Daniel in the Lions’ Pit

OH, OH! It looks as if Daniel is in a lot of trouble. But the lions are not hurting him! Do you know why? Who put Daniel in here with all these lions? Let’s find out.

The king of Babylon is now a man named Da·riʹus. He likes Daniel very much because Daniel is so kind and wise. Da·riʹus chooses Daniel to be a chief ruler in his kingdom. This makes other men in the kingdom jealous of Daniel, so this is what they do.

They go to Da·riʹus and say: ‘We have agreed, O king, that you should make a law saying that for 30 days no one should pray to any god or man except to you, O king. If anyone disobeys, then he should be thrown in with the lions.’ Da·riʹus does not know why these men want this law made. But he thinks it is a good idea, so he puts the law into writing. Now the law cannot be changed.

When Daniel learns about the law, he goes home and prays, just as he always has done. The bad men knew that Daniel would not stop praying to Jehovah. They are happy, because it seems that their plan to get rid of Daniel is working.

When King Da·riʹus learns why these men wanted to make this law, he is very sorry. But he cannot change the law, so he has to give the command for Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ pit. But the king tells Daniel: ‘I hope that your God, whom you serve, will save you.’

Da·riʹus is so upset he can’t sleep that night. The next morning he runs to the lions’ pit. You can see him there. He cries out: ‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Was the God whom you serve able to save you from the lions?’

‘God sent his angel,’ Daniel answers, ‘and shut the mouths of the lions so that they did not hurt me.’

The king is very glad. He commands that Daniel be lifted out of the pit. Then he has the bad men who tried to get rid of Daniel thrown to the lions. Even before they reach the bottom of the pit, the lions grab them and break all their bones.

Then King Da·riʹus writes to all the people in his kingdom: ‘I command that everyone should respect Daniel’s God. He does great miracles. He saved Daniel from being eaten by the lions.’