Daniel 2:42

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Daniel 2:42 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

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.
Daniel 2:42 — American Standard Version

Context — Daniel 2

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, etc.] Or some of them of iron, and so were strong and powerful, as some of these kingdoms were; and some of clay, and so were weak and easily crushed, and did not stand long: so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken; this is not unfitly interpreted by some of the two fold power which has prevailed in these ten kingdoms, through the policy of the pope of Rome, the secular and ecclesiastic power; the latter often encroaching upon and prevailing over the other, which has tended to the weakening of these states.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“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 - Margin, “brittle.” The margin is the more correct rendering of the Chaldee word (תבירה tebı̂yrâh). It means “frail, fragile” - easily broken, but not necessarily that it was actually broken. That did not occur until the stone cut out of the mountain impinged on it. It has been commonly supposed (comp. Newton “on the Prophecies”), that the ten toes on the feet refer to the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was ultimately broken up, corresponding with the ten horns seen in the vision of Daniel, in Daniel 7:7. In regard to the fact that the Roman empire was…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Broken - This was plain in the civil wars of the Romans, and the falling off of some countries, especially towards the end of it. Daniel 2:43”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the toes: Dan 7:24; Rev 13:1 broken: or, brittle Daniel 2:43”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification