Prophetia Danielis, 14

1. Et rex Astyages appositus est ad patres suos, et suscepit Cyrus Perses regnum eius.

1. When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom.

2. Erat autem Daniel conviva regis et honoratus super omnes amicos eius.

2. And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends.

3. Erat quoque idolum nomine Bel apud Babylonios, ct impendebantur in eo per dies singulos similae artabae duodecim et oves quadraginta vinique metretae sex.

3. Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels of fine flour and forty sheep and fifty gallons of wine.

4. Rex quoque colebat eum et ibat per singulos dies adorare eum; porro Daniel adorabat Deum suum. Dixitque ei rex: “Quare non adoras Bel?”.

4. The king revered it and went every day to worship it. But Daniel worshiped his own God.

5. Qui respondens ait ei: “Quia non colo idola manufacta sed viventem Deum, qui creavit caelum et terram et habet potestatem omnis carnis”.

5. And the king said to him, "Why do you not worship Bel?" He answered, "Because I do not revere man-made idols, but the living God, who created heaven and earth and has dominion over all flesh."

6. Et dixit ad eum rex: “Non tibi videtur esse Bel vivens deus? An non vides, quanta comedat et bibat cotidie?”.

6. The king said to him, "Do you not think that Bel is a living God? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?"

7. Et ait Daniel arridens: “Ne erres, rex; iste enim intrinsecus luteus est et forinsecus aereus, neque comedit neque bibit aliquando”.

7. Then Daniel laughed, and said, "Do not be deceived, O king; for this is but clay inside and brass outside, and it never ate or drank anything."

8. Et iratus rex vocavit sacerdotes eius et ait eis: “Nisi dixeritis mihi, quis est qui comedat impensas has, moriemini;

8. Then the king was angry, and he called his priests and said to them, "If you do not tell me who is eating these provisions, you shall die.

9. si autem ostenderitis quoniam Bel comedat haec, morietur Daniel, quia blasphemavit in Bel”. Et dixit Daniel regi: “Fiat iuxta verbum tuum”.

9. But if you prove that Bel is eating them, Daniel shall die, because he blasphemed against Bel." And Daniel said to the king, "Let it be done as you have said."

10. Erant autem sacerdotes Bel septuaginta, exceptis uxoribus et parvulis et filiis. Et venit rex cum Daniele in templum Belis.

10. Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel.

11. Et dixerunt sacerdotes Belis: “Ecce nos egredimur foras; et tu, rex, affer escas et vinum miscens pone et claude ostium et signa anulo tuo;

11. And the priests of Bel said, "Behold, we are going outside; you yourself, O king, shall set forth the food and mix and place the wine, and shut the door and seal it with your signet.

12. et, cum ingressus fueris mane, nisi inveneris omnia comesta a Bel, morte moriemur, vel Daniel, qui mentitus est adversum nos”.

12. And when you return in the morning, if you do not find that Bel has eaten it all, we will die; or else Daniel will, who is telling lies about us."

13. Contemnebant autem, quia fecerant sub mensa absconditum introitum et per illum ingrediebantur semper et devorabant ea.

13. They were unconcerned, for beneath the table they had made a hidden entrance, through which they used to go in regularly and consume the provisions.

14. Factum est igitur, postquam egressi sunt illi, et rex posuit cibos ante Bel; et praecepit Daniel pueris suis, et attulerunt cinerem et cribraverunt per totum templum coram rege solo et egressi clauserunt ostium et signantes anulo regis abierunt.

14. When they had gone out, the king set forth the food for Bel. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes and they sifted them throughout the whole temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door and sealed it with the king's signet, and departed.

15. Sacerdotes autem ingressi sunt nocte iuxta consuetudinem suam et uxores et filii eorum et comederunt omnia et biberunt.

15. In the night the priests came with their wives and children, as they were accustomed to do, and ate and drank everything.

16. Surrexit autem rex primo diluculo, et Daniel cum eo;

16. Early in the morning the king rose and came, and Daniel with him.

17. et ait rex: “Salvane sunt signa, Daniel?”. Qui respondit: “Salva, rex”.

17. And the king said, "Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?" He answered, "They are unbroken, O king."

18. Statimque cum aperuisset ostium, intuitus rex mensam, exclamavit voce magna: “Magnus es, Bel, et non est apud te dolus quisquam”.

18. As soon as the doors were opened, the king looked at the table, and shouted in a loud voice, "You are great, O Bel; and with you there is no deceit, none at all."

19. Et risit Daniel et tenuit regem, ne ingrederetur intro, et dixit: “Ecce pavimentum; animadverte, cuius vestigia sunt haec”.

19. Then Daniel laughed, and restrained the king from going in, and said, "Look at the floor, and notice whose footsteps these are."

20. Et dixit rex: “Video vestigia virorum et mulierum et infantium”. Et iratus est rex.

20. The king said, "I see the footsteps of men and women and children."

21. Tunc apprehendit sacerdotes et uxores et filios eorum, et ostenderunt ei abscondita ostiola, per quae ingrediebantur et consumebant, quae erant super mensam.

21. Then the king was enraged, and he seized the priests and their wives and children; and they showed him the secret doors through which they were accustomed to enter and devour what was on the table.

22. Occidit ergo illos rex et tradidit Bel in potestate Danieli, qui subvertit eum et templum eius.

22. Therefore the king put them to death, and gave Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.

23. Et erat draco magnus, et colebant eum Babylonii.

23. There was also a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered.

24. Et dixit rex Danieli: “Non potes dicere quia iste non sit deus vivens; adora ergo eum”.

24. And the king said to Daniel, "You cannot deny that this is a living god; so worship him."

25. Dixitque Daniel: “Dominum Deum meum adoro, quia ipse est Deus vivens.

25. Daniel said, "I will worship the Lord my God, for he is the living God.

26. Tu autem, rex, da mihi potestatem, et interficiam draconem absque gladio et fuste”. Et ait rex: “Do tibi”.

26. But if you, O king, will give me permission, I will slay the dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you permission."

27. Tulit ergo Daniel picem et adipem et pilos et coxit pariter; fecitque massas et dedit in os draconis et, cum comedisset, diruptus est draco. Et dixit: “Ecce quae colebatis”.

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. And Daniel said, "See what you have been worshiping!"

28. Cum audissent Babylonii, indignati sunt vehementer et congregati adversum regem dixerunt: “Iudaeus factus est rex; Bel destruxit, draconem interfecit et sacerdotes occidit”.

28. When the Babylonians heard it, they were very indignant and conspired against the king, saying, "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and slain the dragon, and slaughtered the priests."

29. Et dixerunt, cum venissent ad regem: “Trade nobis Danielem; alioquin interficiemus te et domum tuam”.

29. Going to the king, they said, "Hand Daniel over to us, or else we will kill you and your household."

30. Vidit ergo rex quod irruerent in eum vehementer et, necessitate compulsus, tradidit eis Danielem.

30. The king saw that they were pressing him hard, and under compulsion he handed Daniel over to them.

31. Qui miserunt eum in lacum leonum, et erat ibi diebus sex.

31. They threw Daniel into the lions' den, and he was there for six days.

32. Porro in lacu erant septem leones, et dabantur eis cotidie duo corpora et duae oves; et tunc non data sunt eis, ut devorarent Danielem.

32. There were seven lions in the den, and every day they had been given two human bodies and two sheep; but these were not given to them now, so that they might devour Daniel.

33. Erat autem Abacuc propheta in Iudaea et ipse coxerat pulmentum et intriverat panes in alveolo et ibat in campum, ut ferret messoribus.

33. Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea. He had boiled pottage and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers.

34. Dixitque angelus Domini ad Abacuc: “Fer prandium, quod habes, in Babylonem Danieli, qui est in lacu leonum”.

34. But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the dinner which you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions' den."

35. Et dixit Abacuc: “Domine, Babylonem non vidi et lacum nescio”.

35. Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den."

36. Et apprehendit eum angelus Domini in vertice eius et portavit eum capillo capitis sui posuitque eum in Babylone supra lacum in impetu spiritus sui.

36. Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head, and lifted him by his hair and set him down in Babylon, right over the den, with the rushing sound of the wind itself.

37. Et clamavit Abacuc dicens: “Daniel, Daniel, tolle prandium, quod misit tibi Deus”.

37. Then Habakkuk shouted, "Daniel, Daniel! Take the dinner which God has sent you."

38. Et ait Daniel: “Recordatus es enim mei, Deus, et non dereliquisti diligentes te”.

38. And Daniel said, "Thou hast remembered me, O God, and hast not forsaken those who love thee."

39. Surgensque Daniel comedit. Porro angelus Dei restituit Abacuc confestim in loco suo.

39. So Daniel arose and ate. And the angel of God immediately returned Habakkuk to his own place.

40. Venit ergo rex die septima, ut lugeret Danielem; et venit ad lacum et introspexit, et ecce Daniel sedens.

40. On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. When he came to the den he looked in, and there sat Daniel.

41. Et exclamavit rex voce magna dicens: “Magnus es, Domine, Deus Danielis, et non est alius praeter te”.

41. And the king shouted with a loud voice, "Thou art great, O Lord God of Daniel, and there is no other besides thee."

42. Porro illos, qui perditionis eius causa fuerant, intromisit in lacum; et devorati sunt in momento coram eo.

42. And he pulled Daniel out, and threw into the den the men who had attempted his destruction, and they were devoured immediately before his eyes.