DAN 2:34 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=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=important (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) You continued looking until a stone was supernaturally cut out from a mountain, and it tumbled down and struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it smashed them to pieces.

Key: khaki:verbs.
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).

ULT You continued looking until a stone was cut out, although not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it crushed them.

UST As you watched, something cut a rock from a mountain, but it was not a human who cut it. The rock tumbled down and smashed the feet of the statue, feet that were made of iron and clay. It smashed them to bits.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET You were watching as a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.

LSV You were looking until a stone has been cut out without hands, and it has struck the image on its feet, that [are] of iron and of clay, and it has broken them small;

FBV While you were watching, a stone was quarried, but not by human hands. It struck the iron and clay feet of the statue and smashed them to pieces.

T4T As you watched, something cut a rock from a mountain, but it was not a human who cut it. The rock tumbled down and smashed the feet of the statue, feet that were made of iron and clay. It smashed them to bits.

LEB You were looking on _⌊until_⌋[fn] a stone was chiseled out[fn]—that not by hands—and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces.

2:34 Literally “until that”

2:34 Or “became loose”

BBE While you were looking at it, a stone was cut out, but not by hands, and it gave the image a blow on its feet, which were of iron and earth, and they were broken in bits.

Moff You looked at it till you saw a stone being hewn out by no human hands, which struck the image on its feet, part iron and part clay, breaking them to bits;

JPS Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.

ASV Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.

DRA Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and of clay, and broke them in pieces.

YLT Thou wast looking till that a stone hath been cut out without hands, and it hath smitten the image on its feet, that [are] of iron and of clay, and it hath broken them small;

Drby Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands; and it smote the image upon its feet of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.

RV Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.
(Thou/You sawest/saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. )

SLT Thou wert seeing even till a stone was cut out not with hands, and striking against the image upon the feet of iron and burnt clay, and breaking them in pieces.

Wbstr Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.

KJB-1769 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.[fn]
(Thou/You sawest/saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. )

2.34 without…: or, which was not in hands

KJB-1611 [fn]Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image vpon his feete that were of yron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

2:34 Or, which was not in hands. As verse 45.

Bshps Thou beheldest it till a stone was cut without handes, which smote the image vpon his feete that were of iron & clay, and brake them to peeces.
(Thou/You beheldst it till a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.)

Gnva Thou beheldest it til a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image vpon his feete, that were of yron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
(Thou/You beheldst it till a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. )

Cvdl This thou sawest, till the tyme that (with out eny hondes) there was hewen off a stone which smote the ymage vpon the fete, that were both off yron and earth, and brake the to poulder:
(This thou/you sawest/saw, till the time that (with out any hands) there was hewn/chopped off a stone which smote the image upon the feet, that were both off iron and earth, and brake the to poulder:)

Wycl Thou siyest thus, til a stoon was kit doun of the hil, with outen hondis, and smoot the ymage in the irun feet therof and erthene feet, and al to-brak tho.
(Thou/You siyest thus, till a stone was cut down of the hill, without hands, and smote the image in the iron feet thereof and earthen feet, and all to-brak those.)

Luth Solches sahst du, bis daß ein Stein herabgerissen ward ohne Hände; der schlug das Bild an seine Füße, die Eisen und Ton waren, und zermalmete sie.
(Such sawst you(sg), until that a stone herdemolished/ragged what/which without hands; the/of_the hit/beat(v) the image/picture at/to his feet, the iron and Ton were, and zermalmete they/she/them.)

ClVg Videbas ita, donec abscissus est lapis de monte sine manibus: et percussit statuam in pedibus ejus ferreis et fictilibus, et comminuit eos.
(Seebas so/thus, until abscissus it_is stone from/about mountain without hands: and he_struck statuam in/into/on feet his to_carryis and fictilibus, and comminuit them. )

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.

2:34a

As you watched, a stone was cut out,

As you^(sing) were looking at the statue, suddenly, someone cut out a rock from a mountain ,
As you^(sing) watched the statue, someone cut out a stone from a mountain.

As you watched, a stone was cut out: The king watched as a stone was cut out. That is, in his dream he saw this happening. Other ways to translate this include

While you were watching, a rock was cut out (NIV)

You saw a rock being cut out

In your dream a rock was cut out

There is a textual problem in this verse part. Some ancient versions, such as the Greek Septuagint, include the phrase “from a mountain,” explaining from where the rock was cut. Scholars differ about whether this phrase was part of the original text:

Many English versions do not include this phrase. Only later in 2:45 does the text explain that the stone came from a mountain. For example:
As you looked, a stone was cut out (ESV) (BSB, KJV, NASB, ESV, RSV/NRSV, NCV, NJB, NJPS, NET, GW)
Some English versions do include this phrase. For example:
While you were looking at it, a great stone broke loose from a cliff (GNT) (NLT, GNT, CEV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). However, in some languages it may be good to include the phrase as implied information, to explain what the stone was cut from.

a stone was cut out: This is a passive clause. The Aramaic does not indicate who or what caused the rock to separate from the cliff face. It is implied in the context that it was God or his angels, but this is not stated explicitly. There are several ways to translate this clause:

Using an active verb with an indefinite subject supplied. For example:
one/they cut out the rock
Using an active verb with the stone itself as the subject. For example:
a stone broke away (NJB)
Using a passive verb. For example:
a stone was broken off (NASB)

Use the form that is most natural in your language.

stone: This may have been a large stone, such as workers would use in constructing a building.HALOT, p. 1844, describes it as “a block of stone.” The Translator’s Handbook on Daniel describes this stone as a “very large stone, more like a boulder.”

2:34b

but not by human hands.

but it was not a human being who did this.
This was not the deed of any mere mortal.

not by human hands: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates not by human hands is literally “not by hands.” The phrase indicates that a human being did not do this. It implies that a supernatural being cut the rock from the mountain. Some English versions translate literally. For example:

not by hands (NJPS)

However, in some languages a literal translation could imply that people used tools or some other way to cut out the stone. Check that your translation does not imply this. In some languages it may be necessary to avoid mention of hands. For example:

not by humans (GW)

You may have a way in your language to imply that God caused this to happen without saying so directly. The BSB implies this by supplying the word human. Other ways to imply this may include:

not by the hand of man

this was not the work of man

without human intervention

2:34c

It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

The rock hit the statue on its feet of iron and clay. It smashed the feet into pieces.
The stone hit the feet of the statue, the feet made from iron and clay. The stone shattered the feet into pieces.

It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them: The falling rock hit the statue and broke its feet. Other ways to translate this include:

It hit the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them (NCV)

it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and shattered them (REB)

statue: See the note at 2:31a. Use the same word here that you did there. In some languages it may be natural to leave the statue implicit, mentioning only the feet. For example:

The stone struck the feet (CEV)

on its feet of iron and clay: See the Notes at 2:33b. This information is repeated from 2:33. If this repetition is unnatural in your language, it may be possible to alter or shorten the expression in some way. For example:

on its iron and clay feet

on its feet made from iron and clay

Remind the readers of the composition of the feet in a way that is natural in your language.

and crushed them: The rock caused the statue’s feet to break up into smaller bits. Other ways to translate this include:

and broke them in pieces (RSV)

and shattered them (REB)

and smashed them (NIV)

Use the word or phrase that most naturally describes this action.

them: The pronoun them here refers to the feet of the statue.

Parallel DAN 2:34

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

Paragraph 2:31–2:35

2:34a

2:34b

2:34c