Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 6:20

"And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" — Daniel 6:20 (ASV)

Is thy God ... able?—The faith of this king is very weak. In Daniel 6:16 he expressed a vague hope that God would protect His servant. That hope seems now to have died out, though afterwards (Daniel 6:26) it appears stronger than that of Nebuchadnezzar. (Compare to Daniel 4:37.) The phrase living God is remarkable, coming as it does from a heathen king. (See 1 Samuel 17:36.)