§1.1Ἐκ προφητείας Ἀμβακοὐμ υἱοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Δευί.
From the prophecy of Habakkuk, son of Jesus, of the tribe of Levi.
§1.2Ἄνθρωπός τις ἧν ἱερεύς, ᾧ ὄνομα Δανιὴλ, υἱὸς Ἁβάλ, συμβιωτὴς τοῦ βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος.
There was a certain man, a priest, whose name was Daniel, son of Abal, a companion of the king of Babylon.
§1.3καὶ ἧν εἴδωλον, Βήλ, ὃ ἐσέβοντο οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι· ἀνηλίσκετο δὲ αὐτῷ καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν σεμιδάλεως ἀρτάβαι δέκα δύο καὶ πρόβατα τέσσαρα καὶ ἐλαίου μετρηταὶ ἔξ.
And there was an idol, Bel, which the Babylonians worshipped; and there were spent upon it every day twelve artabas of fine flour, and four sheep, and six measures of oil.
§1.4καὶ ὃ βασιλεὺς ἐσέβετο αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπορεύετο ὁ βασιλεὺς καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν καὶ προσεκύνει αὐτῷ, Δανιὴλ δὲ προσηύχετο πρὸς Κύριον·
And the king worshipped it, and went every day to pray to it; but Daniel worshipped the Lord.
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Δανιὴλ Διὰ τί οὐ προσκυνεῖς τῷ Βήλ; §1.5καὶ εἶπε Δανιὴλ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Οὐδένα σέβομαι ἐγὼ εἰ μὴ Κύριον τὸν θεὸν τὸν κτίσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἔχοντα πάσης σαρκὸς κυρείαν. §1.6εἶπεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῷ Οὗτος οὗν οὐκ ἔστι θεός;
And the king said to Daniel, "Why do you not worship Bel?" And Daniel said to the king, "I worship no one except the Lord God, who created heaven and earth, and has dominion over all flesh." Then the king said to him, "Is this one not a god, then?
οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσα εἰς αὐτὸν δαπανᾶται καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν §1.7καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δανιὴλ Μηδαμῶς, μηδείς σε παραλογιζέσθω· οὗτος γὰρ ἔσωθεν μέν πήλινός ἐστιν, ἔξωθεν δέ χαλκοῦς·
Do you not see how much is spent on him every day?" And Daniel said to him, "By no means, let no one deceive you; for this one is clay within, and brass without.
ὀμνύω δέ σοι Κύριον τὸν θεὸν τῶν θεῶν, ὅτι οὐθὲν βέβρωκε πώποτε οὗτος. §1.8καὶ θυμωθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκάλεσε τοὺς προεστηκότας τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Παραδείξατε τὸν ἐσθίοντα τὰ παρασκευαζόμενα τῷ Βήλ· εἰ δὲ μή γε, ἀποθανεῖσθε, §1.9ἢ Δανιὴλ ὁ φάσκων μὴ ἐσθίεσθαι αὐτὰ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ. οἱ δὲ εἶπαν Αὐτὸς ὁ Βήλ ἐστιν ὁ κατεσθίων αὐτά· εἶπε δὲ Δανιὴλ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Γινέσθω οὕτως· ἐὰν μὴ παραδείξω sὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Βὴλ ὁ κατεσθίων ταῦτα, ἀποθανοῦμαι καὶ πάντες οἱ παρʼ ἐμοῦ. §1.10ἦσαν δέ τῷ Βὴλ ἱερεῖς ἑβδομήκοντα χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων.
And I swear to you by the Lord, the God of gods, that this one has never eaten anything." And the king was angry, and called the priests who were in charge of the temple, and said to them, "Show me who eats the things prepared for Bel; otherwise, you shall die, or else Daniel, who says that they are not eaten by him." And they said, "It is Bel himself who eats them." And Daniel said to the king, "Let it be so; if I do not show that it is not Bel who eats these things, I will die, and all those who are with me." Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides wives and children.
ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν βασιλέα εἰς τὸ εἰδώλιον·
And they brought the king into the temple of the idol.
§1.11καὶ παρετέθη τὰ βρώματα ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ Δανιὴλ, καὶ οἶνος κερασθεὶς εἰσηνέχθη καὶ παρετέθη τῷ Βήλ.
And the food was set before the king and Daniel, and mixed wine was brought in and set before Bel.
καὶ εἶπεν Δανιὴλ Σὺ αὐτὸς ὁρᾶς ὅτι κεῖται ταῦτα, βασιλεῦ· σὺ οὗν ἐπισφράγισαι τὰς κλεῖδας τοῦ ναοῦ, ἐπὰν κλεισθῇ. ἤρεσεν δὲ ὁ λόγος τῷ βασιλεῖ
And Daniel said, "You yourself see that these things are set here, O king; therefore, do you seal the keys of the temple once it is closed." And the saying pleased the king.
§1.14ὁ δὲ Δανιὴλ ἐκέλευσε τοὺς παρʼ αὐτοῦ ἐκβαλόντας πάντας ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ κατασῆσαι ὅλον τὸν ναὸν σποδῷ, οὐθενὸς τῶν ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ εἰδότος.
And Daniel commanded those with him, having cast everyone out of the temple, to sift ash over the whole temple, while no one outside of it knew.
καὶ τότε σφραγισάμενος τὸν ναὸν ἐκέλευσε σφραγίσαι τῷ τοῦ βασιλέως δακτυλίῳ καὶ τοῖς δακτυλίοις τινῶν ἐνδόξων ἱερέων· καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
And then, having sealed the temple, he commanded it to be sealed with the king's signet and with the signets of certain honorable priests; and it was done so.
§1.15—17 καὶ ἐγένετο τῇ ἐπαύριον παρεγένοντο ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον· οἱ δὲ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Βὴλ διὰ ψευδοθυρίδων εἰσελθόντες κατεφάγοσαν πάντα τὰ παρακείμενα τῷ Βὴλ καὶ ἐξέπιον τὸν οἶνον.
—17 And it came to pass on the morrow that they came to the place; but the priests of Bel, having entered through secret doors, devoured all things that were set before Bel, and drank up the wine.
καὶ εἶπεν Δανιὴλ Ἐπίδετε τὰς σφραγῖδας ὑμῶν εἰ μένουσιν, ἄνδρες ἱερεῖς· καὶ σὺ δέ, βασιλεῦ, σκέψαι μὴ τί σοι ἀσύμφωνον γεγένηται. καὶ εὗρον ὡς ἣν ἡ σφραγίς, καὶ ἀπέβαλον τὴν σφραγῖδα.
And Daniel said, "See if your seals remain, O priests; and you also, O king, look if anything is discordant for you." And they found the seal was as it had been, and they broke the seal.
§1.18καὶ ἀνοίξαντες τὰς θύρας εἴδοσαν δεδαπανημένα πάντα τὰ παρατεθέντα, καὶ τὰς τραπέζας κενάς· καὶ ἐχάρη ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Δανιὴλ Μέγας ἐστὶν ὁ Βήλ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι παρʼ αὐτῷ δόλος.
And opening the doors, they saw that all the things set before him were consumed, and the tables were empty.
§1.19καὶ ἐγέλασε Δανιὴλ σφόδρα καὶ εἶπεν τῷ βασιλεῖ Δεῦρο ἴδε τὸν δόλον τῶν ἱερέων. καὶ εἶπεν Δανιὴλ Βασιλεῦ, ταῦτα τὰ ἴχνη τίνος ἐστί §1.20καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς Ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων.
And the king rejoiced, and said to Daniel, "Great is Bel, and there is no deceit in him." And Daniel laughed heartily, and said to the king, "Come now, see the deceit of the priests." And Daniel said, "O king, whose footprints are these?" And the king said, "Of men, and women, and children."