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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.
Daniel 2:44 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall 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.
  • BSB In the days 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 shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up an everlasting kingdom that crushes all others. God's reign will never end.

Overview

This is the climactic promise: God Himself establishes a kingdom that no power can destroy and that outlasts every empire. The historic Christian reading sees this fulfilled in Christ, whose kingdom was inaugurated at His first coming and will be consummated at His return. Against the chaff of human empires stands the unshakable reign of God.

Cross-references & the web

Theme

Cross-references · 30

  • Matt 28:18Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
  • Luke 1:32–33He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
  • Ps 145:13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahweh is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds.
  • Dan 6:26I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast forever, His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed; and his dominion shall be even to the end.
  • Rev 11:15The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”
  • Mic 4:7and I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.”
  • 1 Cor 15:24–25Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
  • Eph 1:20–22which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
  • Isa 60:12For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
  • Dan 4:34At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.
  • Dan 7:13–14I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
  • Dan 7:27The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
  • Dan 4:3How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
  • Isa 9:6–7For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  • Ps 72:1–20By Solomon. God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son.
  • Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
  • Dan 2:37You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
  • Dan 2:28but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
  • Ezek 37:25They shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever.
  • Rev 19:15–20Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.
  • Ps 110:1–4A Psalm by David. Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
  • Ps 89:19–36Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
  • Ps 89:3–4“I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,
  • Matt 3:2–3“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
  • Ps 21:8–9Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
  • Ps 2:6–12“Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
  • John 12:34The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
  • Rev 2:27He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father:
  • Dan 8:25Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and he shall destroy many in their security. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
  • Dan 2:34You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 2:44YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.

How Daniel 2:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.