Passage
When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to save you from the lions?”
Daniel 6:20 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Daniel 6:18 Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
Daniel 6:19 Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and hurriedly went to the lions’ den.
Daniel 6:20 When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to save you from the lions?”
Daniel 6:21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!
Daniel 6:22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have done no harm.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "come", "near", "daniel", "cried", "troubled", "voice", "king", and "answered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "come" and "near", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Then the king arose at dawn at..." into verse 21's "Then Daniel spoke to the king O...", so "come" and "near" belong inside that flow. In Daniel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "come" and "near" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.