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Daniel 2:36-48
New King James Version
Daniel 2:36-48
New King James Version
36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 (A)You, O king, are a king of kings. (B)For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 (C)and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—(D)you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise (E)another kingdom (F)inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And (G)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. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, (H)so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly [a]fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings (I)the God of heaven will set up a kingdom (J)which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; (K)it shall [b]break in pieces and [c]consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 (L)Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
Daniel and His Friends Promoted
46 (M)Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering (N)and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly (O)your God is the God of (P)gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 (Q)Then the king promoted Daniel (R)and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and (S)chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Daniel 2:42 Or brittle
- Daniel 2:44 Or crush
- Daniel 2:44 Lit. put an end to
Daniel 2:36-48
New American Standard Bible
Daniel 2:36-48
New American Standard Bible
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; and now we will tell (A)its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the (B)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the [a]kingdom, the (C)power, the strength, and the honor; 38 and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the (D)animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40 Then there will be a (E)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. 41 And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with [b]common clay. 42 And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile. 43 In that you saw the iron mixed with [c]common clay, they will combine with one another [d]in [e]their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery.
The Divine Kingdom
44 And in the days of those kings the (F)God of heaven will (G)set up a (H)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be [f]left for another people; it will (I)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Just as you saw that a (J)stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the (K)great God has made known to the king what (L)will take place [g]in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid (M)humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and (N)incense. 47 The king responded to Daniel and said, “(O)Your God truly is a (P)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a (Q)revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king [h](R)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire (S)province of Babylon, and chief [i]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Daniel 2:37 Or sovereignty
- Daniel 2:41 Lit wet clay
- Daniel 2:43 Lit wet clay
- Daniel 2:43 Or with
- Daniel 2:43 Lit the seed of men
- Daniel 2:44 Or passed on to
- Daniel 2:45 Lit after this
- Daniel 2:48 Lit made Daniel great
- Daniel 2:48 Lit of the prefects
Daniel 2:36-48
Amplified Bible
Daniel 2:36-48
Amplified Bible
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, are the king of [earthly] kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory;(A) 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You [king of Babylon] are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 After you will arise another kingdom (Medo-Persia) inferior to you, and then a third kingdom of bronze (Greece under Alexander the Great), which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40 Then a fourth kingdom (Rome) will be strong as iron, for iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things; and like iron which crushes things in pieces, it will break and crush all these [others].(B) 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but there will be in it some of the durability and strength of iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 As the [ten] toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and another part of it will be brittle. 43 And as you saw the iron mixed with common clay, so they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not merge [for such diverse things or ideologies cannot unite], even as iron does not mix with clay.
The Divine Kingdom
44 In the days of those [final ten] kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left for another people; but it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.(C) 45 Just as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has revealed to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell face downward and paid respect to Daniel [as a great prophet of the highest God], and gave orders for an offering and fragrant incense to be presented to him [in honor of his God]. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Most certainly your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery!”(D) 48 Then the king promoted Daniel [to an exalted position] and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
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Daniel 2:36-48
New International Version
Daniel 2:36-48
New International Version
36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.(A) 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.(B) The God of heaven has given you dominion(C) and power and might and glory; 38 in 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.(D) 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.(E) 40 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.(F) 41 Just 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. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And 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(G) all those kingdoms(H) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.(I) 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock(J) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands(K)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.(L) The dream is true(M) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate(N) before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering(O) and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods(P) and the Lord of kings(Q) and a revealer of mysteries,(R) for you were able to reveal this mystery.(S)”
48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high(T) position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.(U)
Daniel 2:36-48
King James Version
Daniel 2:36-48
King James Version
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 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.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 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.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.