Daniel 2:41
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay. | And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel is explaining Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great image. After the head of gold (Nebuchadnezzar), then silver, brass, and iron, he reaches the feet and toes of iron mixed with clay. This fourth kingdom will be divided, yet it keeps some of the strength of iron. Daniel 2:31Daniel 2:32Daniel 2:33Daniel 2:38Daniel 2:39Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41
SpeakingDaniel, a captive from Judah also named Belteshazzar, speaks. He says the meaning came from the God of heaven, not from his own wisdom. Daniel 2:25Daniel 2:26Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:30
ToKing Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who had the dream and demanded both the dream and its meaning. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:5Daniel 2:26
Also involvedThe fourth kingdom, which comes after Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom and two others. In the days of these kings, God will set up his own kingdom. Daniel 2:39Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:44
The feet and toes of iron and clay mean a kingdom that is divided yet still has some of iron's strength. The next verses explain this: it will be "partly strong, and partly broken," and its parts will mingle but "not cleave one to another." The stone cut out without hands strikes the image on these feet of iron and clay. Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:34Daniel 2:45
Babylon, at Nebuchadnezzar's royal court. Afterward the king made Daniel ruler over the province of Babylon. Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:25Daniel 2:48Daniel overview
The eventsThe dream came in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. What it shows was still to come, "what shall be in the latter days." Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:29
WrittenTraditional: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC, under Antiochus IV, though others keep the traditional date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse shows that the fourth kingdom, though strong as iron, would be divided. In the days of these kings, God's kingdom breaks it in pieces. Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:44
In the whole of ScriptureDaniel 2 teaches that God "removeth kings, and setteth up kings." Every kingdom in the image is broken "like the chaff," while God's kingdom "shall stand for ever." Daniel 7 also shows a fourth beast with great iron teeth that "brake in pieces," and its ten horns are ten kings out of that kingdom. Daniel 2:21Daniel 2:35Daniel 2:44Daniel 7:7Daniel 7:24Daniel overview
For readersEven the strongest kingdom in the dream was divided and could not hold together. Readers living under foreign rulers can trust that God's kingdom will outlast every one of them. Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:44Daniel overview
Christians read this differently
Daniel 2 names the head of gold as Nebuchadnezzar but does not say what the toes stand for or give their number. One reading links the toes to the ten horns of the fourth beast, which Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12 call ten kings, and sees a final, divided stage of the fourth kingdom. Another reading takes the toes simply as part of the feet picture, showing the kingdom's division and weakness without pointing to a set number of kings. Daniel 2:38Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:42Daniel 7:7Daniel 7:24Revelation 17:12
- dividedפְּלַג
The word means "to divide" or "to be divided." Verses 42-43 explain the division: the kingdom is partly strong and partly broken, and its parts do not hold together. Strong's H6386Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43
- strength (firmness)נִצְבָּה
The word is glossed "firmness." The kingdom keeps some of the firmness of iron even while it is divided. Strong's H5326Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41
- clayחֲסַף
The word means "clay, potsherd," and here it is paired with the word for "potter." It is potters' clay set beside iron. Strong's H2635Strong's H6353Daniel 2:41
- mixedעֲרַב
The word means "to mix, join together." Verse 43 takes up the same picture: the parts mingle but do not truly bond, "even as iron is not mixed with clay." Strong's H6151Daniel 2:43
Takeaway
The fourth kingdom in the dream is strong but divided, iron mixed with clay. Its parts will not hold together, and God's everlasting kingdom will break it in pieces. Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:44
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Aramaic words
This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.
| English | Aramaic | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and that | וְדִֽי־ | ve-di- | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| you saw | חֲזַ֜יְתָה | cha-ZAY-tah | H2370 | to seeחֲזָה (cha.zah) 1) to see, behold 1a)(P'al) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, behold, witness 1a3) to behold (in a dream or vision) 1a4) customary, seemly (passive) |
| feet the | רַגְלַיָּ֣א | rag-lai-YA' | H7271 | footרְגַל (re.gal) foot Aramaic of re.gel (רֶ֫גֶל "foot" H7272) |
| and toes the | וְאֶצְבְּעָתָ֗א | ve-'etz-be-'a-TA' | H0677 | digitאֶצְבַּע (ets.ba) finger, toe Aramaic of ets.ba (אֶצְבַּע "finger" H0676) Aramaic of ets.ba (אֶצְבַּע "finger" H0676) |
| some of them | מִנְּהֵ֞ן | mi-ne-hen | H4481 | fromמִן־ (min) 1) from, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than 1a) from, out of (of place) 1b) from, by, as a result of, by reason of, at, according to, (of source) 1c) from (of time) 1d) beyond, more than (in comparisons) |
| clay | חֲסַ֤ף | cha-SAF | H2635 | clayחֲסַף (cha.saph) clay, potsherd |
| of | דִּֽי־ | di- | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| a potter | פֶחָר֙ | fe-CHAR | H6353 | potterפֶּחָר (pe.char) potter |
| and some of them | וּמִנְּהֵ֣ין | u-mi-ne-hon | H4481 | fromמִן־ (min) 1) from, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than 1a) from, out of (of place) 1b) from, by, as a result of, by reason of, at, according to, (of source) 1c) from (of time) 1d) beyond, more than (in comparisons) |
| iron | פַּרְזֶ֔ל | par-ZEL | H6523 | ironפַּרְזֶל (par.zel) iron Aramaic of bar.zel (בַּרְזֶל "iron" H1270) |
| a kingdom | מַלְכ֤וּ | mal-KHU | H4437 | kingdomמַלְכוּ (mal.khu) 1) royalty, reign, kingdom 1a) royalty, kingship, kingly authority 1b) kingdom 1c) realm (of territory) 1d) reign (of time) |
| divided | פְלִיגָה֙ | fe-li-GAH | H6386 | to divideפְּלַג (pe.lag) 1) to divide 1a) (P'al) to be divided |
| it will be | תֶּהֱוֵ֔ה | te-he-VEH | H1934 | to beהֲוָא (ha.va) 1) to come to pass, become, be 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to come to pass 1a2) to come into being, arise, become, come to be 1a2a) to let become known (with participle of knowing) 1a3) to be |
| and some of | וּמִן־ | u-min- | H4481 | fromמִן־ (min) 1) from, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than 1a) from, out of (of place) 1b) from, by, as a result of, by reason of, at, according to, (of source) 1c) from (of time) 1d) beyond, more than (in comparisons) |
| firmness the | נִצְבְּתָ֥א | nitz-be-TA' | H5326 | firmnessנִצְבָּה (nits.bah) firmness |
| of | דִ֥י | di | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| iron the | פַרְזְלָ֖א | far-ze-LA' | H6523 | ironפַּרְזֶל (par.zel) iron Aramaic of bar.zel (בַּרְזֶל "iron" H1270) |
| it will be | לֶֽהֱוֵא־ | le-he-ve'- | H1934 | to beהֲוָא (ha.va) 1) to come to pass, become, be 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to come to pass 1a2) to come into being, arise, become, come to be 1a2a) to let become known (with participle of knowing) 1a3) to be |
| because | קֳבֵל֙ | ko-VEL | H6903H | beforeקֳבֵל (qe.vel) subst 1) front prep 2) in front of, before, because of, in view of, by reason of, because of this, therefore conj 3) because that, inasmuch as, although, according as, before adv 4) accordingly, then |
| that | דִּ֣י | di | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| you saw | חֲזַ֔יְתָה | cha-ZAY-tah | H2370 | to seeחֲזָה (cha.zah) 1) to see, behold 1a)(P'al) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, behold, witness 1a3) to behold (in a dream or vision) 1a4) customary, seemly (passive) |
| iron the | פַּ֨רְזְלָ֔א | par-ze-LA' | H6523 | ironפַּרְזֶל (par.zel) iron Aramaic of bar.zel (בַּרְזֶל "iron" H1270) |
| mixed | מְעָרַ֖ב | me-'a-RAV | H6151 | to mixעֲרַב (a.rav) 1) to mix, join together 1a) (Pael) mixed (participle) 1b) (Ithpael) mixed (participle) |
| with [the] clay of | בַּחֲסַ֥ף | ba-cha-SAF | H2635 | clayחֲסַף (cha.saph) clay, potsherd |
| clay the | טִינָֽא׃ | ti-NA' | H2917 | commonטִין (tin) clay Aramaic of tit (טִיט "mud" H2916) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.