Daniel 7:19
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; | Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others—extremely terrifying—devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left. | Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel has seen four beasts rise from the sea and has been told they are four kings (7:17). Here he asks one of those standing by for the truth about the fourth beast, the one most unlike the rest. The answer follows: it is a fourth kingdom that will crush the earth until God judges it and gives the kingdom to his saints (7:23-27). Daniel 7:16Daniel 7:17Daniel 7:19Daniel 7:23Daniel 7:26Daniel 7:27
SpeakingDaniel tells his own vision in the first person. Daniel 7:1Daniel 7:15Daniel overview
ToDaniel puts his question to one of those standing by in the vision, who explains it to him. He then writes the vision down for God's people. Daniel 7:16Daniel 7:1Daniel overview
Also involvedThe fourth beast, a kingdom that tramples the earth, and the saints of the most High, whom its last horn makes war against. Daniel 7:21Daniel 7:23Daniel 7:25
Daniel wants to be certain about the fourth beast. He repeats what he saw: it was unlike the others and very terrible, with iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, smashed, and trampled what was left. The claws of bronze are a detail not given in the first account in 7:7. Daniel 7:19Daniel 7:7Strong's H3321Strong's H2953Strong's H5174
Daniel was in Babylon, serving at the royal court. In the vision, the beasts come up out of the great sea, stirred by the four winds of heaven. Daniel overviewDaniel 7:2Daniel 7:3
The eventsThe vision came in the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon. What it describes is still future to Daniel: these kings "shall arise." Daniel 7:1Daniel 7:17Daniel 7:24
WrittenTraditional: Daniel wrote it in the 500s BC, as 7:1 says he wrote the dream down. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, under Antiochus IV, because chapter 11 describes those years in detail; others keep the traditional date. Daniel 7:1Daniel overview
HereThe verse brings the reader to the explanation of the fourth beast, which the passage gives plainly: it is "the fourth kingdom upon earth" (7:23). The chapter does not name which empire it is. Its power is real but limited, for the judgment sits and takes its dominion away (7:26). Daniel 7:19Daniel 7:23Daniel 7:26
In the whole of ScriptureDaniel 7 matches Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2. There too a fourth kingdom is "strong as iron" and "breaketh in pieces," and God's kingdom outlasts them all. The book's message is that the most High rules over the kingdoms of men. Daniel 2:40Daniel 2:43Daniel overviewDaniel 7:14
For readersGod's people may face crushing powers, as Daniel was shown. Even so, the same chapter promises that the saints will possess the kingdom for ever. Daniel 7:21Daniel 7:22Daniel 7:18Daniel 7:27
- to know the truthיְצַב
The word means to make certain or gain certainty. Daniel wants a sure understanding, and in 7:16 he likewise asks "the truth of all this." Strong's H3321Daniel 7:16
- diverseשְׁנָא
The root means to change, and here it means different. The same point is made of the beast in 7:7 and of its kingdom in 7:23, and the last horn is also "diverse from the first" (7:24). Strong's H8133Daniel 7:7Daniel 7:23Daniel 7:24
- ironפַּרְזֶל
The iron teeth tie this beast to the fourth kingdom of Daniel 2, which is "strong as iron" and breaks all things in pieces. Strong's H6523Daniel 2:40
- stampedרְפַס
The word means to tread or trample. The interpretation uses the same picture: the kingdom "shall tread it down." Strong's H7512Daniel 7:23
Takeaway
The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom, crushing and unlike any before it. Daniel 7 shows that its power ends at God's judgment, and the kingdom is given to the saints of the most High for ever. Daniel 7:19Daniel 7:23Daniel 7:26Daniel 7:27
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| then | אֱדַ֗יִן | 'e-DA-yin | H0116 | thenאֱדַ֫יִן (e.da.yin) then, afterwards, thereupon, from that time Aramaic of az (אָז "then" H0227A) |
| I desired | צְבִית֙ | tze-VIT | H6634 | to willצְבָא (tse.va) 1) to desire, be inclined, be willing, be pleased 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to desire 1a2) to be pleased 1a3) to will (without hindrance) (of God) |
| to make certain | לְיַצָּבָ֔א | le-ya-tza-VA' | H3321 | to knowיְצַב (ye.tsav) (Pael) to make stand, make certain, gain certainty, know the truth, be certain Aramaic of ya.tsav (יָצַב "to stand" H3320) |
| concerning | עַל־ | 'al- | H5922 | sinceעַל (al) 1) upon, over, on account of, above, to, against 1a) upon, over, on account of, regarding, concerning, on behalf of 1b) over (with verbs of ruling) 1c) above, beyond (in comparison) 1d) to, against (of direction) |
| beast the | חֵֽיוְתָא֙ | chei-ve-TA' | H2423 | beastחֵיוָא (che.va) beast, animal Aramaic of chay.yah (חַיָּה "living thing" H2416C) |
| the fourth | רְבִיעָ֣יְתָ֔א | re-vi-'A-ye-TA' | H7244 | fourthרְבִיעִי (re.vi.ay) fourth Aramaic of re.vi.i (רְבִיעִי "fourth" H7243) |
| which | 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 |
| it was | הֲוָ֥ת | ha-VAT | 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 |
| different | שָֽׁנְיָ֖ה | sha-ne-YAH | H8133 | to changeשְׁנָא (she.na) 1) to change, be altered, be changed 1a) (P'al) to change, be changed 1b) (Pael) to change, transform, frustrate 1b1) different (participle) 1c) (Ithpael) to be changed 1d) (Aphel) to change, alter |
| 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) |
| all of them | כָּלְּהֵ֑ין | ka-le-hon | H3606 | allכֹּל (kol) 1) all, whole, the whole 1a) the whole of, all 1b) every, any, none |
| [it was] terrible | דְּחִילָ֣ה | de-chi-LAH | H1763 | to fearדְּחַל (de.chal) 1) to fear 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to fear 1a2) terrible (pass participle) 1b) (Pael) to cause to be afraid, make afraid |
| exceedingly | יַתִּ֗ירָה | ya-TI-rah | H3493 | preeminentיַתִּיר (yat.tir) adj 1) pre-eminent, surpassing, extreme, extraordinary adv 2) exceedingly, extremely |
| tooth its | שִׁנַּ֤הּ | shi-nai-yah | H8128 | toothשֵׁן (shen) tooth Aramaic of shen (שֵׁן ": tooth" H8127) |
| 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 |
| iron | פַרְזֶל֙ | far-ZEL | H6523 | ironפַּרְזֶל (par.zel) iron Aramaic of bar.zel (בַּרְזֶל "iron" H1270) |
| and claws its | וְטִפְרַ֣יהּ | ve-tif-RAIH | H2953 | nail/clawטְפַר (te.phar) fingernail, nail, claw Aramaic of tsip.po.ren (צִפֹּ֫רֶן "fingernail" H6856) |
| 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 |
| bronze | נְחָ֔שׁ | ne-CHASH | H5174 | bronzeנְחָשׁ (ne.chash) copper, bronze Aramaic of ne.chu.shah (נְחוּשָׁה "bronze" H5154) |
| [it was] devouring | אָֽכְלָ֣ה | 'a-khe-LAH | H0399 | to devourאֲכַל (a.khal) 1) to eat, devour 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to eat (of beasts) 1a2) to devour 1a3) eat their pieces (in a phrase, that is, slander them) |
| [it was] shattering | מַדֲּקָ֔ה | ma-da-KAH | 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 |
| and rest the | וּשְׁאָרָ֖א | u-she-'a-RA' | H7606 | remainderשְׁאָר (she.ar) rest, remainder Aramaic of she.ar (שְׁאָר "remnant" H7605) |
| with feet its | בְּרַגְלַ֥יהּ | be-rag-LAIH | H7271 | footרְגַל (re.gal) foot Aramaic of re.gel (רֶ֫גֶל "foot" H7272) |
| [it was] trampling | רָֽפְסָֽה׃ | RA-fe-SAH | H7512 | to treadרְפַס (re.phas) 1) to tread, trample 1a) (P'al) treading, trampling (participle) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.