1And King Astyages was gathered to his fathers, and Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom.
2And Daniel was a companion of the king and was honored above all his friends.
3Now the Babylonians had an idol whose name was Bel, and they spent on it each day twelve artabas of fine flour, forty sheep, and six metretes of wine.
4The king revered it and went each day to worship it, but Daniel would worship his own God. So the king said to him, 'Why do you not worship Bel?'
5And he said, 'Because I do not revere man-made idols, but the living God, who created the heaven and the earth and has dominion over all flesh.'
6And the king said to him, 'Does it not seem to you that Bel is a living god? Or do you not see how much he eats and drinks each day?'
7And Daniel laughed and said, 'Do not be deceived, O king. For this is clay on the inside and bronze on the outside, and it has never eaten anything.'
8Then the king became angry and called his priests and said to them, 'If you do not tell me who is consuming these provisions, you will die.'
9But if you show that Bel consumes them, Daniel will die, because he has blasphemed against Bel.' And Daniel said to the king, 'Let it be done according to your word.'
10Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides women and children. And the king went with Daniel into the house of Bel.
11And the priests of Bel said, 'Look, we are going outside. You, O king, set out the food, mix the wine and set it in place, then shut the door and seal it with your signet ring.'
12And when you come in the morning, if you do not find that everything has been eaten by Bel, we will die—or else Daniel, who has lied against us, will.
13But they were not concerned, because they had made a hidden entrance under the table, and through it they would always enter and consume the provisions.
14And so when they had gone out, the king set the food before Bel. Then Daniel commanded his servants, and they brought ashes and sprinkled them over the whole temple floor in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door, sealed it with the king's signet ring, and departed.
15Then the priests came during the night according to their custom, along with their wives and children, and they ate and drank everything.
16The king rose early in the morning, and Daniel with him.
17And the king said, 'Are the seals intact, Daniel?' And he said, 'Intact, O king.'
18And as soon as he opened the doors, the king looked at the table and cried out with a loud voice, 'You are great, O Bel, and with you there is no deceit at all!'
19But Daniel laughed and held the king back from going inside, saying, 'Look at the floor and see whose footprints these are.'
20And the king said, 'I see the footprints of men, women, and children.'
21Then the king became enraged and arrested the priests with their wives and children. And they showed him the secret doors through which they would enter to consume what was on the table.
22And the king killed them and handed Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.
23Now there was a great dragon, and the Babylonians revered it.
24And the king said to Daniel, 'You cannot say that this one is not a living god. So worship it.'
25And Daniel said, 'I will worship the Lord my God, because he is the living God.'
26But you, O king, give me permission, and I will kill the dragon without sword or staff.' And the king said, 'I give it to you.'
27So Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes. He put them into the dragon's mouth, and when it ate them, the dragon burst open. And Daniel said, 'See your objects of worship!'
28When the Babylonians heard this, they were indignant and conspired against the king, saying, 'The king has become a Jew! He has torn down Bel, killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests.'
29And they came to the king and said, 'Hand Daniel over to us! If not, we will kill you and your household.'
30The king saw that they were pressing him intensely, and so, under compulsion, he handed Daniel over to them.
31But they threw him into the lions' den, and he was there for six days.
32Now there were seven lions in the den, and each day they were given two bodies and two sheep; but at that time, nothing was given to them, so that they might devour Daniel.
33And Habakkuk the prophet was in Judea; he had boiled a stew and crumbled bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers.
34And an angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, 'Take the meal that you have to Babylon, to Daniel in the lions' den.'
35And Habakkuk said, 'Lord, I have never seen Babylon, and I do not know the den.'
36And the angel of the Lord took hold of the crown of his head, and carrying him by the hair of his head, set him in Babylon over the den, by the rush of his spirit.
37And Habakkuk cried out, saying, 'Daniel, Daniel, take the meal that God has sent you.'
38And Daniel said, 'You have remembered me, O God, and have not forsaken those who love you.'
39And Daniel arose and ate. Then the angel of God immediately returned Habakkuk to his own place.
40Now on the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. And he came to the den and looked in, and behold, Daniel was sitting there.
41And crying out with a loud voice, he said, 'Great are you, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!'
42And he drew him up. But those who were responsible for his destruction he threw into the den, and they were devoured at once in his presence.
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