Daniel 2:27-40

27Daniel answered the king, ‘Sir, your dream is a secret. No wise men, enchanters, magicians or diviners can tell you about it.

28But there is a God in heaven. He explains secret things. In your dream, he has shown you what will happen in future years. Now I will tell you the dream and the visions that you had while you lay on your bed.

29While you lay on your bed, you dreamed about future times. God explains secret things, and he has shown you what will happen in future years.

30I am not more wise than other people. But God has explained your secret dream to me, because he wants you to know what it means. He wants you to understand the thoughts in your mind.’

31Daniel said, ‘In your dream, you saw in front of you a statue with a man's shape. It was very big and very bright. It frightened people very much.

32Its head was made from pure gold. The top of its body and its arms were made from silver. Its lower body was made from bronze.

33The statue's legs were made from iron. Its feet had parts made from iron and parts made from clay.

34While you looked, someone cut out a large stone from a mountain. But no human hand did this. The stone hit the statue on its iron and clay feet. The stone broke them into pieces.

35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all broke into pieces. They became like chaff that the wind blows away. Nobody could see any of those pieces any more. But the stone that had hit the statue became a large mountain. It filled the whole earth.’

36Daniel continued to say, ‘That was your dream, King Nebuchadnezzar. Now we will tell you what it means.

37You are a great king who rules over other kings. The God of heaven has given you authority to rule. He has given you power, strength and honour.

38He has put all the people of this world, the wild animals and the birds under your power. He has given you authority to rule them all, in every place that they live. You are like the head of gold that you saw in your dream.

39After you, there will be another kingdom. It will not be as great as your kingdom. Then a third kingdom will come. It will be like the bronze part of the statue. It will also rule the whole earth.

40Then there will be a fourth kingdom. It will be as strong as iron which breaks everything into pieces. Like iron, that kingdom will destroy the other kingdoms.