Bible Strands
Daniel 2:18
urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Daniel instructs his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to petition the God of heaven for mercy regarding the king's dream. He issues this command at the moment before the night's revelation, specifically to secure their survival alongside Babylon's other condemned wise men.
The words — The Aramaic terms לְמִבְעֵא רַחֲמִין (le./miv.'E ra.cha.Min) literally render "to ask for mercies" or "to plead for compassion." The phrasing treats the request as a direct appeal for divine pity rather than a claim to human insight.
The thread — This reliance on divine mercy for hidden knowledge parallels the call to invoke God in distress (Psalms 50:15), the promise of revealed truth to those who seek (Jeremiah 33:3), and the mechanism of united petition (Matthew 18:19).
Why it lands — The verse establishes that survival and understanding in the face of impossible demands depend entirely on God's mercy. It requires the reader to abandon self-reliance and actively seek divine intervention before seeking answers.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Matthew 18:19 Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.
- Psalms 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Psalms 91:15 When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Matthew 18:12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
- Genesis 18:28 suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.”
- 1 Samuel 17:37 David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
- Esther 4:15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
- Isaiah 37:4 Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”
- Malachi 3:18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”