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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Dan C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12
Dan 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28
OET (OET-LV) [fn] god_of_my he_sent messenger_of_his and_he_closed the_mouth_of the_lions and_not they_harmed_me as_to because that before_him innocence it_was_found to_me and_also before_you[fn] Oh/the_king a_hurtful_act not I_have_done.
OET (OET-RV) Then the king was very happy, and ordered that Daniel be pulled up out of the den. So Daniel was lifted out of the den, and he didn’t even have a scratch on him, because he had trusted in his god.
The new Persian king, Darius the Mede, chose Daniel to be one of the three officials who administered the kingdom. Daniel did his work so well that the other officials became jealous of him. One day they asked the king to pass a law that forbade praying to anyone but him for a period of thirty days. The king signed the law. Daniel, however, refused to obey it and continued to pray to the one true God, the God of Israel. When the king heard that Daniel had disobeyed the law, he ordered his soldiers to throw Daniel into the pit where he kept hungry lions. But God protected Daniel. The lions did not hurt him. When the king saw this, he punished Daniel’s enemies and honored Daniel and the God of Israel.
Other possible headings for this section include:
Daniel in the Pit of Lions (GNT)
Daniel and the Lions (NCV)
God protected Daniel from lions
Historical Background: The Persian empire under Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539/538 BC, when Daniel was over seventy years old.Daniel was taken captive and brought to Babylon in approximately 605 B.C. If he was 12 years old when he came, he would have been 78 when this story began. The Persian empire became larger than the Babylonian empire had ever been. It extended west to include both Egypt and Libya. It extended east as far as the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It was the largest empire in the history of the world up to that time.
Some commentators think that Darius the Mede was another name or title for the Persian King Cyrus or for the governor under him, Gubaru.
Text:
The verse numbers in the NJPS and the NJB are different from the verse numbers in the BSB. For example, 6:1 in the NJPS and the NJB is 5:31 in the BSB. The difference is because the NJPS and NJB follow the numbers in the Hebrew Bible. These Notes follow the verse numbers in the BSB.
Special Problems:
1. Lists: The author liked to include lists. In Daniel 6, he listed the different officials who conspired against Daniel (6:1–2; 7). Some languages may not have so many terms for officials. The Notes will suggest some ways to translate these lists.
2. Repetition: The author liked to repeat words and phrases in order to create suspense and emphasis. The Notes will give some suggestions on how to translate words or phrases that are repeated.
3. Verbs of Speech: The author sometimes used more than one verb of speech to introduce a quotation. In some languages, this may not be natural. The Notes will offer some options on how to translate these verbs.
4. Synonyms: The author liked to use synonyms or near synonyms to refer to the same idea. For example: 6:7–9 (ordinance, law, decree); 6:14 (rescue, delivering); 6:26 (kingdom, dominion); 6:27b (signs, wonders). The Notes will suggest different ways to translate these terms.
The king ordered his men to take Daniel out of the lions’ pit. The officials who were his enemies died in his place.
The king was overjoyed
¶ The king was very happy to hear this.
¶ The king was very glad that Daniel was safe,
The Aramaic text connects 6:23a to the previous verse part with the common connector that the RSV translates as “then.” This connector here introduces the next event in the narrative. The BSB does not use a connector here. You should introduce what happened next in a way that is natural in your language.
The king was overjoyed: The Aramaic clause that the BSB translates as The king was overjoyed is literally, “the king it was very much good to him.” Here are some other ways to translate this:
King Darius was very happy (NCV)
The king was very glad (NJPS)
Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language.
and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den,
He commanded that Daniel be lifted/raised from the den,
and he commanded his men/soldiers to pull Daniel up from the lion pit.
and: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces the next event in the narrative.
gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den: The Aramaic text is more literally “he said to take up Daniel from the den.” In some languages it may be necessary to indicate to whom the king spoke or gave these orders. For example:
and told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions’ den (NCV)
he commanded his men to pull Daniel up from the pit
In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a passive clause.The Aramaic text has an infinitive clause: “and Daniel he said to lift up from the pit.” For example,
and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den (NRSV)
and gave orders for Daniel to be pulled up out of the pit (GNT)
and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den (NLT)
lift: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as lift in this context probably means that they were to pull Daniel up from the den by a rope.
In some languages it may be natural to translate the king’s order as direct speech. For example:
he ordered, “Get Daniel up out of that pit.”
“Pull Daniel out of the lions’ den,” the king directed.
and when Daniel was lifted out of the den,
and so they pulled Daniel up/out.
The king’s men/soldiers did so
and when Daniel was lifted out of the den: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces what happened as a result of the king’s command. The BSB has supplied the word when. Introduce what happened in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
So Daniel was taken up out of the den (NRSV)
So they pulled him up (GNT)
Daniel was lifted out of the den: This is a passive clause. In some languages it may be more natural to use an active clause. For example:
they pulled him up (GNT)
the king’s men lifted Daniel out of the pit
In some languages it may be natural to leave this implied. It is clear from the context that the king’s men obeyed the command. The CEV leaves the whole clause implied. Here is another way to translate this:
When this was done (REB)
no wounds whatsoever were found on him,
Everyone could see that Daniel was not hurt at all,
and discovered that Daniel was totally uninjured/unharmed.
no wounds whatsoever were found on him: This verse part tells what happened when Daniel was once more in the presence of the king and his men. Everyone could see that Daniel was unharmed. In your translation, be sure that it is clear that no wounds whatsoever were found because there was no wound. Daniel was unharmed. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this as an active clause. For example:
People saw that he was completely unharmed (GW)
they saw that the lions had not hurt him at all
He had no injuries at all
wounds: The Aramaic noun that the BSB translates as wounds is related to the word translated as “wrong” in 6:22d. Here, however, it refers to physical harm or damage. The lions had not bitten or mauled Daniel.
because he had trusted in his God.
for he had put his trust/confidence in his God.
God had kept him safe, because he had trusted God.
because he had trusted in his God: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as because here introduces a reason clause.diy. “because.” HALOT, 1853. It introduces the reason why Daniel was not hurt by the lions.
he had trusted in his God: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as trusted is a key biblical term.The verb is ʾmn in the hafal “to trust in.” HALOT, 1816. Daniel was steadfast and firm in his confidence in God. See “faith, trust” in KBT. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language.
he trusted his God (GW)
he had confidence in his GodLa Bible du Semeur; BFrCL88;
he had faith in his GodLa Nouvelle Version Segond
his God: See the Notes at 6:22a.
In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of these verse parts, placing the reason/cause before the result. Here are some other ways to translated this:
23eDaniel trusted in his God and 23dso he received no injury from the lions.
23eDaniel’s faith in his God had kept him 23dfrom being harmed. (CEV)
23eBecause Daniel had faith in God, 23dthe lions were unable to hurt him.
גֻּבָּ֑א
(Some words not found in UHB: God_of,my sent angel_of,his and,he_closed mouths_of of,the_lions and,not they,harmed_me as=to corresponding that/who before,him innocent found to=me and,also before,you Oh/the=king wrong not done )
This may refer to a room or pit where lions were kept. See how you translated this in [Daniel 6:7](../06/07.md).
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
וְכָל־חֲבָל֙ לָא־הִשְׁתְּכַ֣ח בֵּ֔הּ
(Some words not found in UHB: God_of,my sent angel_of,his and,he_closed mouths_of of,the_lions and,not they,harmed_me as=to corresponding that/who before,him innocent found to=me and,also before,you Oh/the=king wrong not done )
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “and they did not find any wounds on Daniel”
6:1-28 God rescued and delivered his faithful servant Daniel (5:23; 6:20), whereas Belshazzar’s dead gods could not save him.
OET (OET-LV) [fn] god_of_my he_sent messenger_of_his and_he_closed the_mouth_of the_lions and_not they_harmed_me as_to because that before_him innocence it_was_found to_me and_also before_you[fn] Oh/the_king a_hurtful_act not I_have_done.
OET (OET-RV) Then the king was very happy, and ordered that Daniel be pulled up out of the den. So Daniel was lifted out of the den, and he didn’t even have a scratch on him, because he had trusted in his god.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.