1 Chronicles
Bible, King James Version
Bel and the Dragon
The History of the Destruction of Bel and the
Dragon, Cut off from the end of Daniel.
Bel.1
[
1] And king Astyages was gathered to his fathers, and
Cyrus of Persia received his kingdom.
[
2] And Daniel conversed with
the king, and was honoured above all his friends.
[
3] Now the Babylons
had an idol, called Bel, and there were spent upon him every day twelve great
measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine.
[
4]
And the king worshipped it and went daily to adore it: but Daniel worshipped his
own God. And the king said unto him, Why dost not thou worship
Bel?
[
5] Who answered and said, Because I may not worship idols made
with hands, but the living God, who hath created the heaven and the earth, and
hath sovereignty over all flesh.
[
6] Then said the king unto him,
Thinkest thou not that Bel is a living God? seest thou not how much he eateth
and drinketh every day?
[
7] Then Daniel smiled, and said, O king, be
not deceived: for this is but clay within, and brass without, and did never eat
or drink any thing.
[
8] So the king was wroth, and called for his
priests, and said unto them, If ye tell me not who this is that devoureth these
expences, ye shall die.
[
9] But if ye can certify me that Bel
devoureth them, then Daniel shall die: for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel.
And Daniel said unto the king, Let it be according to thy word.
[
10]
Now the priests of Bel were threescore and ten, beside their wives and children.
And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel.
[
11] So Bel's
priests said, Lo, we go out: but thou, O king, set on the meat, and make ready
the wine, and shut the door fast and seal it with thine own
signet;
[
12] And to morrow when thou comest in, if thou findest not
that Bel hath eaten up all, we will suffer death: or else Daniel, that speaketh
falsely against us.
[
13] And they little regarded it: for under the
table they had made a privy entrance, whereby they entered in continually, and
consumed those things.
[
14] So when they were gone forth, the king set
meats before Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and
those they strewed throughout all the temple in the presence of the king alone:
then went they out, and shut the door, and sealed it with the king's signet, and
so departed.
[
15] Now in the night came the priests with their wives
and children, as they were wont to do, and did eat and drinck up
all.
[
16] In the morning betime the king arose, and Daniel with
him.
[
17] And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole? And he said,
Yea, O king, they be whole.
[
18] And as soon as he had opened the
dour, the king looked upon the table, and cried with a loud voice, Great art
thou, O Bel, and with thee is no deceit at all.
[
19] Then laughed
Daniel, and held the king that he should not go in, and said, Behold now the
pavement, and mark well whose footsteps are these.
[
20] And the king
said, I see the footsteps of men, women, and children. And then the king was
angry,
[
21] And took the priests with their wives and children, who
shewed him the privy doors, where they came in, and consumed such things as were
upon the table.
[
22] Therefore the king slew them, and delivered Bel
into Daniel's power, who destroyed him and his temple.
[
23] And in
that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon
worshipped.
[
24] And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say
that this is of brass? lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh; thou canst not say
that he is no living god: therefore worship him.
[
25] Then said Daniel
unto the king, I will worship the Lord my God: for he is the living
God.
[
26] But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this dragon
without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee leave.
[
27] Then
Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and did seethe them together, and made
lumps thereof: this he put in the dragon's mouth, and so the dragon burst in
sunder : and Daniel said, Lo, these are the gods ye worship.
[
28] When
they of Babylon heard that, they took great indignation, and conspired against
the king, saying, The king is become a Jew, and he hath destroyed Bel, he hath
slain the dragon, and put the priests to death.
[
29] So they came to
the king, and said, Deliver us Daniel, or else we will destroy thee and thine
house.
[
30] Now when the king saw that they pressed him sore, being
constrained, he delivered Daniel unto them:
[
31] Who cast him into the
lions' den: where he was six days.
[
32] And in the den there were
seven lions, and they had given them every day two carcases, and two sheep:
which then were not given to them, to the intent they might devour
Daniel.
[
33] Now there was in Jewry a prophet, called Habbacuc, who
had made pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into the field,
for to bring it to the reapers.
[
34] But the angel of the Lord said
unto Habbacuc, Go, carry the dinner that thou hast into Babylon unto Daniel, who
is in the lions' den.
[
35] And Habbacuc said, Lord, I never saw
Babylon; neither do I know where the den is.
[
36] Then the angel of
the Lord took him by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head, and
through the vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the
den.
[
37] And Habbacuc cried, saying, O Daniel, Daniel, take the
dinner which God hath sent thee.
[
38] And Daniel said, Thou hast
remembered me, O God: neither hast thou forsaken them that seek thee and love
thee.
[
39] So Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of the Lord set
Habbacuc in his own place again immediately.
[
40] Upon the seventh day
the king went to bewail Daniel: and when he came to the den, he looked in, and
behold, Daniel was sitting.
[
41] Then cried the king with a loud
voice, saying, Great art Lord God of Daniel, and there is none other beside
thee.
[
42] And he drew him out, and cast those that were the cause of
his destruction into the den: and they were devoured in a moment before his
face.
