Daniel 2:42

Daniel 2:42 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
• New Living Translation (NLT)But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.

Context of Daniel 2:42

40Finally, 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. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Daniel 2:42 word by word

וְאֶצְבְּעָת֙ רַגְלַיָּ֔א מִנְּהֵ֥ין פַּרְזֶ֖ל וּמִנְּהֵ֣ין חֲסַ֑ף מִן־קְצָ֤ת מַלְכוּתָא֙ תֶּהֱוֵ֣ה תַקִּיפָ֔ה וּמִנַּ֖הּ תֶּהֱוֵ֥ה תְבִירָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the toesאֶצְבַּע'etsba‛ · digitH677
• of the feetרְגַלregal · footH7271
• partמִן־min · fromH4481
• of ironפַּרְזֶלparzel · ironH6523
• of clayחֲסַףchăsaph · clayH2635
• the kingdomמַלְכוּmalkû · kingdomH4437
• shall beהֲוָאhâvâ' hâvâh · to beH1934
• partlyקְצָתqetsâth · endH7118
• strongתַּקִּיףtaqqîyph · strongH8624
• brokenתְּבַרtebar · to breakH8406

Commentaries on Daniel 2:42

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken - Margin, “brittle.” The margin is the more correct rendering of the Chaldee word (תבירה tebı̂yrâh ). It means “frail, fragile” - easily broken, but not necessarily that it was actually broken. That did not occur until the stone cut out of the mountain impinged on it. It has been commonly supposed (comp. Newton “on the Prophecies”)…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. 41-42partly brittle: Feet are necessary for stability. The brittle feet show how fragile the entire image is. They represent earthly kingdoms and their power.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 41-4341-43. feet ... toes ... part ... clay ... iron--explained presently, "the kingdom shall be partly strong, partly broken" (rather, "brittle," as earthenware); and Da 2:43, "they shall mingle ... with the seed of men," that is, there will be power (in its deteriorated form, iron) mixed up with that which is wholly of man, and therefore brittle; power in the hands of the people having no internal stability, though something is left of the strength of the…Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 2:42

• Gold
• Persia

In the dictionaries

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

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