Daniel 2:40

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

Daniel 4:22

4:22 it is you, ⁴  O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth.

Daniel 8:8

8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ⁵  in its place, ⁶  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ⁷ 

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¹ tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”

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

³ tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.

⁴ sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often cited for parallels to these events.

⁵ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

⁶ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.