Daniel 2:45
ESV
just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."
NIV
This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy."
NASB
Just as you saw that a stone was broken off from 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 certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.'
CSB
You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable."
NLT
That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.'
KJV
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
NKJV
Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
What does Daniel 2:45 mean?
Daniel again notes that the stone which shattered the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream was supernatural (Daniel 2:31–35). The statue's gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay parts represented kingdoms which would come in what was then the future (Daniel 2:36–44). The stone which grew to fill the earth symbolizes the rule of Christ, replacing the Gentile domination of the world. This concludes Daniel's God-given assessment of Nebuchadnezzar's mysterious dream (Daniel 2:17–19, 27–28). He repeats the claim that this dream is prophetic: it speaks of things to come and those events are absolutely guaranteed.History and hindsight have explained most of the imagery of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The line of middle east empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome—matches that prediction. But there are details yet to be revealed, and debates over how they will unfold. No limited human being can know every aspect of the future from beginning to end—even when the Lord offers special revelation, there will be details we cannot fully comprehend in advance. Yet biblical prophecy is true and trustworthy. Just as every Old Testament prophecy concerning Jesus' first coming was fulfilled, every prophecy about what lies ahead will be fulfilled. Christians can rejoice in the One who holds the future in His omnipotent hands.
