The Bible Project itself

Although the original Greek texts had no chapters or verses, I will use the common chapter and verse format found in the Jerusalem Bible, along with the various titles and subtitles of the chapters of this edition.  By reading in a language that is not my mother tongue, I hope to gain a greater comprehension of the texts beyond the common understanding.  I will then write a short summary and commentary about each verse, paragraph, or section that I am reading, using the Greek, the French, and the English versions, along with the various footnotes that these editions of the Bible have provided.  I have subdivided these passages into smaller verses.  For the New Testament, I will also insert the Greek text between the translation and the commentary.  I am going to go through the New Testament Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, verse by verse, paraphrasing and commenting on each book of the New Testament.  This is not a task that will be accomplished in a year or two, or maybe ever at all.  However, I set out on this adventure with a basic understanding of the New Testament, as an old man who has spent a lifetime reading and thinking about these writings.  Now, I want to do it in a more comprehensive but sharing way.  I will post 5 blogs a day that will include the translated verse or verses that I am commenting on.  Let the adventure begin!

The later inferior kingdoms of bronze and iron (Dan 2:39-2:40)

“After you,

Shall arise

Another kingdom,

Inferior to you.

Yet a third kingdom

Of bronze,

Shall rule

Over the whole earth.

There shall be a fourth kingdom,

Strong as iron.

Just as iron

Crushes everything,

Just as iron

Smashes everything,

It shall crush everything,

It shall shatter everything.”

Daniel explained that there would be few kingdoms after King Nebuchadnezzar, but they would all be inferior to him and his kingdom. These would be the bronze and iron kingdoms. These 2nd, 3rd, and 4th kingdoms probably refer to the Median, the Persian and the Greek kingdoms. However, this future 4th iron kingdom would crush and shatter everything, probably a reference to the iron kingdom of the Greeks that the 3rd century BCE Jews were having so much trouble with.