These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who shall arise out of the earth.
- BSB ‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.
- NKJV ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
- NASB ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.
- NLT “These four huge beasts represent four kingdoms that will arise from the earth.
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
The four great beasts represent four kings or kingdoms that will rise on the earth. History unfolds under God's sovereign oversight, not blind chance.
Overview
The interpreter explains that the four beasts are four successive kingdoms arising from the earthly, fallen order. Most interpreters identify these with Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, paralleling the statue of chapter 2. The vision assures the faithful that however fearsome earthly empires appear, they are temporary and accountable to the God who sets up and removes rulers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Dan 7:3–4And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
- Ps 17:14From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
- Rev 13:1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
- Dan 2:37–40Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
- Dan 8:19–22And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
- John 18:36Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
- Rev 13:11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 7:17 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.