Daniel 2:39-49

39 ¹Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ²of bronze, ³which shall rule over all the earth.

40 And ⁴there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ⁵breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ⁶break and crush all these.

41 And as you saw ⁷the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ⁸firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.

43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,^[a] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

44 And in the days of those kings ⁹the God of heaven will set up ¹⁰a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ¹¹It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ¹²it shall stand forever,

45 just as ¹³you saw that ¹⁴a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ¹⁵it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ¹⁶great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."

Daniel Is Promoted

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ¹⁷fell upon his face and ¹⁸paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ¹⁹an offering and ²⁰incense be offered up to him.

47 The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your ²¹God is God of gods and ²²Lord of kings, and ²³a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."

48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ²⁴gifts, and made him ruler over the whole ²⁵province of Babylon and ²⁶chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he ²⁷appointed ²⁸Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ²⁹the province of Babylon. But Daniel ³⁰remained at the king's court.

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Daniel 2:39-49 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIAL 2

The subject of this chapter is a dream which Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed, but had forgot; upon which he calls his magicians and astrologers together, to tell him it, and the interpretation of it; threatening them with death if they did not, and promising them great rewards and honour if they did, Da 2:1-6, they urge the unreasonableness of the demand, and the impossibility of the thing; which so highly incensed the king, that he ordered their immediate destruction, Da 2:7-13, Daniel and his companions being in danger, he goes in to the king, and desires time, and he would show him what he had dreamed; which being granted, he spent it in prayer to God, Da 2:14-18, and the thing being revealed to him, he gave thanks to God, Da 2:19-23, and being introduced to the king, he both told him his dream, and the interpretation of it; which concerned the four monarchies of the world, and the everlasting kingdom of the Messiah, Da 2:24-45, upon which he was highly honoured, and greatly promoted by the king, Da 2:46-49.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 30

1. [ver. 32; Daniel 5:28, 31]
2. [See ver. 38 above]
3. [Daniel 7:6]
4. [Daniel 7:7, 23]
5. See ver. 34
6. See ver. 34
7. [ver. 33]
8. [See ver. 40 above]
9. ver. 19
10. Daniel 4:3, 34; Daniel 6:26; Daniel 7:14, 27; Micah 4:7; [Matthew 3:2; Luke 1:33; John 18:36]
11. [Isaiah 60:12]; See ver. 34
12. Daniel 4:3, 34; Daniel 6:26; Daniel 7:14, 27; Micah 4:7; [Matthew 3:2; Luke 1:33; John 18:36]
13. [ver. 34]
14. [Isaiah 28:16]
15. [See ver. 44 above]
16. ver. 28
17. [2 Samuel 14:22]
18. [Matthew 8:2; Acts 10:25]
19. [Acts 14:13]
20. [Ezra 6:10]
21. Deuteronomy 10:17
22. [1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16]
23. See ver. 22
24. [ver. 6]
25. Daniel 3:1, 12, 30; [Esther 1:1]
26. Daniel 5:11; [Daniel 4:9]
27. Daniel 3:12
28. [Daniel 1:7]
29. [See ver. 48 above]
30. Esther 2:19

Footnotes 1

[a]. Aramaic by the seed of men

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.