“And after you are gone, another kingdom will arise, a kingdom not as great as yours. And then a third kingdom will arise to rule the land, a kingdom of bronze.
I say concerning Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he will carry out all the purposes I have for him,’ saying to Jerusalem, ‘You will be rebuilt and flourish again!’ saying to the temple, ‘You will be reconstructed!’ ”
He gave me the interpretation: “The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and shatter it to pieces.
“And there will be a fourth kingdom, strong and hard as iron. It will shatter all things in its way. Like iron that breaks everything to pieces, it will crush and break all the other kingdoms.