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.

“As for you, O king, while you were in your bed your thoughts turned to future things. ¹  The revealer of mysteries has made known to you what will take place.

¹ In the third year ²  of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously. ³ 

You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. ¹  The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”

“Then ¹  a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs ²  in its mouth between its teeth. ³  It was told, ⁴  ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

“After these things, ¹  as I was watching, another beast ²  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ³  This beast had four heads, ⁴  and ruling authority was given to it.

“As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. ¹  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ²  things.