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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.

Context of Daniel 2:40

38in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39“After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 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. 41Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly 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 of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.
• Daniel 7:19“Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.
• Daniel 8:24He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.
• Daniel 9:26After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
• Daniel 11:36“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
• John 11:48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
• Daniel 7:7“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
• Jeremiah 15:12“Can a man break iron— iron from the north—or bronze?
• Amos 1:3This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,

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