Daniel 2:44 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

NASB: And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

CSB: "In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.

NLT: During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.

KJV: And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

NKJV: And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

At the end of Nebuchadnezzar's disturbing dream (Daniel 2:1–3), he saw a supernatural stone shatter the base of a massive statue (Daniel 2:31–34). The statue's components were pulverized and the stone grew to fill the entire earth (Daniel 2:35). Daniel has explained the dream as a prophecy about the kingdoms which would rule after Babylon (Daniel 2:27–28, 36), represented by the statue's head (Daniel 2:37–38). This would be followed by the Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires (Daniel 2:39–43).

In this verse, the symbolism of the stone is revealed. The stone which shattered the statue is a kingdom set up by God, which will never be overcome. Daniel reiterates that the stone—this future kingdom—would not be established by human hands, but by the power of the Lord (Daniel 2:45). While hindsight and history identify the other kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, there is some debate about the exact identity of this final realm.

Many views of the end times include belief in a millennial kingdom: Christ's personal, direct, earthly political rule over the world for a thousand years. The initial followers of Jesus anticipated this kind of rule (Acts 1:6). Descriptions in the book of Revelation (Revelation 20:1–6) and other Old Testament prophecies (Zechariah 3:8–10; Micah 4:2–4; Deuteronomy 30:15) also suggest such a political fulfillment. Some who hold this view see the nation formed by the stone in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as this literal government headed by Christ. As with some of Daniel's other prophecies (Daniel 9:24–27), this interpretation implies time gaps between events.

Other commentators interpret the final kingdom in this dream to be the spiritual rule of Christ in the hearts of Christian believers. This view includes some who believe in a literal millennial kingdom as well as those who do not. The stone in the dream strikes the brittle, clay-iron amalgam of the Roman Empire, and then grows to fill the earth (Daniel 2:34–35). According to some interpreters, this predicts the establishment of Christianity in the last days of the Roman Empire and the gospel's spread around the globe.

The phrase "in the days of those kings" may refer to the ten rulers represented in other end times prophecies (Daniel 7:7–8; Revelation 13:1).

Daniel 2:31–45 provides both the content and the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dream (Daniel 2:1–3). The dream describes what is sometimes called "the latter days" or "the times of the Gentiles." This is part of a section of the book of Daniel recorded in Aramaic (Daniel 2:4—7:28), the common language of Babylon at the time. The image seen in the dream includes a progression of shapes and materials, representing a sequence of kingdoms, their characteristics, and their eventual fates.

King Nebuchadnezzar tests his magicians, demanding they tell him what he has dreamed, rather than merely inventing an interpretation. When they fail, he prepares to execute the entire department of wise men. Daniel promises he can meet the king's request and is given a special vision from God. The king dreamed of a massive statue shattered into powder by a supernatural rock. Daniel accurately describes this and interprets it as a prophecy about kingdoms which would come after Babylon. The king appoints Daniel and his friends to positions of power and influence over Babylon.

Chapter 1 introduced King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Daniel—a captive youth from Jerusalem—and three other Jewish boys. After three years of education, the four Hebrew captives outperformed all the other trainees, even surpassing the wise men in Babylon. In chapter 2, Daniel describes and interprets Nebuchadnezzar's disturbing dream, though the court magicians could not. As a result, the king promotes Daniel and his three friends to high positions over the provinces of Babylon. This sets the stage for a severe test of faith in chapter 3.

The book of Daniel contains famous Old Testament stories and prophecies. Daniel was taken from the Israelite people and made an advisor for a conquering empire. He demonstrates faithfulness and wisdom during many years serving in this role. Though Daniel does not deliver a public message, Jesus refers to him as a "prophet" (Matthew 24:15). The first portion of the book mostly describes Daniel's interpretations of dreams and other events. The second portion looks ahead to the end times. Daniel is classified in English Bibles as a "major" prophet, meaning the book is relatively long and the content has broad implications. The book of Revelation echoes and expands on many of the same themes.