Daniel 3:17

3:17 If ¹  our God whom we are serving exists, ²  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.

Daniel 3:29

3:29 I hereby decree ³  that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes ⁴  the god of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.”

Daniel 6:16

6:16 So the king gave the order, ⁵  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ⁶  of lions. The king consoled ⁷  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

Daniel 6:20-22

6:20 As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, ⁸  “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

6:21 Then Daniel spoke to ⁹  the king, “O king, live forever! 6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

Daniel 6:27

6:27 He rescues and delivers

and performs signs and wonders

in the heavens and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel from the power ¹⁰  of the lions!”

[3:17]  ¹ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

[3:17]  ² tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.

[3:29]  ³ tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”

[3:29]  ⁴ tn Aram “speaks negligence.”

[6:16]  ⁵ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

[6:16]  ⁶ sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

[6:16]  ⁷ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

[6:20]  ⁸ tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.

[6:21]  ⁹ tn Aram “with.”

[6:27]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “hand.”