³⁹ “Another kingdom will ·come [rise up] after you, but ·it will not be as great as [inferior to] yours [^Cperhaps the Medes or the Medo-Persians]. Next a third kingdom, the bronze part, will rule over the earth [^Cperhaps the Persians or the Greeks]. ⁴⁰ Then there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron [^Cperhaps the Greeks or the Romans]. In the same way that iron crushes and smashes things to pieces, the fourth kingdom will smash and crush all the other kingdoms [^Cthese kingdoms might not be specific kingdoms but symbolic of a series of unnamed oppressive nations].

⁴¹ “You saw that the statue’s feet and toes were partly ·baked [pottery] clay and partly iron. That means the fourth kingdom will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron in it, just as you saw iron was mixed with ·clay [or pottery; or terra cotta].