Daniel and the priests of Bel
1When King Astyages died, Cyrus the Persian ascended the throne. 2Daniel was very close to the king, who held him in higher esteem than any of his other friends.
3The Babylonians had an idol called Bel, to which twelve bushels of fine flour, forty sheep, and six measures of wine were offered daily. 4The king took part in this cult and worshiped the idol every day. Daniel, on the other hand, worshiped only his own God. 5And the king asked him, “Why don’t you worship Bel?
”Daniel answered, “I worship no man-made idols, but only the living God who made heaven and earth and rules over all peoples.” 6The king asked, “Don’t you think Bel is a living god? Don’t you see how much he eats and drinks every day?”
7Daniel laughed. “Do not be deceived, O king. This is only clay inside and bronze outside. It never ate or drank anything.”
8Enraged, the king called his priests and said to them, “If you will not tell me who consumes all these offerings, you will all die. 9But if you can show that Bel consumes them, it is Daniel who will die for blaspheming.” Daniel said to the king, “Let it be as you say.”
10There were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. To gether with Daniel, the king went to Bel’s temple. 11The priests said to the king, “See, we are going outside. We will leave you here inside, O king, to set out the food and prepare the wine. Then you can leave them, shut the door and seal it with your ring. 12You will return in the morning, and if you find that Bel has not eaten the food and drunk the wine, we are ready to be executed. But if the reverse happens, Daniel must die for telling lies and slandering us.”
13They were confident for they had made a secret entrance under the table, through which they used to come in to consume the food and wine offerings. 14When the priests had left, the king set the food before Bel, while Daniel ordered his servants to scatter ashes all over the temple floor. Then they left after shutting the door and sealing it with the king’s ring. 15That night the priests and their wives and children came and, as usual, ate and drank the offerings.
16Early the next morning, the king returned to the temple with Daniel. 17“Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?” the king asked. Daniel answered, “They are unbroken, O king.” 18Opening the door, the king looked at the table, then exclaimed, “You are indeed great, O Bel. There is no deception in you.”
19Daniel laughed, and restraining the king from entering, he said, “But look at the floor and see whose footprints these are.” 20The king said, “I see footprints of men, women and children.”
21Enraged, the king ordered the priests and their wives and children to be seized. They were compelled to show him the secret door through which they used to enter to consume the offerings on the table. 22They were put to death on orders of the king. And Bel was handed over to Daniel, who destroyed the idol and its temple.
Daniel and the dragon
23In Babylon there was a big dragon which was also worshiped. 24“Look,” said the king to Daniel, “this is alive, not made of bronze. Would you deny that this is a living god? Worship it.”
25Daniel replied, “I will worship no one but the Lord my God, for he alone is the living God. With your permission, O king, I will slay this dragon without sword or club.” 26The king answered, “You have my permission.”
27Then Daniel took some pitch, fat and hair, and boiled them together. He made them into cakes which he fed to the Dragon. And the Dragon burst after eating them. Daniel said to the king, “Now look at what happened to the thing you worship.
28The Babylonians became angry upon hearing of this. “Our king has become a Jew,” they said. “He destroyed Bel, killed the Dragon and put the priests to death.” 29They went to the king and said, “Hand Daniel over to us or we will kill you and your family!” 30The king was forced to hand Daniel over to the people.
31Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, where he stayed for six days. 32In the den were seven lions which were fed daily with two human bodies and two sheep. This food was withheld from them, to make sure that they would devour Daniel.
33Now in Judea was a prophet named Habakkuk. He had put some bread and stew in a basket, and was about to take them to the reapers in the field 34when an angel of the lord appeared and said to him, “Take that lunch to Daniel in the lion’s den at Babylon.”
35Habakkuk said, “Sir, I have never been to Babylon nor have I seen the lions’ den.” 36The angel then took him by the crown of his head, carried him by his hair, and soon they were alighting above the lion’s den in Babylon. 37“Daniel, Daniel,” cried, Habakkuk, “take this lunch God has sent you.”
38Daniel gave thanks to God, saying, “You have remembered me, O God, and have not forsaken those who love you.” 39Daniel ate, and the Lord’s angel returned Habakkuk to his own place.
40On the seventh day, the king came to the lions’ den to mourn for Daniel. He looked inside and saw Daniel sitting there. 41The king cried aloud, “How great you are, O Lord God of Daniel! Surely there is no other God but you!” 42He took Daniel out and threw into the den those who tried to destroy him. They were at once devoured before his eyes.
