Daniel 6:21

Study note

Setting — Daniel addresses King Darius immediately after emerging from the lion’s den, responding directly to the king’s prior question about divine deliverance. The exchange occurs at the mouth of the den as the king leans in to hear his servant’s account.

The words — The Aramaic phrase מַלְכָּא לְעָלְמִין חֱיִי (mal.Ka' le.'al.Min che.Yi) literally translates “O king, for ever live!” as a formal court greeting. This exact Aramaic construction also appears in Daniel 2:4 and Daniel 6:6.

The thread — The identical Aramaic royal greeting appears in Daniel 2:4 among the Chaldean astrologers and in Daniel 6:6 when the satraps petition the king. In Nehemiah 2:3, a comparable royal blessing is recorded but composed in Hebrew rather than Aramaic.

Why it lands — The text states a standard diplomatic address without embellishment, directing attention immediately to the factual report of angelic intervention that follows. It requires the reader to accept the formal court protocol and proceed to the explicit claim that God shut the lions’ mouths.

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.