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ParallelVerse 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 Intro 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 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28
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) As he approached the den, he called out in a worried voice, “Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living god. Has your god, who you serve continually, been able to save you from the lions?”
OET-LV [fn] in_then Oh/the_king at_(the)_dawn he_arose at_the_daylight and_in_haste to_the_den of the_lions he_went.
6:20 Note: KJB: Dān.6.19
UHB 21 וּכְמִקְרְבֵ֣הּ לְגֻבָּ֔א לְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אל בְּקָ֥ל עֲצִ֖יב זְעִ֑ק עָנֵ֨ה מַלְכָּ֜א וְאָמַ֣ר לְדָנִיֵּ֗אל דָּֽנִיֵּאל֙ עֲבֵד֙ אֱלָהָ֣א חַיָּ֔א אֱלָהָ֗ךְ דִּ֣י אנתה פָּֽלַֽח־לֵהּ֙ בִּתְדִירָ֔א הַיְכִ֥ל לְשֵׁיזָבוּתָ֖ךְ מִן־אַרְיָוָתָֽא׃ ‡
(21 ūkəmiqrəⱱēh ləgubāʼ lədāniyyēʼl bəqāl ˊₐʦiyⱱ zəˊiq ˊānēh malkāʼ vəʼāmar lədāniyyēʼl dāniyyēʼl ˊₐⱱēd ʼₑlāhāʼ ḩayyāʼ ʼₑlāhāk diy ʼnth pālaḩ-lēh bitədīrāʼ hayəkil ləshēyzāⱱūtāk min-ʼaryāvātāʼ.)
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).
BrLXX No BrLXX DAN book available
BrTr No BrTr DAN book available
ULT As he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried out in a troubled voice. The king responded and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
UST When he came near it, he was very worried. He called out, “Daniel, you who serve the all-powerful God! Was your God, whom you worship regularly, able to save you from the lions?”
BSB When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
MSB (Same as BSB above)
OEB No OEB DAN book available
WEBBE When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”
WMBB (Same as above)
NET As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”
LSV and at his coming near to the den, to Daniel, with a grieved voice, he cries. The king has answered and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God, whom you are serving continually, is He able to deliver you from the lions?”
FBV As he approached the den, he called out anxiously to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God whom you honor so faithfully, was your God able to save you from the lions?”
T4T When he came near it, he was very worried. He called out, “Daniel, you who serve the all-powerful God! Was your God, whom you worship regularly, able to save you from the lions?”
LEB And ⌊when he came near⌋[fn] to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with a distressed voice, and the king ⌊spoke⌋[fn] and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?”
BBE And when he came near the hole where Daniel was, he gave a loud cry of grief; the king made answer and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whose servant you are at all times, able to keep you safe from the lions?
Moff When he came near the den and Daniel, he cried with a distressful voice; the king called out to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God whom you worship continually able to save you from the lions?”
JPS (6-21) And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a pained voice; the king spoke and said to Daniel: 'O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?'
ASV And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
DRA And coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel, and said to him: Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy God, whom thou servest always, been able, thinkest thou, to deliver thee from the lions?
YLT and at his coming near to the den, to Daniel, with a grieved voice, he crieth. The king hath answered and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, thy God, whom thou art serving continually, is He able to deliver thee from the lions?'
Drby And when he came near unto the den, he cried with a mournful voice unto Daniel: the king spoke and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living [fn]God, hath thy [fn]God whom thou servest continually been able to save thee from the lions?
6.20 Elohim
RV And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice: the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
(And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice: the king spake and said to Daniel, Oh Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy/your God, whom thou/you servest/serve continually, able to deliver thee/you from the lions? )
SLT And in his drawing near to the den he cried to Daniel with a strong voice, the king answered and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, thy God whom thou servest to him continually, is he able to set thee free from the lion’s den?
Wbstr And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
KJB-1769 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
(And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, Oh Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy/your God, whom thou/you servest/serve continually, able to deliver thee/you from the lions? )
KJB-1611 And when he came to the den, he cryed with a lamentable voice vnto Daniel, and the king spake and said to Daniel: O Daniel, seruant of the liuing God, Is thy God whom thou seruest continually, able to deliuer thee from the Lyons?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)
Bshps Now as he came nye vnto the denne, he cryed with a pitious voyce vnto Daniel, yea the king spake and saide vnto Daniel: O Daniel, thou seruaut of the liuing God, is not thy God whom thou seruest alway, able to deliuer thee from ye lions?
(Now as he came nigh/near unto the den, he cried with a pitious voice unto Daniel, yea the king spake and said unto Daniel: Oh Daniel, thou/you servant of the living God, is not thy/your God whom thou/you servest/serve always, able to deliver thee/you from ye/you_all lions?)
Gnva And when he came to the denne, he cryed with a lamentable voyce vnto Daniel: and the King spake, and saide to Daniel, O Daniel, the seruant of ye liuing God, is not thy God (whom thou alway seruest) able to deliuer thee from the lyons?
(And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the King spake, and said to Daniel, Oh Daniel, the servant of ye/you_all living God, is not thy/your God (whom thou/you always servest/serve) able to deliver thee/you from the lions? )
Cvdl Now as he came nye vnto ye dene, he cried wt a piteous voyce vnto Daniel: Yee ye kige spake, and sayde vnto Daniel: O Daniel, thou seruaunt off the lyuynge God, Is not thy God (whom thou allwaye seruest) able to delyuer the from the lyons?
(Now as he came nigh/near unto ye/you_all dene, he cried with a piteous voice unto Daniel: Ye/You_all ye/you_all kige spake, and said unto Daniel: Oh Daniel, thou/you servant off the living God, Is not thy/your God (whom thou/you always servest/serve) able to deliver the from the lions?)
Wycl and he neiyide to the lake, and criede on Danyel with wepynge vois, and spak to hym, Danyel, the seruaunt of God lyuynge, gessist thou, whether thi God, whom thou seruest euere, miyte delyuere thee fro liouns?
(and he neiyide to the lake, and cried on Daniel with weeping voice, and spake to him, Daniel, the servant of God living, gessist thou/you, whether thy/your God, whom thou/you servest/serve ever, mighte deliver thee/you from lions?)
Luth Des Morgens früh, da der Tag anbrach, stund der König auf und ging eilend zum Graben, da die Löwen waren.
(Des morning early, there the/of_the day anbrach, stood the/of_the king on/in/to and went rushing for_the graven, there the lions were.)
ClVg appropinquansque lacui, Danielem voce lacrimabili inclamavit, et affatus est eum: Daniel serve Dei viventis, Deus tuus, cui tu servis semper, putasne valuit te liberare a leonibus?
(appropinquansque lakei, Danielem voice lacrimabili inclamavit, and affatus it_is him: Daniel serve of_God living, God your(sg), to_whom you(sg) slaves always, do_you_think was_able you(sg) to_free from leonibus? )
6:20 Was your God . . . able? There was no question about whether Daniel had served God faithfully, so if God didn’t rescue him it would have told the king that God was not able to do so.
• living God: The king probably knew what Daniel’s God had done during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. The expression living God is particularly used in the Bible to contrast the Lord with lifeless idols (see, e.g., Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; Isa 37:17-18).
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.
6:19–20 tells what happened the next morning. The king went to the lions’ den to find out if Daniel was still alive.
When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish,
When he approached the hole where Daniel was, he called out anxiously,
As he approached the hole, he yelled in anguish to Daniel,
When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish: The Aramaic is more literally “as he came near to the den to Daniel in a pained voice he called out replying the king and saying to Daniel.” It is hard to know if the Aramaic word meaning “to Daniel” belongs with the verb “came near” or the verb “called out.”Compare the KJV and the RSV here. And in many languages it may not be natural to repeat Daniel’s name. The BSB has left the name “Daniel” untranslated. You should indicate that the king went to the lions’ den to speak to Daniel in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
When he got there, he called out anxiously (GNT)
When he reached the den: The Aramaic clause that the BSB translates as When he reached the den is more literally “and as he approached the den.” This clause repeats the mention of the den from the previous verse. In some languages it may not be natural to repeat this information again. If that is true in your language, you may say:
When he got there (GNT)
As he approached (NET)
he cried out in a voice of anguish: The Aramaic verbs of speech that the BSB translates as cried out are literally, “called out…. and the king answering and saying.” In some languages it may be more natural to use one verb of speech, as the BSB has done. For example:
he cried out anxiously to Daniel
he called out in anguish (NLT)
cried out: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as cried out means “yelled, shrieked.” Here is another way to translate this:
shouted (CEV)
in a voice of anguish: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as a voice of anguish is literally “a sound of pain/sadness.” The king sounded worried and distressed. In some languages in may be natural to describe the king himself, or the king’s action, rather than his voice. For example:
anxiously (NRSV)
in anguish (NLT)
“O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
“Daniel, you servant of the living God! Has the God you always worship been able to save you from the lions?”
“Daniel! You who faithfully serve the God who lives! Has that God rescued you from the lions?”
O Daniel, servant of the living God: The king addressed Daniel as the servant of the true God. In this context, the word servant refers to someone who served God by worshiping and obeying him. In some languages it may be natural to translate this noun using a verb. For example:
Daniel, you serve/worship the living God
the living God: The phrase the living God describes God as truly existing and alive. By implication he is powerful to act and able to act to help his servants. This phrase is also used in Matthew 26:63, John 6:69, Deuteronomy 5:26, Joshua 3:10, and 1 Samuel 17:26. See how you translated it there. In some languages, it may be redundant to describe God as living. If that is true in your language, you may have another way to express this idea. For example:
the true God
the God who lives forever
has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?: This is a real question. The king was desperate. He asked Daniel if he was still alive. See how you translated 6:16d. Other ways you can translate this are:
Has your God that you always worship been able to save you from the lions? (NCV)
Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions? (NLT)
your God, whom you serve: In some languages it may not be natural to use the possessive pronoun your with God. If that is true in your language, you may be able to leave this implicit, as it is implied by the following phrase whom you serve. For example, you may simply say:
the God you serve/worship
continually: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as continually is only used here and in 6:16d.HALOT, 2004. In this context, it implies that Daniel was faithful in worshiping God. Here are some other ways to translate this:
faithfully (NRSV)
so loyally (GNT)
In some languages it may be natural to translate the king’s question as two or more sentences. For example:
Daniel, you were faithful and served your God. Was he able to rescue you from the lions? (CEV)
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