Daniel 6:24
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. | At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. | And the king commanded, and they brought those men that had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedAfter God shut the lions' mouths and Daniel came out unhurt, King Darius had the men who accused Daniel thrown into the same den, with their children and wives. The lions overpowered them before they even reached the bottom. The trap they set for Daniel fell back on them. Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:23Daniel 6:24
SpeakingThe narrator tells what King Darius commanded. Chapters 1-6 tell of Daniel in the third person. Daniel 6:24Daniel overview
ToThe book was written for God's people in exile and after it. Daniel overview
Also involvedThe presidents and princes who plotted against Daniel and accused him, and also their children and wives. Daniel 6:4Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:13Daniel 6:24
The king ordered the accusers cast into the lions' den. The lions had the mastery of them and broke all their bones before they reached the floor of the den. This shows the lions were deadly, so Daniel's safety came from God, who sent his angel. Daniel 6:24Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:27
At the king's den of lions in Darius's kingdom, where Daniel served at the royal court in Babylon. Daniel 6:16Daniel 6:24Daniel overview
The eventsThe morning after Daniel's night in the den, in the reign of Darius, after Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. Daniel 6:19Daniel 6:23Daniel 6:28Daniel overview
WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold the traditional date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse shows the plot turning back on the plotters. It also proves the lions were not harmless, so Darius could praise the God who "hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:24Daniel 6:27
In the whole of ScriptureDaniel shows that the most High rules in the kingdom of men. The king who signed the decree and had Daniel cast into the den ends by commanding all his kingdom to fear Daniel's God. Esther tells a like reversal, where Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai. Daniel overviewDaniel 6:9Daniel 6:16Daniel 6:26Esther 7:10Esther 9:25
For readersThe death of the wives and children was the king's command, and the verse reports it. God's law said, "every man shall be put to death for his own sin." 2 Kings 14:6 records a king of Israel's line who spared the children of murderers because of that law. Daniel 6:24Deuteronomy 24:162 Kings 14:6
- accusedקְרַץ
The phrase behind "accused" is an idiom, literally "ate the pieces" of Daniel, meaning to slander or accuse maliciously. The men who figuratively ate at Daniel were then overpowered by the lions. Strong's H7170Strong's H0399Daniel 6:24
- had the masteryשְׁלֵט
This word means to have power over, rule, fall upon, or assault. The lions that could not hurt Daniel at once had power over his accusers. Strong's H7981Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:24
- brake in piecesדְּקַק
It means to break into pieces or shatter. It shows how fierce the lions were, which makes plain that Daniel's rescue was God's work. Strong's H1855Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:27
Takeaway
Daniel lived because God shut the lions' mouths, and the same lions killed his accusers at once. The evil plan fell back on those who made it, as with Haman. God's law taught that each person dies for his own sin. Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:24Esther 7:10Deuteronomy 24:16
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
Behind this verse
- Lions kept by kings
- The kings of Mesopotamia kept lions and hunted them as a show of royal power, as the Assyrian palace reliefs of Ashurbanipal's lion hunt show. Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:16Assyrian palace reliefs, Ashurbanipal's lion hunt
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Aramaic words
This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.
| English | Aramaic | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and he said | וַאֲמַ֣ר | va-'a-MAR | H0560 | to sayאֲמַר (a.mar) (P'al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate Aramaic of a.mar (אָמַר "to say" H0559) |
| king the | מַלְכָּ֗א | mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| and they brought | וְהַיְתִ֞יו | ve-hay-TIV | H0858 | to comeאֲתָה (a.tah) 1) to come, arrive 1a) (P'al) to come 1b) (Aphel) to bring 1c) (Hophal) to be brought 2) used in the NT in the phrase "maranatha" -"Lord come" Aramaic of a.tah (אָתָה "to come" H0857) |
| men the | גֻּבְרַיָּ֤א | guv-rai-YA' | H1400 | manגְּבַר (ge.var) a man, a certain (one) Aramaic of ge.ver (גֶּ֫בֶר "great man" H1397) |
| these | אִלֵּךְ֙ | 'i-leKh | H0479 | theseאִלֵּךְ (il.lekh) these, those Aramaic of el (אֵל "these" H0411) |
| who | דִּֽי־ | di- | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| they had eaten | אֲכַ֤לוּ | 'a-KHA-lu | H0399 | to devourאֲכַל (a.khal) 1) to eat, devour 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to eat (of beasts) 1a2) to devour 1a3) eat their pieces (in a phrase, that is, slander them) |
| pieces his | קַרְצ֙וֹהִי֙ | kar-TZO-hi | H7170 | chargesקְרַץ (qe.rats) 1) piece 1a) denounce, aslander, accuse maliciously, chew on (idiom) |
| of | דִּ֣י | di | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| Daniel | דָֽנִיֵּ֔אל | da-ni-YEL | H1841H | Danielדָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵל (da.niy.yel) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.8.2 § Daniel = "God is my judge" 1) 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 1a) also, 'Belteshazzar' (H01095 or H01096) |
| and to [the] den of | וּלְגֹ֤ב | u-le-GO | H1358 | denגֹּב (gov) pit, den (of lions) |
| lions the | אַרְיָוָתָא֙ | 'ar-ya-va-TA' | H0744 | lionאַרְיֵה (ar.yeh) lion Aramaic of ar.yeh (אַרְיֵה "lion" H0738B) |
| they threw | רְמ֔וֹ | re-MO | H7412 | to castרְמָא (re.mah) 1) to cast, throw 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to cast 1a2) to throw 1a2a) of tribute (fig) 1b) (Peil) 1b1) to be cast 1b2) to be placed, be set 1c) (Ithp'el) to be cast |
| they | אִנּ֖וּן | 'i-NUN | H0581A | theyאִנּוּן (in.nun) these, those, they Aramaic of hem.mah (הֵ֫מָּה "they(masc.)" H1992) |
| sons their | בְּנֵיה֣וֹן | be-nei-HON | H1247J | sonבַּר (bar) son Aramaic of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121) |
| and wives their | וּנְשֵׁיה֑וֹן | u-ne-shei-HON | H5389 | womanנְשִׁין (na.shin) 1) woman wife |
| and not | וְלָֽא־ | ve-la'- | H3809 | notלָא (la) no, not, nothing Aramaic of lo (לֹא "not" H3808) |
| they reached | מְט֞וֹ | me-TO | H4291 | to reachמְטָא (me.ta) 1) to reach, come upon, attain 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to reach, come to 1a2) to reach, extend 1a3) to come upon |
| to [the] bottom of | לְאַרְעִ֣ית | le-'ar-'IT | H0773 | bottomאַרְעִי (ar.it) bottom Aramaic of e.rets (אֶ֫רֶץ ": soil" H0776H) |
| den the | גֻּבָּ֗א | gu-BA' | H1358 | denגֹּב (gov) pit, den (of lions) |
| until | עַ֠ד | 'ad | H5705 | tillעַד (ad) prep 1) even to, until, up to, during conj 2) until, up to the time that, ere that |
| that | דִּֽי־ | di- | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| they assaulted | שְׁלִ֤טֽוּ | she-LI-tu | H7981 | to ruleשְׁלֵט (she.let) 1) to have power, rule, domineer, rule over 1a) (P'al) have power upon or over, rule, fall upon, assault, be ruler 1b) (Aphel) make ruler |
| lions the | אַרְיָ֣וָתָ֔א | 'ar-YA-va-TA' | H0744 | lionאַרְיֵה (ar.yeh) lion Aramaic of ar.yeh (אַרְיֵה "lion" H0738B) |
| and all | וְכָל־ | ve-khol | H3606 | allכֹּל (kol) 1) all, whole, the whole 1a) the whole of, all 1b) every, any, none |
| bones their | גַּרְמֵיה֖וֹן | gar-mei-HON | H1635 | boneגְּרַם (ge.rem) bone Aramaic of ge.rem (גֶּ֫רֶם "bone" H1634) |
| they shattered | הַדִּֽקוּ׃ | ha-DI-ku | H1855 | to break upדְּקַק (de.qaq) 1) to break into pieces, fall into pieces, be shattered 1a) (P'al) to be shattered 1b) (Aphel) to break into pieces |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.