The Meaning of Daniel 6:16 Explained

Daniel 6:16

KJV: 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.

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.'

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Daniel 6:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Darius" parting words to Daniel are significant. One could render them, "Your God whom you serve continually, He will deliver you." [1] The idea is that Darius had tried to save Daniel and had failed. Now Yahweh must save him. We do not know, of course, if Darius knew about Yahweh"s deliverance of Daniel"s three friends. Again, we see that God did not preserve His servant from difficulty, but brought him though it safely-His normal way of dealing with His own.
"Observable in this assurance of Darius is the deep impression that Daniel"s personal piety and faithfulness to God had made upon the king and that this impression had brought about Darius" own conviction that Daniel"s God would come to his rescue in Daniel"s extremity." [2]

Context Summary

Daniel 6:16-28 - "persecuted For Righteousness' Sake"
The plot was an atrocious one, but it hurt its perpetrators more than the victim of their vindictive hatred, Daniel 6:24. They dug a pit into which they fell themselves. They thought to flatter the king, and secure Daniel's fall; but their stratagems were like the mines laid at the mouth of a harbor, which are more perilous to those who set them than to others. Still God sends His angels to shut the lions' mouths, that they may not hurt His people, strongly conscious of uprightness before God and man. It is not necessary to suppose that Daniel saw the angel any more than we behold the horses and chariots in the mountains around us. Dare to believe that the ministering angels, though unseen, engirdle you and intercept the blows and plots of your adversaries. Walk before God in righteousness and peace, and be sure that you are immortal till your work is done. That a heathen king should publish such a proclamation is a glimpse into the divine wisdom that can make His mighty power known by the strangest circumstances. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 6

1  Daniel is made chief of the presidents
4  They, conspiring against him, obtain an idolatrous decree
10  Daniel, accused of the breach thereof, is cast into the lion's den
18  Daniel is saved;
24  his adversaries devoured;
25  and God magnified by a decree

What do the individual words in Daniel 6:16 mean?

Then king the gave the command and they brought Daniel and cast [him] into the den of lions [But] spoke king the and saying to Daniel Your God whom you you serve to continually He will deliver you
בֵּאדַ֜יִן מַלְכָּ֣א אֲמַ֗ר וְהַיְתִיו֙ לְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אל וּרְמ֕וֹ לְגֻבָּ֖א דִּ֣י אַרְיָוָתָ֑א עָנֵ֤ה מַלְכָּא֙ וְאָמַ֣ר לְדָנִיֵּ֔אל אֱלָהָ֗ךְ דִּ֣י [אנתה] (אַ֤נְתְּ) פָּֽלַֽח־ לֵהּ֙ בִּתְדִירָ֔א ה֖וּא יְשֵׁיזְבִנָּֽךְ

מַלְכָּ֣א  king  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
אֲמַ֗ר  gave  the  command 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲמַר  
Sense: (P’al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate.
וְהַיְתִיו֙  and  they  brought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֲתָה  
Sense: to come, arrive.
לְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אל  Daniel 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּנִיֵּאל  
Sense: the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel.
וּרְמ֕וֹ  and  cast  [him] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רְמָה  
Sense: to cast, throw.
לְגֻבָּ֖א  into  the  den 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: גֹּב  
Sense: pit, den (of lions).
אַרְיָוָתָ֑א  lions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural determinate
Root: אַרְיֵה  
Sense: lion.
עָנֵ֤ה  [But]  spoke 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עֲנָה  
Sense: to answer, respond.
מַלְכָּא֙  king  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
וְאָמַ֣ר  and  saying 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אֲמַר  
Sense: (P’al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate.
לְדָנִיֵּ֔אל  to  Daniel 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּנִיֵּאל  
Sense: the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel.
אֱלָהָ֗ךְ  Your  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱלָהּ  
Sense: god, God.
דִּ֣י  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: דִּי  
Sense: who, which, that mark of genitive.
פָּֽלַֽח־  serve 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: פְּלַח  
Sense: to serve, worship, revere, minister for, pay reverence to.
בִּתְדִירָ֔א  continually 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular determinate
Root: תְּדִיר  
Sense: continuance, continuity, perpetuity.
יְשֵׁיזְבִנָּֽךְ  will  deliver  you 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁיזִב  
Sense: (Peel or Peil) to deliver.