1 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was on his bed. He wrote down a summary of the dream.
2 Daniel said: “I was looking in my vision at night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
3 Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the others.
4 “The first was like a lion with eagle’s wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted off the ground. It was made to stand upon two feet like a man, and the heart of a human was given to it.
5 “And behold there before me was another beast, a second one, like a bear. It raised itself up on one side; it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
6 “After that I looked, and behold, there was another one like a leopard. On its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.