24 Therefore e e , Daniel went in to Arioch , whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon ; he went and spoke to him as follows : " Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon ! Take me into the king's presence , and I will declare the interpretation to the king ." 25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence and spoke to him as follows : "I have found a man among e the exiles e from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king !" 26 The king said to Daniel , whose name was Belteshazzar , "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation ?" 27 Daniel answered before the king and said , "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired , neither wise men , conjurers , magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king . 28 "However , there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries , and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days . This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed . 29 "As for you, O king , while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future ; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place . 30 "But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man , but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king , and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind .
31 "You, O king , were looking and behold , there was a single great statue ; that statue , which was large and of extraordinary splendor , was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome . 32 "The head of that statue was made of fine gold , its breast and its arms of silver , its belly and its thighs of bronze , 33 its legs of iron , its feet partly of iron and partly of clay . 34 "You continued looking until e a stone was cut out without hands , and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35 "Then the iron , the clay , the bronze , the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors ; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found . But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth . 36 "This was the dream ; now we will tell its interpretation before the king . 37 "You, O king , are the king of kings , to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom , the power , the strength and the glory ; 38 and wherever e the sons of men dwell , or the beasts of the field , or the birds of the sky , He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all . You are the head of gold . 39 "After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze , which will rule over all the earth . 40 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron ; inasmuch e e as iron crushes and shatters all things , so, like iron that breaks in pieces , it will crush and break all these in pieces . 41 "In that you saw the feet and toes , partly of potter's clay and partly of iron , it will be a divided kingdom ; but it will have in it the toughness of iron , inasmuch e e as you saw the iron mixed with common clay . 42 "As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery , so some e of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle . 43 "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay , they will combine with one another in the seed of men ; but they will not adhere to one e another e , even as iron does not combine with pottery . 44 "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never e 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 . 45 "Inasmuch e e as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron , the bronze , the clay , the silver and the gold , the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future ; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Daniel 2:24-45
Commentary on Daniel 2:24-30
(Read Daniel 2:24-30)
Daniel takes away the king's opinion of his magicians and soothsayers. The insufficiency of creatures should drive us to the all-sufficiency of the Creator. There is One who can do that for us, and make known that to us, which none on earth can, particularly the work of redemption, and the secret designs of God's love to us therein. Daniel confirmed the king in his opinion, that the dream was of great consequence, relating to the affairs and changes of this lower world. Let those whom God has highly favoured and honoured, lay aside all opinion of their own wisdom and worthiness, that the Lord alone may be praised for the good they have and do.
Commentary on Daniel 2:31-45
(Read Daniel 2:31-45)
This image represented the kingdoms of the earth, that should successively rule the nations, and influence the affairs of the Jewish church. 1. The head of gold signified the Chaldean empire, then in being. 2. The breast and arms of silver signified the empire of the Medes and Persians. 3. The belly and thighs of brass signified the Grecian empire, founded by Alexander. 4. The legs and feet of iron signified the Roman empire. The Roman empire branched into ten kingdoms, as the toes of these feet. Some were weak as clay, others strong as iron. Endeavours have often been used to unite them, for strengthening the empire, but in vain. The stone cut out without hands, represented the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, which should be set up in the kingdoms of the world, upon the ruins of Satan's kingdom in them. This was the Stone which the builders refused, because it was not cut out by their hands, but it is become the head stone of the corner. Of the increase of Christ's government and peace there shall be no end. The Lord shall reign, not only to the end of time, but when time and days shall be no more. As far as events have gone, the fulfilling this prophetic vision has been most exact and undeniable; future ages shall witness this Stone destroying the image, and filling the whole earth.