Daniel 6:16 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 6:16
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
commanded
אֲמַ֗ר'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
brought
וְהַיְתִיו֙ve.hay.Tiv
H858
to arrive · conjunction + verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Daniel
לְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אלle.Da.ni.Yel
H1841
Danijel · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
cast
וּרְמ֕וֹu.re.Mo
H7412
to throw · conjunction + verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
den
לְגֻבָּ֖אle.gu.Ba'
H1358
a pit (for wild animals) (as cut out) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
lions
אַרְיָוָתָ֑א'ar.ya.va.Ta'
H744
a lion · noun, common feminine singular determined + particle of affirmation
king
מַלְכָּא֙mal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
spake
עָנֵ֤ה'a.Neh
H6032
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
said
וְאָמַ֣רve.'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Daniel
לְדָנִיֵּ֔אלle.da.ni.Yel
H1841
Danijel · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
God
אֱלָהָ֗ךְ'e.la.Hakh
H426
God · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
thou
אַ֤נְתְּ'an.tah
H607
thou · personal pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular
servest
פָּֽלַֽחpa.lach-
H6399
to serve or worship · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
continually
בִּתְדִירָ֔אbit.di.Ra'
H8411
permanence · preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
deliver
יְשֵׁיזְבִנָּֽךְye.shei.ze.vi.Nakh
H7804
to leave · verb, imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 37:39-40 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
Job 5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
Psalms 91:14-16 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through t…
Daniel 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his serv…
2 Samuel 3:39 And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil a…
Psalms 118:8-9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Daniel 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 6:11-17
Here is 1. Proof made of Daniel's praying to his God, notwithstanding the late edict to the contrary (Dan 6:11): These men assembled; the came tumultuously together, so the word is, the same that was used Dan 6:6, borrowed from Psa 2:1, Why do the heathen rage? They came together to visit Daniel, perhaps under pretence of business, at that time which they knew to be his usual hour of devotion; and, if they had not found him so engaged, they would have upbraided him with his faint-heartedness and distrust of his God, but (which they rather wished to do) they found him on his knees praying and making supplication before his God. For his love they are his adversaries; but, like his father David…
Thy God . . . will deliver thee--The heathen believed in the interposition of the gods at times in favor of their worshippers. Darius recognized Daniel's God as a god, but not the only true God. He had heard of the deliverance of the three youths in Dan 3:26-27 and hence augurs Daniel's deliverance. I am not my own master, and cannot deliver thee, however much I wish it. "Thy God will." Kings are the slaves of their flatterers. Men admire piety to God in others, however disregarding Him themselves.
Adam Clarke on Daniel 6:16
Then the king commanded - With a heavy heart he was obliged to warrant this murderous conspiracy. But when passing sentence his last words were affecting: "Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." He is thy God; thou servest him, not occasionally, but continually; therefore "he will deliver thee." Daniel had now the same kind of opportunity of showing his fidelity to God, as his three Hebrew companions before. The lions were not less terrible than the fiery furnace.
John Gill on Daniel 6:16
Then the king commanded,.... Being overawed by his princes and fearing they would conspire against him, and stir up the people to rebel; and consulting his own credit lest he should be thought fickle and inconstant; he ordered the decree to be put in execution against Daniel, and delivered his favourite into their hands:
and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions; not the princes but proper officers employed by them: according to the additions to this book of Daniel, there were seven lions in this den, in the Apocrypha:
"And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given them every day two carcases, and two sheep: which then were not given to them, to the intent the…
The Church Fathers
Then accordingly, Darius, not being able to further contradict the satraps, said for Daniel to be brought and they cast him into the den of lions. And the king, answering said to him, "Your God whom you serve perpetually, he himself will rescue you" urging him to be of good cheer. "For since, even though I wish to help, I am not able even though I am king, but God whom you serve will rescue you," [Daniel 6:16] in order to show that what is impossible for men is possible with God. [Luke 18:27]
Lord, who fulfilled your promises made by the prophets, and had mercy on Zion and compassion on Jerusalem, by exalting the throne of David, your servant … by the birth of Christ, who was born of his seed according to the flesh, of a virgin alone; please, O Lord God, accept the prayers that proceed from the lips of your people which are of the Gentiles, which call on you in truth, as you accepted the gifts of the righteous in their generations. In the first place you respected the sacrifice of Abel … of Ezra at the return; of Daniel in the den of lions; of Jonah in the whale's belly.
Let not, therefore, any one that works signs and wonders judge any one of the faithful who is not granted the same: for the gifts of God that are bestowed by him through Christ are various; and one person receives one gift and another another.… For neither did the wise Daniel, who was delivered from the mouths of the lions, nor the three children, who were delivered from the furnace of fire, despise the rest of their fellow Israelites: for they knew that they had not escaped these terrible miseries by their own might but by the power of God did they both work miracles and were delivered from miseries. Wherefore let none of you exalt himself against his brother, though he is a prophet or though he is a worker of miracles.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Daniel — God is my judge, or judge of God. (1.) David’s second son, “born unto him in Hebron, of Abigail the Carmelitess” (1 Chr. 3:1). He is called also Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3). (2.) One of the four great…
Darius — The holder or supporter, the name of several Persian kings. (1.) Darius the Mede (Dan. 11:1), “the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes” (9:1). On the death of Belshazzar the Chaldean he…
Den — A lair of wild beasts (Ps. 10:9; 104:22; Job 37:8); the hole of a venomous reptile (Isa. 11:8); a recess for secrecy “in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:38); a resort of thieves (Matt. 21:13;…
Medes, Media — (middle land). Media lay northwest of Persia proper, south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, east of Armenia and Assyria, west and northwest of the great salt desert of Iran. Its greatest length was…
Media — Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.…
Temptation — (1.) Trial; a being put to the test. Thus God “tempted [Gen. 22: 1; R.V., ‘did prove’] Abraham;” and afflictions are said to tempt, i.e., to try, men (James 1:2, 12; comp. Deut. 8:2), putting their…
Civil Service · CORRUPTION IN — CORRUPTION IN
Conspiracy · .Daniel — .Daniel
Daniel · .Courage and fi — .Courage and fi
Indictments · .Daniel, on the charge of — .Daniel, on the charge of
Lion · Used for the torture of criminals — Used for the torture of criminals
Daniel 6:16
16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
16. Tunc rex loquutus est, [301] et adduxerunt Danielem, et projecerunt eum in foveam leonum. Respondit rex, et dixit Danieli, Deus tuus quem tu colis ipsum jugiter, [302] ipse liberabit te. [303]
The king, as we have said, frightened by the denunciation of the nobles, condemns Daniel to death. And hence we gather the reward which kings deserve in reference to their pride, when they are compelled to submit with servility to their flatterers. How was Darius deceived by the cunning of his n…
Daniel's offence against the law; his accusation, condemnation, and miraculous deliverance from the den of lions; and the punishment of his accusers.
The satraps did not wait long for Daniel's expected disregard of the king's prohibition. It was Daniel's custom, on bended knees, three times a day to offer prayer to his God in the upper chamber of his house, the window thereof being open towards Jerusalem. He continued this custom even after the issuing of the edict; for a discontinuance of it on account of that law would have been a denying of the faith and a sinning against God. On this his enemies had reckoned. They secretly watched him, and immediately reported his disregard of the king's…
Persecution · Suffering of — Exemplified: Daniel — Suffering of — Exemplified: Daniel
Punishments · Capital kinds of: Exposing to wild beasts — Capital kinds of: Exposing to wild beasts
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
