The Book of Bel and the Dragon [in Daniel]<\/p>\n
[The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon]<\/p>\n
The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon,<\/p>\n
Cut off from the end of Daniel.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:1
\nAnd king Astyages was gathered to his fathers, and Cyrus of<\/p>\n
Persia received his kingdom.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:2
\nAnd Daniel conversed with the king, and was honoured above<\/p>\n
all his friends.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:3<\/p>\n
Now the Babylons had an idol, called Bel, and there were<\/p>\n
spent upon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour,<\/p>\n
and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:4
\nAnd the king worshipped it and went daily to adore it: but<\/p>\n
Daniel worshipped his own God. And the king said unto him, Why<\/p>\n
dost not thou worship Bel?<\/p>\n
Bel 1:5
\nWho answered and said, Because I may not worship idols made<\/p>\n
with hands, but the living God, who hath created the heaven and<\/p>\n
the earth, and hath sovereignty over all flesh.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:6
\nThen said the king unto him, Thinkest thou not that Bel is a<\/p>\n
living God? seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every<\/p>\n
day?<\/p>\n
Bel 1:7
\nThen Daniel smiled, and said, O king, be not deceived: for<\/p>\n
this is but clay within, and brass without, and did never eat or<\/p>\n
drink any thing.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:8
\nSo the king was wroth, and called for his priests, and said<\/p>\n
unto them, If ye tell me not who this is that devoureth these<\/p>\n
expences, ye shall die.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:9<\/p>\n
But if ye can certify me that Bel devoureth them, then<\/p>\n
Daniel shall die: for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel. And<\/p>\n
Daniel said unto the king, Let it be according to thy word.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:10<\/p>\n
Now the priests of Bel were threescore and ten, beside<\/p>\n
their wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the<\/p>\n
temple of Bel.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:11
\nSo Bel’s priests said, Lo, we go out: but thou, O king, set<\/p>\n
on the meat, and make ready the wine, and shut the door fast and<\/p>\n
seal it with thine own signet;<\/p>\n
Bel 1:12
\nAnd to morrow when thou comest in, if thou findest not that<\/p>\n
Bel hath eaten up all, we will suffer death: or else Daniel,<\/p>\n
that speaketh falsely against us.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:13
\nAnd they little regarded it: for under the table they had<\/p>\n
made a privy entrance, whereby they entered in continually, and<\/p>\n
consumed those things.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:14<\/p>\n
So when they were gone forth, the king set meats before<\/p>\n
Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and<\/p>\n
those they strewed throughout all the temple in the presence of<\/p>\n
the king alone: then went they out, and shut the door, and<\/p>\n
sealed it with the king’s signet, and so departed.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:15<\/p>\n
Now in the night came the priests with their wives and<\/p>\n
children, as they were wont to do, and did eat and drinck up<\/p>\n
all.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:16
\nIn the morning betime the king arose, and Daniel with him.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:17<\/p>\n
And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole? And he<\/p>\n
said, Yea, O king, they be whole.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:18
\nAnd as soon as he had opened the dour, the king looked upon<\/p>\n
the table, and cried with a loud voice, Great art thou, O Bel,<\/p>\n
and with thee is no deceit at all.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:19
\nThen laughed Daniel, and held the king that he should not<\/p>\n
go in, and said, Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose<\/p>\n
footsteps are these.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:20
\nAnd the king said, I see the footsteps of men, women, and<\/p>\n
children. And then the king was angry,<\/p>\n
Bel 1:21<\/p>\n
And took the priests with their wives and children, who<\/p>\n
shewed him the privy doors, where they came in, and consumed<\/p>\n
such things as were upon the table.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:22<\/p>\n
Therefore the king slew them, and delivered Bel into<\/p>\n
Daniel’s power, who destroyed him and his temple.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:23
\nAnd in that same place there was a great dragon, which they<\/p>\n
of Babylon worshipped.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:24
\nAnd the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this<\/p>\n
is of brass? lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh; thou canst<\/p>\n
not say that he is no living god: therefore worship him.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:25
\nThen said Daniel unto the king, I will worship the Lord my<\/p>\n
God: for he is the living God.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:26<\/p>\n
But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this dragon<\/p>\n
without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee leave.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:27<\/p>\n
Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and did seethe<\/p>\n
them together, and made lumps thereof: this he put in the<\/p>\n
dragon’s mouth, and so the dragon burst in sunder : and Daniel<\/p>\n
said, Lo, these are the gods ye worship.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:28
\nWhen they of Babylon heard that, they took great<\/p>\n
indignation, and conspired against the king, saying, The king is<\/p>\n
become a Jew, and he hath destroyed Bel, he hath slain the<\/p>\n
dragon, and put the priests to death.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:29
\nSo they came to the king, and said, Deliver us Daniel, or<\/p>\n
else we will destroy thee and thine house.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:30<\/p>\n
Now when the king saw that they pressed him sore, being<\/p>\n
constrained, he delivered Daniel unto them:<\/p>\n
Bel 1:31
\nWho cast him into the lions’ den: where he was six days.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:32<\/p>\n
And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given<\/p>\n
them every day two carcases, and two sheep: which then were not<\/p>\n
given to them, to the intent they might devour Daniel.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:33
\nNow there was in Jewry a prophet, called Habbacuc, who had<\/p>\n
made pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into<\/p>\n
the field, for to bring it to the reapers.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:34
\nBut the angel of the Lord said unto Habbacuc, Go, carry the<\/p>\n
dinner that thou hast into Babylon unto Daniel, who is in the<\/p>\n
lions’ den.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:35
\nAnd Habbacuc said, Lord, I never saw Babylon; neither do I<\/p>\n
know where the den is.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:36
\nThen the angel of the Lord took him by the crown, and bare<\/p>\n
him by the hair of his head, and through the vehemency of his<\/p>\n
spirit set him in Babylon over the den.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:37<\/p>\n
And Habbacuc cried, saying, O Daniel, Daniel, take the<\/p>\n
dinner which God hath sent thee.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:38<\/p>\n
And Daniel said, Thou hast remembered me, O God: neither<\/p>\n
hast thou forsaken them that seek thee and love thee.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:39
\nSo Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of the Lord set<\/p>\n
Habbacuc in his own place again immediately.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:40
\nUpon the seventh day the king went to bewail Daniel:<\/p>\n
and when he came to the den, he looked in, and behold,<\/p>\n
Daniel was sitting.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:41
\nThen cried the king with a loud voice, saying, Great art<\/p>\n
Lord God of Daniel, and there is none other beside thee.<\/p>\n
Bel 1:42
\nAnd he drew him out, and cast those that were the cause of<\/p>\n
his destruction into the den: and they were devoured<\/p>\n
in a moment before his face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Book of Bel and the Dragon [in Daniel] [The History of the Destruction of 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. Bel 1:2…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23591,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions\/23591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}