Daniel 6:22
in Daniel 6My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
KJV
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
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This verse in Daniel 6
Commentary
11 notes on this verseVerse 22. "'My God sent His angel and shut up the lions' mouths, and they did me no harm...'" The fierceness of the lions was not altered, but their gaping jaws were closed by the angel, and also their voracious hunger, and that too for the reason that the prophet's good works had gone before him. And so his deliverance was not so much a matter of grace as of reward for his unrightness.
This site's exposition
O king, may you live forever
on Daniel 6:21-23
Daniel gives the deliverance to God: “My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions”. The older commentators read this beside the angel in chapter 3. The text gives the reason: “no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God”.
This site's exposition
I was found innocent
Jerome held that God sent His angel as a reward for Daniel's good works more than as grace. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown held that the verse gives no ground for works meriting salvation. Adam Clarke read the shut mouths of the lions as public proof that Daniel was found innocent.
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 Awakening3 voices
His angel - The same that was with the three children in the fiery furnace, whose presence made even the lion's den a strong- hold, his palace, his paradise. See the power of God over the fiercest creatures! See the care God takes of his faithful servants, especially when they are called to suffer for him!
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.
My God hath sent his angel,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
My God hath sent his angel - Such a one as that who attended Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the fiery furnace, and blew aside the flames, so that they could not hurt them. Before him innocency was found in one - Because I was innocent God has preserved me; and now that I am preserved, my innocence is fully proved.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Therefore, the "forasmuch" does not justify Rome's doctrine of works meriting salvation. before thee--Obedience to God is in strictest compatibility with loyalty to the king (Mt 22:21; Daniel's disobedience to the king was seeming, not real, because it was not from contempt of the king, but from regard to the King of kings (compare Ac 24:16).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My God hath sent his angel - It was common among the Hebrews to attribute any remarkable preservation from danger to the intervention of an angel sent from God, and no one can demonstrate that it did not occur as they supposed. There is no more absurdity in supposing that God employs an angelic being to defend his people, or to impart blessings to them, than there is in supposing that he employs one human being to render important aid, and to convey important blessings, to another. As a matter of fact, few of the favors which God bestows upon men are conveyed to them directly from himself, but they are mostly imparted by the instrumentality of others. So it is in the blessings of liberty, in deliverance from bondage, in the provision made for our wants, in the favor bestowed on us in infancy and childhood. As this principle prevails everywhere on the earth, it is not absurd to suppose that it may prevail elsewhere, and that on important occasions, and in instances above the rank of human intervention, God may employ the instrumentality of higher beings to defend his people in trouble, and rescue them from danger. Compare Psa 34:7; Psa 91:11; Dan 9:21; Mat 18:10; Luk 16:22; Heb 1:14. Daniel does not say whether the angel was visible or not, but it is rather to be presumed that he was, as in this way it would be more certainly known to him that he owed his deliverance to the intervention of an angel, and as this would be to him a manifest token of the favor and protection of God. And hath shut the lions’ mouths - It is clear that Daniel supposed that this was accomplished by a miracle; and this is the only satisfactory solution of what had occurred. […]
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱלָהִ֞י | ʾelahi | God my | H426 → | 95 times |
| שְׁלַ֣ח | shelach | he sent | H7972 → | 14 times |
| מַלְאֲכֵ֗הּ | malakheh | angel his | H4398 → | |
| וּֽסֲגַ֛ר | usagar | and he closed | H5463 → | |
| פֻּ֥ם | pum | [the] mouth of | H6433 → | 6 times |
| אַרְיָוָתָ֖א | ʾaryavata' | lions the | H744 → | 10 times |
| וְלָ֣א | vela' | and not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| חַבְּל֑וּנִי | chabeluni | they harmed me | H2255 → | 6 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | as to | ||
| קֳבֵ֗ל | kovel | because | H6903 → | 29 times |
| דִּ֤י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| קָֽדָמ֙וֹהִי֙ | kadamohi | before him | H6925 → | 42 times |
| זָכוּ֙ | zakhu | innocence | H2136 → | |
| הִשְׁתְּכַ֣חַת | hishtekhachat | it was found | H7912 → | 18 times |
| לִ֔י | li | to me | ||
| וְאַ֤ף | veaf | and also | H638 → | |
| קָֽדָמָךְ֙ | kadamayikh | before you | H6925 → | 42 times |
| מַלְכָּ֔א | malka' | king O | H4430 → | 180 times |
| חֲבוּלָ֖ה | chavulah | a hurtful act | H2248 → | |
| לָ֥א | la' | not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| עַבְדֵֽת׃ | ʾavdet | I have done | H5648 → | 28 times |
אֱלָהִ֞יGod my
ʾelahiH426 →95 times
שְׁלַ֣חhe sent
shelachH7972 →14 times
מַלְאֲכֵ֗הּangel his
malakhehH4398 →
וּֽסֲגַ֛רand he closed
usagarH5463 →
פֻּ֥ם[the] mouth of
pumH6433 →6 times
אַרְיָוָתָ֖אlions the
ʾaryavata'H744 →10 times
וְלָ֣אand not
vela'H3809 →82 times
חַבְּל֑וּנִיthey harmed me
chabeluniH2255 →6 times
כָּל־as to
kol-
קֳבֵ֗לbecause
kovelH6903 →29 times
דִּ֤יthat
diH1768 →345 times
קָֽדָמ֙וֹהִי֙before him
kadamohiH6925 →42 times
זָכוּ֙innocence
zakhuH2136 →
הִשְׁתְּכַ֣חַתit was found
hishtekhachatH7912 →18 times
לִ֔יto me
li
וְאַ֤ףand also
veafH638 →
קָֽדָמָךְ֙before you
kadamayikhH6925 →42 times
מַלְכָּ֔אking O
malka'H4430 →180 times
חֲבוּלָ֖הa hurtful act
chavulahH2248 →
לָ֥אnot
la'H3809 →82 times
עַבְדֵֽת׃I have done
ʾavdetH5648 →28 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
2 Timothy 4:17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Philippians 1:12–14
Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.
- Psalms 22:21
Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
- 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…
- 1 Peter 5:8
Through
Acts 24:16In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.
it leads to
- Acts 23:1
Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”
- 1 Timothy 1:5
The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…
- Acts 23:1
Through
Acts 12:11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
it leads to
- Daniel 3:28
Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather…
- Daniel 3:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SIX; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.