DAN 6:16 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) So the king gave an order, and Daniel was brought in and the king responded and told him, “May your god, who you serve continually, save you.” Then Daniel was thrown down into the lions’ den.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Then the king gave an order, and Daniel was brought in and thrown into the den of lions. The king responded and said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, may he deliver you.”

UST So the king gave the order, and his servants brought me and threw me into a pit where the lions were. Before they threw me in, the king said to me, “I hope that your God, whom you worship regularly, will rescue you!”

BSB 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!”

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den of lions. The king consoled Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

LSV Then the king has spoken, and they have brought Daniel, and have cast [him] into a den of lions. The king has answered and said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you are serving continually, delivers you Himself.”

FBV Eventually the king gave the order and Daniel was taken and thrown into the lions' den. The king told him, “May the God you so loyally serve save you!”

T4T So the king gave the order, and his servants brought me and threw me into a pit where the lions were. Before they threw me in, the king said to me, “I hope/wish that your God, whom you worship regularly, will rescue you!”

LEB Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought in and they threw him into _⌊the lion pit_⌋.[fn] _⌊The king said_⌋[fn] to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve _⌊faithfully_⌋,[fn] may he rescue you!”

6:16 Literally “pit of lions”

6:16 Literally “The king answered and saying”

6:16 Literally “in the loyalty”

BBE Then the king gave the order, and they took Daniel and put him into the lions' hole. The king made answer and said to Daniel, Your God, whose servant you are at all times, will keep you safe.

Moff So the king gave his orders; Daniel was arrested and flung into the den of lions. “May your God save you, whom you worship continually!” said the king to Daniel.

JPS (6-17) Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel: 'Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee.'

ASV Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

DRA Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of the lions. And the king said to Daniel: Thy God, whom thou always servest, he will deliver thee.

YLT Then the king hath said, and they have brought Daniel, and have cast [him] into a den of lions. The king hath answered and said to Daniel, 'Thy God, whom thou art serving continually, Himself doth deliver thee.'

Drby Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast [him] into the den of lions. The king spoke and said unto Daniel, Thy [fn]God whom thou servest continually, he will save thee.

6.16 Elohim

RV Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
(Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy/Your God whom thou/you servest/serve continually, he will deliver thee/you. )

SLT At that time the king said, and they brought Daniel and cast into the den of the lions; the king answered and said to Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest to him continually, he will set thee free.

Wbstr Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

KJB-1769 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
(Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy/Your God whom thou/you servest/serve continually, he will deliver thee/you. )

KJB-1611 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the denne of Lions: now the king spake and saide vnto Daniel; Thy God, whom thou seruest continually, he will deliuer thee.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Bshps Then the king commaunded, and they brought Daniel, and they cast him into the lions denne. Nowe the king spake vnto Daniel, & saide: Thy God whom thou alway seruest, euen he wyll deliuer thee.
(Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and they cast him into the lions den. Now the king spake unto Daniel, and said: Thy/Your God whom thou/you always servest/serve, even he will deliver thee/you.)

Gnva Then the King commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the denne of lyons: now the King spake, and said vnto Daniel, Thy God, whome thou alway seruest, euen he will deliuer thee.
(Then the King commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions: now the King spake, and said unto Daniel, Thy/Your God, whom thou/you always servest/serve, even he will deliver thee/you. )

Cvdl Then the kynge bad them brynge Daniel, and they cast him in to the Lyons denne. The kynge also spake vnto Daniel, ad sayde: Thy God, whom thou allwaye seruest, euen he shall defende the.
(Then the king bad them bring Daniel, and they cast him in to the Lions den. The king also spake unto Daniel, and said: Thy/Your God, whom thou/you always servest/serve, even he shall defend them.)

Wycl which the kyng ordeyneth. Thanne the kyng comaundide, and thei brouyten Danyel, and senten hym in to the lake of liouns. And the kyng seide to Danyel, Thi God, whom thou worschipist euere, he schal delyuere thee.
(which the king ordeyneth. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and sent him in to the lake of lions. And the king said to Daniel, Thy/Your God, whom thou/you worshipist ever, he shall deliver thee/you.)

Luth Aber die Männer kamen häufig zu dem Könige und sprachen zu ihm: Du weißt, Herr König, daß der Meder und Perser Recht ist, daß alle Gebote und Befehle, so der König beschlossen hat, sollen unverändert bleiben.
(But the men came frequently to/for to_him king(s) and said to/for him: You(sg) you_know, Lord king, that the/of_the Meder and Perser law/right is, that all commandments/commands and commands(n), so the/of_the king decided has, should unverändert remain/stay.)

ClVg Tunc rex præcepit, et adduxerunt Danielem, et miserunt eum in lacum leonum. Dixitque rex Danieli: Deus tuus, quem colis semper, ipse liberabit te.
(Then king ordered, and they_brought Danielem, and they_sent him in/into/on lake lion. And_he_said king Danieli: God your(sg), which colis always, exactly_that/himself will_deliver you(sg). )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:1–28: God delivered Daniel from the lions’ den

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.

Paragraph 6:16

In this verse, the king did what the law prescribed. He commanded his men to throw Daniel into the pit of lions.

6:16a

So the king gave the order,

¶ So then the king commanded his men to go and arrest Daniel.
¶ So the king reluctantly commanded his men to execute Daniel.

So the king gave the order: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as So introduces the next event in the narrative. He gave a command that was in accordance with the law. Introduce his command in a way that is natural in your language. Here is another way to translate this:

then (NRSV)

the king gave the order: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as gave the order is literally “said.” The king unwillingly gave the command to carry out the law and throw Daniel to the lions. Here is another way to translate this:

the king commanded (RSV)

In some languages it may be natural to supply information about what the king commanded. For example:

the king ordered his men to carry out the law

the king commanded that his servants bring Daniel

Translate the meaning in a way that is natural in your language.

6:16b

and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions.

They brought Daniel and tossed/pushed him into the den of lions.
They brought Daniel out to throw him into the pit where the lions lived.

and: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and is a general one that can be translated in various ways. In this context scholars have interpreted it in different ways:

It introduces the next event in the narrative. The king gave the order and his men carried it out. In some languages you may be able to use a different connector. For example:
so
Then (ESV) (BSB, NIV, RSV/NRSV, KJV, NASB, ESV, NET, GW, NCV)
It introduces what the king commanded. Following this view, the text does not explicitly say that the king’s men obeyed his order. For example:
gave orders for Daniel to be taken and thrown into the pit (GNT) (NJB, REB, GNT, NLT, CEV)

The meaning is the same. Either interpretation is acceptable. It is important that your readers understand both that the king gave the order and that the order was carried out. Translate in a way that makes this clear. For example:

So King Darius gave the order, and Daniel was brought in and thrown into the lions’ den. (NCV)

So at last Darius ordered Daniel to be brought out and thrown into a pit of lions. (NLT)

So at the king’s command Daniel was brought and thrown into the lions’ pit.

they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions: The third person subject is indefinite. Translate this in a way that is most natural in your language. For example:

Using passive verbs. For example:
and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions (NRSV)
supplying a subject. For example:
and the soldiers led Daniel out and threw him into the lion pit

they brought Daniel: The text does not say where the men brought Daniel. Probably the meaning is that he was brought from his home and to the king and the place where the lions were kept. In some languages it may be necessary to supply some of this information. For example:

Daniel was brought out (CEV)

Daniel was brought to him (GW)

and threw him: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces the next event in the narrative. Having brought him, the king’s men threw Daniel into the den of lions.

threw him into the den of lions: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as threw here indicates that the men pushed Daniel from above so that he fell into the den. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language. The same verb occurs in 3:6, 11, 15, 20.

den of lions: See the Notes at 6:7e. This was a large pit where the king kept wild lions.

the lion-pit (NRSV)

the pit where they kept the lions

the hole where the lions wereTranslator’s Handbook on Daniel.

6:16c

The king said to Daniel,

The king said to Daniel/him,
As they were doing this, the king exclaimed,

The king said to Daniel: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates said is literally “answering and saying.” This phrase indicates that the king was about to say something important. Translate this in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

the king told Daniel (GW)

The king probably spoke to Daniel before the men threw Daniel into the lions’ pit. If this is not clear, you may add this implied information. For example:

the king had told Daniel

6:16d

“May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

“May your God save you! You have served him so faithfully.”
“You have always been faithful to the God you worship. Now I pray/hope that he will rescue you!”

May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!: There are at least two ways to interpret the Aramaic clause that the BSB translates as May your God…deliver you!:

It expresses the king’s wish or prayer that God would save Daniel.Lucas (p. 144) interprets this as a wish. For example:
May your God, whom you always worship, save you! (GW) (BSB, RSV/NRSV, RSV, NIV, GW, NLT, REB, GNT, CEV, NCV)
The king tried to encourage Daniel by stating that his God was the one who could and would save him.Rosenthal (A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, Sixth Rev. ed. 175) notes that the suffix form of the verb is imperfect rather than a jussive. Some commentators therefore interpret this as a statement of confidence in the God of Daniel. However, it could also be a word of comfort. See the NET: “The king consoled Daniel.” For example:
Your God, whom you continually serve, will rescue you. (NET) (NET, KJV, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The king hoped and prayed that God would save Daniel. Other ways to translate this include:

May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!

I hope that your God, whom you worship, will deliver you.

I pray that the God you worship will rescue you.

your God, whom you serve continually: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as serve here means “worship.” See the Notes at 3:12d.

In some languages it may not be natural to translate the possessive pronoun in the phrase your God. If that is true in your language, you may say, following the NCV:

the God you serve all the time (NCV)

continually: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as continually is only used here and in 6:20.HALOT, 2004. In this context, it implies that Daniel was faithful in worshiping God. He did not ever worship other gods. He worshiped God alone. That is, he worshiped God exclusively. Here are some other ways to translate this idea:

faithfully (NRSV)

so loyally (GNT)

deliver you: The king prayed and hoped that God would protect Daniel and save him from being killed by the lions. The same Aramaic verb is used in 6:14b. However, you may need to translate it differently here. Daniel was already being punished, but the king hoped he would not die. This verb also occurs with this meaning in 3:15f, 6:28. Other ways to translate this include:

rescue you (NIV)