DAN 2:33 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) its legs were made of iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and clay.

2:33 OSHB variant note: מנ/הון: (x-qere) ’מִנְּ/הֵין֙’: lemma_4481 n_0.1.0 morph_AR/Sp3fp id_27FsE מִנְּ/הֵין֙

2:33 OSHB variant note: ו/מנ/הון: (x-qere) ’וּ/מִנְּ/הֵ֖ין’: lemma_c/4481 n_0.0 morph_AC/R/Sp3fp id_27Pw8 וּ/מִנְּ/הֵ֖ין

Key: .
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.

LSV its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron, and part of them of clay.

FBV its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and baked clay.

T4T Its legs were made of iron, and its feet were a mixture of clay and iron.

LEB its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay.

BBE Its legs of iron, its feet were in part of iron and in part of potter's earth.

Moff its legs of iron, its feet partly iron and partly clay.

JPS its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay.

ASV its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

DRA And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.

YLT its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron, and part of them of clay.

Drby its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay.

RV his legs of iron, his feet part of iron, and part of clay.

SLT The legs of iron, the feet part of iron, and part of burnt clay.

Wbstr His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

KJB-1769 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

KJB-1611 His legs of yron, his feete part of yron, and part of clay.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps His legges were of iron, his feete were part of iron and part of clay.
(His legs were of iron, his feet were part of iron and part of clay.)

Gnva His legges of yron, and his feete were part of yron, and part of clay.
(His legs of iron, and his feet were part of iron, and part of clay. )

Cvdl his legges were off yron, his fete were parte off yron, and parte of earth.
(his legs were off iron, his feet were part off iron, and part of earth.)

Wycl but the leggis weren of irun; forsothe sum part of the feet was of irun, sum was of erthe.
(but the legs were of irun; for_certain/truly some part of the feet was of iron, some was of earth.)

Luth seine Schenkel waren Eisen; seine Füße waren eines Teils Eisen und eines Teils Ton.
(his Schenkel were iron; his feet were one/a part/portions iron and one/a part/portions Ton.)

ClVg tibiæ autem ferreæ: pedum quædam pars erat ferrea, quædam autem fictilis.
(tibiæ however to_carryæ: feet some part was to_carrya, some however fictilis. )

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Four World Empires

Two panoramic visions in Daniel present God’s sovereignty over history. Nebuchadnezzar had the first vision (ch 2), and Daniel had another like it (ch 7). In each of these visions, four of the kingdoms of the world are presented.

There have always been questions about the identities of the four empires, but historically there has also been considerable consensus. Hippolytus (AD 170–236), one of the early church fathers, identified the four kingdoms as Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The church father and historian Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260–340) initially identified the first kingdom as Assyria (which once also controlled Babylon), but he later agreed with Hippolytus, as did most of the church fathers. Later, Jerome and Augustine accepted this same understanding, and conservative interpreters largely still agree.

In antiquity and in our era, some interpreters have argued that Greece is the fourth empire, treating Media and Persia as separate kingdoms. This interpretation is due in part to denying the possibility of prediction, assuming the book was written before the Roman Empire had arisen. But Media and Persia are usually regarded as one empire, and the Median kingdom had been mostly assimilated by the Persians by the time Cyrus II conquered Babylon in 539 BC.

Rome is then seen as the fourth kingdom, but the bestial, demonic, and inhumane characteristics of the vision extend beyond the historical Rome. The visions also represent a panorama of the whole world and its governments; all will be destroyed and replaced by the Kingdom of God, the “rock . . . cut from a mountain” (2:34). The metals of the statue become progressively less valuable in chapter 2, while the animal imagery of chapter 7 becomes more menacingly fierce, violent, and inhumane. These features represent a deterioration of human civilization across the centuries, even as the Kingdom of God grows in power and stature (2:35).

Passages for Further Study

Dan 2:1-49; 7:1-28

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–49: Daniel explained the king’s dream

These Notes interpret Daniel 2:1–49 as a complete narrative unit. However, in some languages it may be helpful to divide this chapter into more than one section and to give each section a separate heading. For example:

The BSB has four sections.
1. Nebuchadnezzar’s Troubling Dream (2:1–13)
2. The Dream Revealed to Daniel (2:14–23)
3. Daniel Interprets the Dream (2:24–45)
4. Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel (2:46–49)
The GNT has three sections:

(a) Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (2:1–13)

(b) God shows Daniel what the dream means (2:14–23)

This section tells how Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. He asked his advisers to tell him what he had dreamed and its meaning. They were unable to do so, and the king threatened them with death. But God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel. Daniel then told the king what he had dreamed and what it meant. The king honored Daniel and Daniel’s God.

The climax of this narrative occurs in 2:47. There the king declared that the God whom Daniel worshiped was the greatest of all gods.

Special Translation Problems:

1. Lists: The author of the book of Daniel liked to use lists (2:2, 10). However, the author did not intend for these lists to be complete or exact. The lists usually provide examples of the types of people or things that belong in a certain group or category. The Notes will suggest options on how to translate these lists.

2. Synonyms: The text often uses different terms for similar ideas. For example, there are several verbs that mean “to reveal” or “to make known.” There are three different Aramaic verbs in 2:40 that mean “crush, break to pieces.” In some languages it may be difficult or confusing to use several different words for similar ideas. The Notes will suggest how you might translate these similar words and terms.

3. Poetry: You will need to think carefully about how you will translate the poetic section in this chapter (2:20–23). Authors of Hebrew poetry usually wrote using matching pairs of lines. The relationship between these parallel lines differs. Sometimes the second line repeats the information in the first line using different words. Sometimes the second line contrasts with the first line. Hebrew poetry also has word plays, figurative speech, and alliteration. It may not always be easy to translate these literary features into your language. The Notes will suggest ways of translating the different features of Hebrew poetry. For more information about how to translate Hebrew poetry, see the Bible Translation Handbook of the Psalms. The poetry in 2:20–23 is a song of praise or thanksgiving. If your language has a special poetic form that fits this song, you can use it here.

4. Ambiguity: In the section where Daniel interpreted the last part of the king’s dream, there are a number of ambiguous references. For example, in 2:44a Daniel referred to “those kings” without identifying who those kings were. In 2:44b Daniel spoke of “all these kingdoms.” The ambiguity may be deliberate, since the dream itself is a mystery. It will be important not to over-interpret these passages by assuming a particular historical context. The Notes will suggest several options for how to translate these verses.

5. Repetition: Daniel interpreted the meaning of the first three kingdoms in a very brief way. He used many more words to describe the fourth kingdom (2:36–45). In this section he also repeated much of what was described before. In this way, Daniel emphasized the fourth kingdom as the most important. Some of the repetition in this section emphasizes specific ideas. Sometimes the repetition has another function. You will need to evaluate if this kind of repetition is natural in your language. If not, you will need to find another way to emphasize these ideas.

Paragraph 2:31–2:35

Daniel told the king what he had seen in his dream.

2:33a

its legs were iron,

and the legs were made of iron.
and the legs were iron.

its legs were iron: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as legs refers to the lower leg, from the knees to the ankle. Other ways to say this include:

the lower part of the legs were made of iron (NCV)

From there to its ankles it was iron (CEV)

iron: This was the most common and useful of all metals. In trade, iron was worth less than gold, silver, or bronze. However, people did value iron for its superior strength. People used it to make tools and weapons. The metal iron was often a symbol of power. If you do not have a word for iron in your language, other possibilities for translation are:

Borrow a national language term.
Use a general expression such as “a very strong metal.”

2:33b

and its feet were part iron and part clay.

The feet of the statue were made partly of iron and partly of baked clay.
The feet of the statue were/consisted of part iron and part baked clay.

its feet were part iron and part clay: The feet of the statue were a mixture of iron and clay. This was the weakest part of the statue. Other ways to translate this include:

Its feet were made partly of iron and partly of clay (GW)

its feet were a mixture of iron and clay (CEV)

iron: See the Notes at 2:33a.

clay: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as clay refers to a material that was baked to make pottery. The mixture of iron and clay would cause this part of the statue to be weak.

Parallel DAN 2:33

Section 2:1–49: Daniel explained the king’s dream

Paragraph 2:31–2:35

2:33a

2:33b