Daniel 2:40

Daniel 2:40 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
• New International Version (NIV)Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

Context of Daniel 2:40

38Wherever people live — or wild animals, or birds of the sky — he has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. 39“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others. 41You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron — it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay, 42and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay — part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle.

Daniel 2:40 word by word

וּמַלְכוּ֙ רְבִ֣יעָאָ֔ה תֶּהֱוֵ֥א תַקִּיפָ֖ה כְּפַרְזְלָ֑א כָּל־קֳבֵ֗ל דִּ֤י פַרְזְלָא֙ מְהַדֵּ֤ק וְחָשֵׁל֙ כֹּ֔לָּא וּֽכְפַרְזְלָ֛א דִּֽי־מְרָעַ֥ע כָּל־אִלֵּ֖ין תַּדִּ֥ק וְתֵרֹֽעַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the fourthרְבִיעִיrebîy‛ay · fourthH7244
• kingdomמַלְכוּmalkû · kingdomH4437
• shall beהֲוָאhâvâ' hâvâh · to beH1934
• strongתַּקִּיףtaqqîyph · strongH8624
• as ironפַּרְזֶלparzel · ironH6523
• breaketh in piecesדְּקַקdeqaq · to break upH1855
• and subduethחֲשַׁלchăshal · to shatterH2827
• allכֹּלkôl · allH3606
• and asקֳבֵלqebêl qŏbêl · before: becauseH6903
• that breakethרְעַעre‛a‛ · to breakH7490
• theseאִלֵּין'illêyn 'illên · theseH459

Cross-references for Daniel 2:40

• Daniel 2:33its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.
• Daniel 7:19“Then I wanted to be clear about the fourth beast, the one different from all the others, extremely terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze claws, devouring, crushing, and trampling with its feet whatever was left.
• Daniel 8:24His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people.
• Daniel 9:26After those sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come with a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.
• Daniel 11:36“Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, because what has been decreed will be accomplished.
• John 11:48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
• Daniel 7:7“After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
• Jeremiah 15:12Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze?
• Amos 1:3The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Damascus for three crimes, even four, because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.

Commentaries on Daniel 2:40

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 40And the fourth kingdom - Represented in the image by the legs of iron, and the feet “part of iron, and part of clay,” Daniel 2:33. The first question which arises here is, what kingdom is referred to by this? In regard to this, there have been two leading opinions: one, that it refers to the Roman empire; the other, that it refers to the kingdoms or dynasties that immediately succeeded the reign of Alexander the Great; embracing the kingdoms of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 31-45Verses 31-45 This image represented the kingdoms of the earth, that should successively rule the nations, and influence the affairs of the Jewish church. 1. The head of gold signified the Chaldean empire, then in being. 2. The breast and arms of silver signified the empire of the Medes and Persians. 3. The belly and thighs of brass signified the Grecian empire, founded by Alexander. 4. The legs and feet of iron signified the Roman empire. The Roman empire…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-49God gave a dream that showed the course of world history over the centuries, and Daniel explained its mysterious images. This dream and its interpretation highlight a key theme of the book—the certain final establishment of the kingdom of God as the ultimate goal of history (Daniel 2:44–45; 7:9–14, 26–27). This chapter also shows that paganism cannot understand the actions and plans of Israel’s God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4040. iron--This vision sets forth the character of the Roman power, rather than its territorial extent [Tregelles]. breaketh in pieces--So, in righteous retribution, itself will at last be broken in pieces (Da 2:44) by the kingdom of God (Re 13:10).Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 2:40

• Clay
• Gold
• Persia

In the dictionaries

• Ask
• Iron
• Prophecy
• Terrible
• Abed-Nego
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Bible, the
• Daniel
• Daniel, Book of
• Divination

Commentaries on Daniel 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings