Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Daniel 2:31 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 31. 31Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Daniel 2:31 opens this movement with “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent…”.
A composite image stands until a stone not cut by hands ends it
This verse is one part of that explanation in Daniel 2:31-35. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Daniel 2:31–35
Read Daniel 2:31 with 2:31–35. Daniel 2:31 opens this movement with “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: A statue of descending materials and mixed feet is struck by a stone not cut by hands, collapses together, and gives way to a mountain.
Why This Verse Appears Here
2:24-30 completes “Daniel Stops the Killing and Rejects Personal Credit”; the text now turns to “The Composite Statue Falls before an Uncut Stone.” This completes the present movement before the next larger development: Verses 36-45 identify the statue's materials as successive kingdoms and the stone as God's enduring kingdom. Within that movement: Daniel 2:31 opens this movement with “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent…”.
What Remains True
A truthful account of power should expose both magnificence and fragility while using knowledge to preserve life. Daniel 2:31-35 keeps that truth tied to this claim: A statue of descending materials and mixed feet is struck by a stone not cut by hands, collapses together, and gives way to a mountain. In this unit: Daniel 2:31 opens this movement with “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent…”.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Daniel 2:31-35 — The Composite Statue Falls before an Uncut StoneSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 2:31-35, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 2:31-35; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1645–1648, translation and translator notes on 2:31-35
Open source ↗