As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

As for that statue, its head was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze.

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.

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.”

But leave its taproot ¹  in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it ²  surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with ³  the animals in the grass of the land.

“Then I wanted to know the meaning ¹  of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.

Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction ¹  and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.

As for the king seeing a holy sentinel coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven periods of time go by for him’ –

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ¹  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ²  your very breath and all your ways!