypt. Libyans and Ethiopians ¹  will submit to him. ² 

“You are righteous, ¹  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ²  – the people ³  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you.

At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier ¹  than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies.

O Lord, according to all your justice, ¹  please turn your raging anger ²  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

Now after you another kingdom ¹  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

While I was contemplating all this, ¹  a male goat ²  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ³  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ⁴  between its eyes.

The tree that you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky, and which could be seen ¹  in all the land,

Then the kingdom, authority, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be delivered to the people of the holy ones ¹  of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

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 ¹  all of these metals, ²  so it will break in pieces and crush the others. ³ 

The tree grew large and strong. Its top reached far into the sky; it could be seen ¹  from the borders of all the land. ²