22
Therefore the king put them to death, and gave Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.
23
Now in that place there was a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered.
24
The king said to Daniel, "You cannot deny that this is a living god; so worship him."
25
Daniel said, "I worship the Lord my God, for he is the living God.
26
But give me permission, O king, and I will kill the dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you permission."
27
Then Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes, which he fed to the dragon. The dragon ate them, and burst open. Then Daniel said, "See what you have been worshiping!"
28
When the Babylonians heard about it, they were very indignant and conspired against the king, saying, "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests."
29
Going to the king, they said, "Hand Daniel over to us, or else we will kill you and your household."
30
The king saw that they were pressing him hard, and under compulsion he handed Daniel over to them.
31
They threw Daniel into the lions' den, and he was there for six days.
32
There were seven lions in the den, and every day they had been given two human bodies and two sheep; but now they were given nothing, so that they would devour Daniel.