21. Then the king became angry. He arrested the priests, their wives, and children. They showed him the hidden doors through which they regularly entered to eat what was on the table.
22. The king killed them and handed Bel over to Daniel, who tore it and its temple down.
23. Now there was a big snake that the Babylonians worshipped.
24. The king said to Daniel,"You can’t say that this one isn’t a living god. So worship it!"
25. Daniel said,"I will keep worshipping the Lord my God, because he is a living God. But, Your Majesty, just give me permission, and I’ll kill the snake without using a sword or stick!"
26. The king said,"I give you permission."
27. Then Daniel took tar and cooking grease and hair. He boiled them down, made patties, and put them into the snake’s mouth. The snake swallowed them and burst open. Daniel said,"Look at what you have been worshipping!"
28. When the Babylonians heard what happened, they were very angry. They came together as a mob and started toward the king, saying,"The king has become a Jew! He’s torn down Bel, killed the snake, and murdered the priests!"
29. When they reached the king, they said,"Hand Daniel over to us! If you don’t, we’ll kill you and your family!"
30. The king saw that he was in a bind and was forced to hand Daniel over to them.
31. They threw Daniel into a pit of lions. He was there six days.
32. There were seven lions in the pit. Usually they were fed two bodies and two sheep daily, but now they were fed nothing so that they would devour Daniel.
33. At the same time, the prophet Habakkuk was in Judah. He had boiled a stew, put some bread in a bowl, and was carrying it to the people harvesting the field.
34. But the Lord’s angel said to Habakkuk,"Take this lunch to Babylon, to Daniel in the lions’ pit."
35. Habakkuk said,"Lord, I’ve never seen Babylon, and I’m not familiar with that pit."
36. So the Lord’s angel lifted Habakkuk by his hair and brought him in a rush of wind to Babylon, right above the pit.
37. Habakkuk yelled,"Daniel! Daniel! Take the lunch that God has sent to you!"