Daniel 2:42
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. | 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. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel is explaining the king's dream of a great image made of gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay. This verse explains the toes, which were part iron and part clay. It means the fourth kingdom, in its divided form, would be partly strong and partly broken. Daniel 2:31Daniel 2:32Daniel 2:33Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:42
SpeakingDaniel, a captive from Judah also named Belteshazzar, speaks. He says the meaning came from the God of heaven and not from his own wisdom. Daniel 2:25Daniel 2:26Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:30Daniel 2:36
ToHe is speaking to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who had the dream and demanded to know its meaning. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:26Daniel 2:37
Also involvedThe verse is about the fourth kingdom of the dream, which follows Babylon and two other kingdoms. It describes that kingdom in its divided stage, pictured by the feet and toes. Daniel 2:38Daniel 2:39Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41
The iron legs stand for a fourth kingdom strong as iron. In the feet and toes the iron is mixed with clay, so the kingdom is divided. It keeps some of the iron's strength, yet it is partly broken. Verse 43 adds that they will mingle with the seed of men but will not cleave one to another, just as iron is not mixed with clay. Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43
Daniel gives this interpretation before the king in Babylon, where the king had ordered all the wise men killed. After this, Daniel was made ruler over the province of Babylon. Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:24Daniel 2:25Daniel 2:48Daniel overview
The eventsThe dream came in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. Daniel says it makes known what shall come to pass hereafter, in the latter days. In the dream, the divided kingdom of the toes comes after the head of gold and two more kingdoms, and God sets up his kingdom in the days of these kings. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:29Daniel 2:38Daniel 2:39Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:44
WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, under the Greek king Antiochus IV, because chapter 11 describes those years in detail. Others keep the 500s BC date, pointing to Jesus' words in Matthew 24:15. Daniel overview
HereThe detail shows that even the strong fourth kingdom will end divided, partly strong and partly broken. It sets the scene for verse 44: in the days of these kings, God will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:44
In the whole of ScriptureDaniel 2 teaches that God removes kings and sets up kings. Every human kingdom in the image, from gold down to iron and clay, is broken by the stone cut out without hands. Elsewhere Daniel 7:24 speaks of ten horns as ten kings arising out of a kingdom, and Revelation 13:1 pictures a beast with ten horns. Daniel 2:21Daniel 2:34Daniel 2:35Daniel 2:44Daniel 7:24Revelation 13:1Daniel overview
For readersEarthly power, however strong it looks, is mixed with weakness and cannot hold together. God's people can trust that his kingdom alone will stand for ever. Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:44Daniel overview
Christians read this differently
The passage says the iron and clay show a divided kingdom, partly strong and partly broken, but it names only Babylon as the head of gold and does not say who the toes stand for. Some readers link the toes with the ten horns that are ten kings in Daniel 7:24 and the ten horns of Revelation 13:1, and see a final group of kings. Others see the toes simply as part of the picture of the fourth kingdom's divided, mixed nature, not as a set number of kings. Daniel 2:38Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:44Daniel 7:24Revelation 13:1
- strongתַּקִּיף
The word means might, strong, mighty. It ties the iron part of the toes to the iron kingdom that breaks and subdues all things in verse 40. Strong's H8624Daniel 2:40
- brokenתְּבַר
It comes from the verb to break, and in this participle form means broken in pieces. The entry renders it 'breakable' here, set against the strong iron part. Strong's H8406Daniel 2:42
- clayחֲסַף
The word means clay or potsherd. It matches the 'potters' clay' of verse 41, the part of the feet mixed with iron. Strong's H2635Daniel 2:41
- kingdomמַלְכוּ
The word can mean royalty, reign, kingdom, or realm. The same chapter uses kingdom both for the kingdoms of the image and for God's kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Strong's H4437Daniel 2:39Daniel 2:44
Takeaway
The iron-and-clay toes show the last human kingdom of the dream as partly strong and partly broken, unable to hold together. Against that weakness stands God's kingdom, which breaks all others and stands for ever. Daniel 2:42Daniel 2:43Daniel 2:44Daniel 2:45
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 [the] toes of | וְאֶצְבְּעָת֙ | ve-'etz-be-'AT | H0677 | digitאֶצְבַּע (ets.ba) finger, toe Aramaic of ets.ba (אֶצְבַּע "finger" H0676) Aramaic of ets.ba (אֶצְבַּע "finger" H0676) |
| feet the | רַגְלַיָּ֔א | rag-lai-YA' | H7271 | footרְגַל (re.gal) foot Aramaic of re.gel (רֶ֫גֶל "foot" H7272) |
| some of them | מִנְּהֵ֥ין | 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 | פַּרְזֶ֖ל | par-ZEL | H6523 | ironפַּרְזֶל (par.zel) iron Aramaic of bar.zel (בַּרְזֶל "iron" H1270) |
| 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) |
| clay | חֲסַ֑ף | cha-SAF | H2635 | clayחֲסַף (cha.saph) clay, potsherd |
| from | מִן־ | 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) |
| [the] part of | קְצָ֤ת | ke-TZAT | H7118 | endקְצָת (qe.tsat) end, part Aramaic of qe.tsat (קְצָת "end" H7117) |
| kingdom the | מַלְכוּתָא֙ | mal-khu-TA' | H4437 | kingdomמַלְכוּ (mal.khu) 1) royalty, reign, kingdom 1a) royalty, kingship, kingly authority 1b) kingdom 1c) realm (of territory) 1d) reign (of time) |
| it will be | תֶּהֱוֵ֣ה | 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 |
| strong | תַקִּיפָ֔ה | ta-ki-FAH | H8624 | strongתַּקִּיף (taq.qiph) might, strong, mighty Aramaic of taq.qiph (תַּקִּיף "mighty" H8623) |
| and from it | וּמִנַּ֖הּ | u-mi-NAH | 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) |
| it will be | תֶּהֱוֵ֥ה | 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 |
| breakable | תְבִירָֽה׃ | te-vi-RAH | H8406 | to breakתְּבַר (te.var) to break (P'al) broken in pieces (participle) Aramaic of sha.var (שָׁבַר "to break" H7665) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.