Edits, corrections and cross references by The Firmament
The Story of Bel and the Dragon is contained in a group of books called Apocrypha (hidden or secret), which were once in the canonical Bible between the old and new testaments. The Story of Bel and the Dragon is the last of three additions to the book of Daniel which include the ‘Story of Susanna’ and the ‘Song of Three Children’. This book is about Daniel’s efforts to convince the king of Babylon of the falseness of his gods. First, by setting a trap, Daniel shows the king that it is not Bel but his priests that eat the sacrificial food. Next, Daniel kills the ‘sacred’ serpent without sword or stick. Finally, and this is the part you all know, he is cast into the den of lions and not harmed.
Bel and the Dragon :1 “When King Astyages was gathered to his fathers, Cyrus the Persian succeeded to his kingdom.”
Bel and the Dragon :2 “And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was distinguished above all his other friends.”
Bel and the Dragon :3 “Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they bestowed on it twelve bushels of fine flour and forty sheep and fifty gallons of wine.”
Bel and the Dragon :4 “And the king revered it and went every day to worship it, but Daniel worshiped his own God. And the king said to him, “Why do you not worship Bel?”
Bel and the Dragon :5 “And he said, “Because I do not revere idols made with hands, but the living God, who created heaven and earth and is sovereign over all mankind.”
Bel and the Dragon :6 “And the king said to him, “Do you not think that Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?”
Bel and the Dragon :7 “And Daniel laughed and said, “Do not be deceived, O king, for it is only clay inside and bronze outside, and never ate or drank anything.”
Bel and the Dragon :8 “Then the king was angry and called Bel’s priests, and said to them, “If you cannot tell me who it is that eats up these provisions, you shall die,”
Bel and the Dragon :9 “But if you can show me that Bel eats them, Daniel shall die, because he has uttered blasphemy against Bel.” And Daniel said to the king, “It shall be as you say.”
Bel and the Dragon :10 “(Now the priests of Bel were seventy in number. beside their wives and children.) So the king went with Daniel to the temple of Bel.”
Bel and the Dragon :11 “And the priests of Bel said, “See, we will go outside, and you, O king, must put the food on the table and mix the wine and put it on, and shut the door and seal it with your signet.”
Bel and the Dragon :12 “And when you come back in the morning, if you do not find that it is all eaten up by Bel, we will die; or Daniel will who is making these false charges against us.”
Bel and the Dragon :13 “For they scorned him, because they had made a secret entrance under the table, and through it they used to go in regularly and devour the offerings.”
Bel and the Dragon :14 “So it happened that when they had gone, the king put the food for Bel on the table. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them over the whole temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, and shut the door, and sealed it with the king’s signet, and went away.”
Bel and the Dragon :15 “And the priests came in the night as usual, with their wives and children, and ate and drank it all up.”
Bel and the Dragon :16 “And the king rose early the next morning, and Daniel came with him.”
Bel and the Dragon :17 “And the king said, “Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?” And he said, “They are unbroken, O king.’
Bel and the Dragon :18 “And as soon as he opened the doors, the king looked at the table, and shouted loudly, “You are great, O Bel, and there is no deception at all about you.”
Bel and the Dragon :19 “But Daniel laughed and held the king back from going in, and said to him, “look at the floor and observe whose footprints these are.”
Bel and the Dragon :20 “And the king said, “I see the footprints of men, women, and children!” Then the king was enraged,”
Bel and the Dragon :21 “And he seized the priests and their wives and children, and they showed him the secret doors by which they got in and devoured what was on the table.”
Bel and the Dragon :22 “So the king killed them, and he turned Bel over to Daniel, and he destroyed it and it’s temple.”
Bel and the Dragon :23 “Now there was a great serpent in that place, and the Babylonians worshiped it.”
Bel and the Dragon :24 “And the king said to Daniel, “You cannot deny that it is a living god, so worship it.”
Bel and the Dragon :25 “And Daniel said, “I will worship the Lord my God, for he is a living God.”
Bel and the Dragon :26 “But with your permission, O king, I will kill this serpent without sword or stick.” And the king said, “You have my permission.”
Bel and the Dragon :27 “And Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair and boiled them together, and made lumps of them, and he put them into the serpent’s mouth and it ate them and burst open. And he said, “See the objects of your worship!”
Bel and the Dragon :28 “When the Babylonians heard it, they were very indignant and made a conspiracy against the king saying, “The king has become a Jew! He has overturned Bel, and killed the serpent, and slaughtered the priests.”
Bel and the Dragon :29 “So they went to the king and said, “Give Daniel up to us, or else we will kill you and your household.”
Bel and the Dragon :30 “And the king saw that they were pressing him hard, and he was forced to give Daniel up to them.”
Bel and the Dragon :31 “And they threw him into the lion’s den and he remained there six days.”
Bel and the Dragon :32 “There were seven lions in the den; and they had been given two human bodies and two sheep every day; but now these were not given them, so that they might devour Daniel.”
Bel and the Dragon :33 “Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea, and he had cooked a stew and crumbled bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to carry it to the reapers,”
Bel and the Dragon :34 “When the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, “Carry the dinner that you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions’ den.”
Bel and the Dragon :35 “And Habakkuk said, “Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I do not know the den.”
Bel and the Dragon :36 “Then the angel of the Lord took hold of the crown of his head, and lifted him up by his hair and with the speed of the wind set him down in Babylon, right over the den.”
Bel and the Dragon :37 “And Habakkuk shouted, “Daniel! Daniel! Take the dinner which God has sent you.”
Bel and the Dragon :38 “And Daniel said, “You have remembered me, O God, and have not forsaken those who seek you and love you.”
Bel and the Dragon :39 “Then Daniel arose and ate; and the angel of God immediately put Habakkuk back in his own place again.”
Bel and the Dragon :40 “On the seventh day, the king came to mourn for Daniel; and he came to the den and looked in, and there sat Daniel.”
Bel and the Dragon :41 “Then the king shouted loudly, “You are great, Lord God of Daniel, and there is no other beside you!”
Bel and the Dragon :42 “And he lifted him out, and the men who had tried to bring about his destruction he threw into the den; and they were instantly devoured before his eyes.”