The Meaning of Daniel 6:24 Explained

Daniel 6:24

KJV: 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.

YLT: And the king hath said, and they have brought those men who had accused Daniel, and to the den of lions they have cast them, they, their sons, and their wives; and they have not come to the lower part of the den till that the lions have power over them, and all their bones they have broken small.

Darby: And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces ere they came to the bottom of the den.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Daniel 6:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Then the king applied the lex talionis (law of retaliation) and cast his friend"s accusers into the very den in which they had placed Daniel (cf. Genesis 12:3; Esther 7:9-10; Galatians 6:7). Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered and crushed them.
"What Darius did seems arbitrary and unjust. But ancient pagan despots had no regard for the provision in the Mosaic law ( Deuteronomy 24:16): "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin." (Even in Israel this humanitarian rule had been flouted, as when Abimelech ben Gideon had nearly all his father"s sons massacred, or when Queen Athaliah nearly exterminated the Davidic royal line and Jehu had all Ahab"s sons decapitated.)" [1]
The effects of people"s sins touch others beside themselves. The execution of the evildoers" family members seems unfair and cruel, but it reflects the principle of corporate solidarity that was common in the biblical world. [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 6:24 mean?

And gave the command king the and they brought men these who had accused had accused who Daniel and into den of lions the they cast [them] them their children and their wives and they came to the bottom of den the Before ever and overpowered them lions the and all their bones broke in pieces
וַאֲמַ֣ר מַלְכָּ֗א וְהַיְתִ֞יו גֻּבְרַיָּ֤א אִלֵּךְ֙ דִּֽי־ אֲכַ֤לוּ קַרְצ֙וֹהִי֙ דִּ֣י דָֽנִיֵּ֔אל וּלְגֹ֤ב אַרְיָוָתָא֙ רְמ֔וֹ אִנּ֖וּן בְּנֵיה֣וֹן וּנְשֵׁיה֑וֹן וְלָֽא־ מְט֞וֹ לְאַרְעִ֣ית גֻּבָּ֗א עַ֠ד דִּֽי־ שְׁלִ֤טֽוּ בְהוֹן֙ אַרְיָ֣וָתָ֔א וְכָל־ גַּרְמֵיה֖וֹן הַדִּֽקוּ

וַאֲמַ֣ר  And  gave  the  command 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲמַר  
Sense: (P’al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate.
מַלְכָּ֗א  king  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
וְהַיְתִ֞יו  and  they  brought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֲתָה  
Sense: to come, arrive.
גֻּבְרַיָּ֤א  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural determinate
Root: גְּבַר  
Sense: a man, a certain (one).
אִלֵּךְ֙  these 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אִלֵּךְ  
Sense: these, those.
אֲכַ֤לוּ  had  accused 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֲכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour.
קַרְצ֙וֹהִי֙  had  accused 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קְרַץ  
Sense: piece.
דָֽנִיֵּ֔אל  Daniel 
Parse: 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.
וּלְגֹ֤ב  and  into  den 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גֹּב  
Sense: pit, den (of lions).
אַרְיָוָתָא֙  of  lions  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural determinate
Root: אַרְיֵה  
Sense: lion.
רְמ֔וֹ  they  cast  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רְמָה  
Sense: to cast, throw.
בְּנֵיה֣וֹן  their  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בֵּן  
Sense: son, child.
וּנְשֵׁיה֑וֹן  and  their  wives 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: נְשִׁין  
Sense: wives.
מְט֞וֹ  they  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מְטָא  
Sense: to reach, come upon, attain.
לְאַרְעִ֣ית  to  the  bottom 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אַרְעִי  
Sense: bottom.
גֻּבָּ֗א  of  den  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: גֹּב  
Sense: pit, den (of lions).
עַ֠ד  Before 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: even to, until, up to, during conj.
דִּֽי־  ever 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: דִּי  
Sense: who, which, that mark of genitive.
שְׁלִ֤טֽוּ  and  overpowered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שְׁלֵט  
Sense: to have power, rule, domineer, rule over.
אַרְיָ֣וָתָ֔א  lions  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural determinate
Root: אַרְיֵה  
Sense: lion.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, whole, the whole.
גַּרְמֵיה֖וֹן  their  bones 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: גְּרַם  
Sense: bone.
הַדִּֽקוּ  broke  in  pieces 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דְּקַק  
Sense: to break into pieces, fall into pieces, be shattered.