DAN 2:42 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) As the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so that kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak.

2:42 OSHB variant note: מנ/הון: (x-qere) ’מִנְּ/הֵ֥ין’: lemma_4481 morph_AR/Sp3fp id_27MSY מִנְּ/הֵ֥ין

2:42 OSHB variant note: ו/מנ/הון: (x-qere) ’וּ/מִנְּ/הֵ֣ין’: lemma_c/4481 morph_AC/R/Sp3fp id_27ctR וּ/מִנְּ/הֵ֣ין

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 As the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

UST Some parts of that kingdom will be as strong as iron, but some parts will not remain together, just as iron and clay do not stick together.

BSB And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET In that the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, the latter stages of this kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile.

LSV As for the toes of the feet, part of them iron, and part of them clay: some part of the kingdom is strong, and some part of it is brittle.

FBV As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

T4T Some parts of that kingdom will be as strong as iron, but some parts will not remain together, just as iron and clay do not stick together.

LEB And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom will be strong _⌊and partly brittle_⌋.[fn]

2:42 Literally “and from it, it will be brittle”

BBE And as the toes of the feet were in part of iron and in part of earth, so part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will readily be broken.

Moff Also, as the toes on the feet were partly iron, partly clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, part brittle.

JPS And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part thereof broken.

ASV And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

DRA And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

YLT As to the toes of the feet, part of them iron, and part of them clay: some part of the kingdom is strong, and some part of it is brittle.

Drby And [as] the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.

RV And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

SLT And the toes of the feet, part of iron, and part of burnt clay, from the end of the kingdom shall be strong, and part shall be cut asunder.

Wbstr And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

KJB-1769 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.[fn]

2.42 broken: or, brittle

KJB-1611 [fn]And as the toes of the feete were part of yron, and part of clay; so the kingdome shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

2:42 Or, brittle.

Bshps And as the toes of the feete were part of iron and part of clay: so shal the kingdome be part strong and part broken.
(And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay: so shall the kingdom be part strong and part broken.)

Gnva And as the toes of the feete were parte of yron, and parte of clay, so shall the kingdome be partly strong, and partly broken.
(And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so shall the kingdom be partly strong, and partly broken. )

Cvdl The toes of the fete that were parte off yron and parte off claye, signifieeh: that it shalbe a kyngdome partely stronge and partely weake.
(The toes of the feet that were part off iron and part off clay, signifieeh: that it shall be a kingdom partely strong and partely weake.)

Wycl and the toos of the feet in parti of irun, and in parti of erthe, in parti the rewme schal be sad, and in parti to-brokun.
(and the toos of the feet in parti of iron, and in parti of earth, in parti the realm shall be sad, and in parti to-broken.)

Luth Und daß die Zehen an seinen Füßen eines Teils Eisen und eines Teils Ton sind, wird es zum Teil ein stark und zum Teil ein schwach Reich sein.
(And that the Zehen at/to his feet one/a part/portions iron and one/a part/portions Ton are, becomes it for_the part/portion a stark and for_the part/portion a weak kingdom be.)

ClVg Et digitos pedum ex parte ferreos, et ex parte fictiles: ex parte regnum erit solidum, et ex parte contritum.
(And fingers feet from in_part/partly to_carryos, and from in_part/partly fictiles: from in_part/partly kingdom will_be solidum, and from in_part/partly contritum. )

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 2:39–2:43

In this paragraph, Daniel explained that the other parts of the statue represented three kingdoms that would have power after Nebuchadnezzar. Scholars disagree as to which historical kingdoms these are. These different views should not influence the way you translate. Scholars also differ in the way they interpret the fact that the metals progressively decline in value. It is best to translate this section as literally as possible.

2:42a

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay,

Just as the toes of the statue were part iron and part clay,
the toes consisted of some iron and some clay.

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay: This clause repeats information from 2:41a, d, and uses it to make another comparison. Other ways to translate this include:

As in your vision the feet and toes were part iron and part potter’s clay (REB)

The toes—partly iron and partly clay—mean that… (GNT)

In the vision, the toes were partly iron and partly clay. This means…

Translate in a way that is natural in your language.

the toes of the feet: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as the toes is literally “the toes of the feet,” as in the NASB. In some languages it may be natural to translate in this way, but in many cases it may be more natural to follow the BSB or to say, following the NCV:

The toes of the statue (NCV)

2:42b

so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

in the same way part of the fourth kingdom will be strong and part of it will be weak.
This shows/means that some of the fourth kingdom will be strong and some of it will be weak.

so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle: This is the second half of the comparison. Like the toes, the fourth kingdom will be a mixture of elements, part strong and part brittle. You can say:

Part of the fourth kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle

strong: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as strong can be used to describe a material that is hard to break. In this context, however, it is used figuratively to describe a kingdom that is powerful and united. Try to find a word that can describe both a metal like iron and a country or empire.

brittle: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as brittle can describe material that breaks easily. Here the word is used figuratively to describe a kingdom that is weak and not united. Again, try to use a word that readers can understand in both ways. For example:

weak (GNT)

breakable (NCV)

fragile

In some languages it may be most natural to say:

not strong

General Comment on 2:41–42

There is a lot of repetition of information in 2:41–42. In some languages it may be natural to combine some of these verse parts and say:

This fourth kingdom will be divided—it will be both strong and brittle, just as you saw that the feet and toes were a mixture of iron and clay.

Parallel DAN 2:42

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

Paragraph 2:39–2:43

2:42a

2:42b

General Comment on 2:41–42