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

38He has put all the people of this world, the wild animals and the birds under your power. He has given you authority to rule them all, in every place that they live. You are like the head of gold that you saw in your dream. 39After you, there will be another kingdom. It will not be as great as your kingdom. Then a third kingdom will come. It will be like the bronze part of the statue. It will also rule the whole earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom. It will be as strong as iron which breaks everything into pieces. Like iron, that kingdom will destroy the other kingdoms. 41In your dream, you saw that the statue's feet and toes had parts of clay and parts of iron. This shows that this kingdom will not be united as one. Some parts will be strong, like iron. The iron that you saw shows that strength. 42But the iron parts of the statue were mixed with clay parts. This shows that the fourth kingdom will be strong in some parts and weak in other parts.

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 2:33The statue's legs were made from iron. Its feet had parts made from iron and parts made from clay.
• Daniel 7:19Then I wanted to know about the fourth animal. It was different from all the other animals. It was a terrible animal that made me very afraid. It had large iron teeth and feet with sharp bronze claws. It ate things and it broke them into pieces. It used its feet to stamp on everything else.
• Daniel 8:24He will become very strong, but this will not be a result of his own power. He will completely destroy many things. He will be successful in everything that he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and the holy people who belong to God.
• Daniel 9:26After the 62 weeks have passed, people will kill the ruler that God had chosen. He will have nothing. Then a foreign ruler and his army will attack the city and the temple. He will destroy them quickly, like a flood of water. War and terrible trouble will continue until the end that God has decided.
• Daniel 11:36The king will do whatever he wants to do. He will say that he is greater than any god. He will even say proud things to insult the God who rules all other gods. He will be successful until the time when God's anger finishes. God will finish doing what he has decided to do.
• John 11:48If we let him do more things like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman rulers will come and punish us. Their soldiers will destroy our temple and even destroy our whole country of Israel.’
• Daniel 7:7Then, while I looked, I saw a fourth animal in my vision. It was a terrible animal that was very strong. It had large iron teeth. It ate things and it broke them into pieces. It used its feet to stamp on everything else. It was different from the other animals. It had ten horns.
• Jeremiah 15:12Your enemy that comes from the north is like a weapon made from iron and bronze. You will never break it.
• Amos 1:3The Lord says, ‘The people in Damascus have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them! They have been cruel to the people in Gilead. They used their iron weapons to tear them into pieces.

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