Daniel 2:45
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” | Forasmuch as thou sawest that a 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. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel ends his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The stone cut out without hands, which smashed the whole image, stands for the kingdom God will set up that will never be destroyed. Daniel tells the king that God has shown him the future, and that the dream and its meaning are sure. Daniel 2:34Daniel 2:35Daniel 2:44Daniel 2:45
SpeakingDaniel, a captive from Judah also named Belteshazzar, speaks to the king. Daniel 2:25Daniel 2:26Daniel overview
ToNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who had demanded that his dream be told and explained. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:5Daniel 2:26
Also involvedThe kingdoms pictured by the image's metals and clay are the ones the stone will break. Daniel names only the first: Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold. The text does not name the second, third and fourth kingdoms. Daniel 2:38Daniel 2:39Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:44
The verse sums up the dream's ending. A stone not cut by human hands breaks the iron, brass, clay, silver and gold, which shows God's kingdom ending all these kingdoms. Daniel then declares that the great God has made known what will happen, and that the dream is certain and the interpretation sure. Daniel 2:34Daniel 2:35Daniel 2:44Daniel 2:45
In the royal court of Babylon, before King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:25Daniel 2:48Daniel overview
The eventsThis took place in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, when his order to kill the wise men of Babylon was in force. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:13
WrittenTraditional view: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC, under Antiochus IV, while others keep the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereDaniel makes clear that the message comes from God, not from his own wisdom, and that it will surely happen. The same pattern appears when Joseph tells Pharaoh that God is showing what he is about to do and that the thing is established by God. Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:30Daniel 2:45Genesis 41:28Genesis 41:32
In the whole of ScriptureThe chapter teaches that God removes kings and sets up kings, and that his kingdom will outlast every earthly empire. Daniel's later visions repeat this theme. Daniel 2:21Daniel 2:44Daniel overview
For readersGod's people living under foreign powers can trust that the great God knows the future. His kingdom, not any human empire, will stand for ever. Daniel 2:44Daniel 2:45Daniel overviewDeuteronomy 10:17Jeremiah 32:19
- cut outגְּזַר
The word means to cut or determine, and in this form 'to be cut out.' Together with 'not by hands,' it shows the stone was shaped without any human work. Strong's H1505Strong's H3028Daniel 2:34
- handsיַד
The word means hand, and figuratively power. 'Not by hands' marks the stone's kingdom as God's doing, since 'the God of heaven' sets it up. Strong's H3028Strong's H3809Daniel 2:44
- certainיַצִּיב
The word means truth, or reliable, true and certain. Daniel is saying the dream's events will surely happen. Strong's H3330Daniel 2:45
- sureאֲמַן
The word is a form of the verb 'to trust,' meaning trustworthy. It is related to the Hebrew word for 'be faithful.' The interpretation can be relied on. Strong's H0540Daniel 2:45
- interpretationפְּשַׁר
The word means the interpretation of a dream. It is the very thing the king demanded and his wise men could not give. Strong's H6591Daniel 2:5Daniel 2:27
Takeaway
Earthly empires rise and fall, but God will set up a kingdom no human hand builds and none can destroy. What God has revealed is certain. Daniel 2:21Daniel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| because | קֳבֵ֣ל | 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 | 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 |
| you saw | חֲזַ֡יְתָ | cha-ZAY-ta | 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) |
| 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 |
| from the mountain | מִטּוּרָא֩ | mi-tu-RA' | H2906 | mountainטוּר (tur) mountain Aramaic of tsur (צוּר "rock" H6697H) |
| it was cut out | אִתְגְּזֶ֨רֶת | 'it-ge-ZE-ret | H1505 | to determineגְּזַר (ge.zar) 1) to cut, determine 1a) (P'al) determiner (participle) 1b) (Ithp'al) to be cut out |
| a stone | אֶ֜בֶן | 'E-ven | H0069 | stoneאֶ֫בֶן (e.ven) 1) stone 1a) a (the) stone 1b) stone, material of idols and buildings |
| which | דִּי־ | 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 |
| not | לָ֣א | la' | H3809 | notלָא (la) no, not, nothing Aramaic of lo (לֹא "not" H3808) |
| [was] by hands | בִידַ֗יִן | vi-DA-yin | H3028 | handיַד (yad) 1) hand 2) power (fig.) |
| and it shattered | וְ֠הַדֶּקֶת | VE-ha-de-ket | H1855 | to break upדְּקַק (de.qaq) 1) to break into pieces, fall into pieces, be shattered 1a) (P'al) to be shattered 1b) (Aphel) to break into pieces |
| iron the | פַּרְזְלָ֨א | par-ze-LA' | H6523 | ironפַּרְזֶל (par.zel) iron Aramaic of bar.zel (בַּרְזֶל "iron" H1270) |
| bronze the | נְחָשָׁ֤א | ne-cha-SHA' | H5174 | bronzeנְחָשׁ (ne.chash) copper, bronze Aramaic of ne.chu.shah (נְחוּשָׁה "bronze" H5154) |
| clay the | חַסְפָּא֙ | chas-PA' | H2635 | clayחֲסַף (cha.saph) clay, potsherd |
| silver the | כַּסְפָּ֣א | kas-PA' | H3702 | silverכְּסַף (ke.saph) 1) silver 1a) as metal 1b) as money |
| and gold the | וְדַהֲבָ֔א | ve-da-ha-VA' | H1722 | goldדְּהַב (de.hav) gold Aramaic of za.hav (זָהָב "gold" H2091) |
| God | אֱלָ֥הּ | 'e-LAH | H0426 | godאֱלָהּ (e.lah) 1) god, God 1a) god, heathen deity 1b) God (of Israel) |
| great | רַב֙ | rav | H7229 | greatרַב (rav) adj 1) great 1a) great 1b) great (fig of power) n 2) captain, chief |
| he has made known | הוֹדַ֣ע | ho-DA' | H3046 | to knowיְדַע (ye.da) 1) to know 1a) (P'al) to know 1b) (Aphel) to let someone know, communicate, inform, cause to know |
| to king the | לְמַלְכָּ֔א | le-mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| what | מָ֛ה | mah | H4101 | what?מָה (mah) 1) what, whatever 1a) what? 1b) whatever, what, whatsoever 1c) how?, why?, wherefore? (with prefixes) |
| that | דִּ֥י | 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 |
| it will be | לֶהֱוֵ֖א | 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 |
| after | אַחֲרֵ֣י | 'a-cha-REI | H0311 | afterאַחַר (a.char) after Aramaic of a.char (אַחַר "after" H0310A) |
| this | דְנָ֑ה | de-NAH | H1836 | thisדְּנָה (de.nah) demons pron 1) this, on account of this adv 2) therefore |
| and [is] certain | וְיַצִּ֥יב | ve-ya-TZIV | H3330 | certainיַצִּיב (yats.tsiv) n 1) the truth adv 2) surely, reliably, truly adj 3) reliable, true, certain, sure |
| dream the | חֶלְמָ֖א | chel-MA' | H2493 | dreamחֵ֫לֶם (che.lem) dream Aramaic of cha.lom (חֲלוֹם "dream" H2472) |
| and [is] trustworthy | וּמְהֵימַ֥ן | u-me-hei-MAN | H0540 | to trustאֲמַן (a.man) 1) to confirm, support 1a) (Aphel) 1a1) to believe in 1a2) to trust 1a3) trustworthy (pass participle) Aramaic of a.man (אָמַן "be faithful" H0539) |
| interpretation its | פִּשְׁרֵֽהּ׃ פ | pish-REH | H6591 | interpretationפְּשַׁר (pe.shar) interpretation (of dream) Aramaic of pit.ron (פִּתְרוֹן "interpretation" H6623) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.