Bible Strands
Daniel 6:20
When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king speaks to Daniel at the lion's den, at dawn, having hurried there from his palace (v.19). He is not speaking from a throne or a distance; he has come to the edge of the pit.
The words — עָנֵה ('a.Neh, "replying") frames the king's cry not as a spontaneous exclamation but as an answer, as though he is responding to his own hope. עֲצִיב ('a.Tziv, "pained") is a participle denoting deep, bodily grief, not mere worry.
The thread — Daniel 6:27 closes the chapter with the king's declaration that this God "delivers and rescues," confirming what the question here presupposes. 1 Chronicles 16:11 ("seek His face always") echoes the phrase "whom you serve continually" in the king's address.
Why it lands — The king's question is not theological but empirical: can your God do this, right now, in front of me? It asks the reader to examine whether their trust is something they could stake a life on, or only something they maintain in safety.
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
And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
- Daniel 6:27 He delivers and rescues; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
- Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
- Daniel 6:16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”
- 2 Timothy 4:16 At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.
- Daniel 3:17 If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
- James 1:25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
- Genesis 18:14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Numbers 11:23 The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”