Daniel 6:21
in Daniel 6Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
KJV
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
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This verse in Daniel 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseVerse 21. "'O king, live forever!'" Daniel honors the one who accords honor to him, and prays for him eternal life.
This site's exposition
O king, live for ever
on Daniel 6:21-23
Daniel's answer credits the deliverance entirely to another, my God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions' mouths, an act the older writers read alongside the Angel of the LORD tradition that shielded the three men in the furnace under Nebuchadnezzar, the same divine protection extended across two reigns. Daniel names his own innocency before God and before the king together, forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me, and also before thee have I done no hurt, refusing to let the miracle excuse any wrong he might actually have done Darius. No manner of hurt was found upon him because he believed in his God, the chapter's own explanation offered before any theological gloss is needed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"And Daniel said to the king, 'My God sent his angel and he shut the mouth of the lions and they did not harm me because before him uprightness was found in me and before you, O king, I have not committed transgressions.'" [Daniel 6:21-22] What great trust he has to God rather than to men! For men despair and are handed over to death, but God does not abandon his slaves. On account of this the Psalmist teaches saying, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to hope in the Lord than to hope in rulers." [Psalm 118:8-9]
Take heed, O man, because even at that time God rescued whom he wished to still live, so that the magnificent work of God may be shown and it may be preached in all the world until now. But whom he wishes to testify, he, having crowned them, takes them. For he rescued the three boys, so that the boast of Nebuchadnezzar may be shown as being nothing, wishing to demonstrate this, that "what is impossible for men is possible for God." [Luke 18:27] For since Nebuchadnezzar was arrogant and said, "And who is the god who is able to rescue you from the furnace of fire?" [Daniel 3:15] God demonstrated to him that he is able to rescue his slaves whenever he wills. For also similarly it happened to Daniel, for after Darius said, "Is God whom you perpetually serve, able to rescue you from the mouths of the lions?" [Daniel 6:20] Daniel answered and said, "God sent his angel and he stopped the mouths of the lions and they did not hurt me." [Daniel 6:22] For also all the governors and satraps contrived a pretext, so that they handed Daniel over to the beasts in order to kill him. But God, seeing their machinations and the sincerity of the blessed Daniel, rescued him from the mouths of the lions, so that he rescues whom he wills but takes whom he wills.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then said Daniel unto the king,.... Whose voice he knew, though the tone of it was so much altered: O king, live for ever; he does not reproach him for delivering him into the hands of his enemies, and suffering him to be cast into that place, which he might have prevented, had he had more resolution; he knew it was done with reluctance, though with weakness; which he does not upbraid him with, but freely forgives him, and wishes him health, long life, and prosperity.
The same bright and glorious being that was seen in the form of the Son of God with the three children in the fiery furnace had visited Daniel, and, it is likely, in a visible appearance had enlightened the dark den, and kept Daniel company all night, and had shut the lions' mouths, that they had not in the least hurt him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever - The common form of salutation in addressing the king. See the note at Dan 2:
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱדַ֙יִן֙ | ʾedayin | then | H116 → | 57 times |
| דָּנִיֶּ֔אל | daniyel | Daniel | H1841 → | 57 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5974 → | 22 times |
| מַלְכָּ֖א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| מַלִּ֑ל | malil | he spoke | H4449 → | 5 times |
| מַלְכָּ֖א | malka' | king O | H4430 → | 180 times |
| לְעָלְמִ֥ין | lealmin | for ever | H5957 → | 20 times |
| חֱיִֽי׃ | cheyi | live! | H2418 → | 6 times |
אֱדַ֙יִן֙then
ʾedayinH116 →57 times
דָּנִיֶּ֔אלDaniel
daniyelH1841 →57 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5974 →22 times
מַלְכָּ֖אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
מַלִּ֑לhe spoke
malilH4449 →5 times
מַלְכָּ֖אking O
malka'H4430 →180 times
לְעָלְמִ֥יןfor ever
lealminH5957 →20 times
חֱיִֽי׃live!
cheyiH2418 →6 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
it leads to
- Daniel 5:10
Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 3:9
saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 4:7
And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
- Isaiah 36:11
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on…
- Daniel 5:10
Through
Nehemiah 2:3and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by…
it leads to
- Daniel 2:4
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 1:3
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
- 1 Kings 1:31
Bathsheba bowed facedown in homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
- Psalms 137:6
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!
- Daniel 2:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.29.1-2; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.35.3-7; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SIX; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.