Daniel 2:38
36 This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.
37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
39 But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.
40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
- KJV
- And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
- WEB
- Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
- ASV
- and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.
- DARBY
- and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowl of the heavens dwell, he hath given them into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all: thou art this head of gold.
- BLB
- And in everywhere the sons of man are dwelling, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the heavens, He has given [them] into your hand, and He has made you ruler over them all. You [are] that head of gold!
- ÅB
- overalt hvor menneskenes barn, markens dyr og himmelens fugler har sine bosteder, har han gitt dem i din hånd og gjort deg til herre over dem alle - du er hodet av gull.
- OTB
- Han har plassert alle folk, markens dyr og himmelens fugler under din myndighet. Hvor de enn bor, har Han gjort deg til hersker over dem alle. Du er det hodet av gull.
- B1930
- overalt hvor menneskenes barn, markens dyr og himmelens fugler har sine bosteder, har han gitt dem i din hånd og gjort dig til herre over dem alle - du er hodet av gull.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Daniel 4:21–22
whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested—
Read in contextPsalms 50:10–11
for every beast of the forest is Mine— the cattle on a thousand hills.
Read in contextJeremiah 27:5–7
By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
Read in context