Prophecy of Ambakoum, son of Jesus, from the tribe of Levi.
The Koine Bible
The Scriptures in Greek with direct English translation.
Rahlfs Septuagint
Bel and the Dragon (Old Greek) 1
Greek text followed verse by verse by a direct English translation.
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There was a priest named Daniel, son of Abal, a companion of the king of Babylon.
ἦν εἴδωλον Βηλ ὃ ἐσέβοντο οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι ἀνηλίσκετο δὲ αὐτῷ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν σεμιδάλεως ἀρτάβαι δέκα δύο καὶ πρόβατα τέσσαρα καὶ ἐλαίου μετρηταὶ ἕξ
There was an idol of Bel, which the Babylonians worshiped, and for it were consumed each day twelve artabas of fine flour, four sheep, and six measures of oil.
ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐσέβετο αὐτόν καὶ ἐπορεύετο ὁ βασιλεὺς καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν καὶ προσεκύνει αὐτῷ Δανιηλ δὲ προσηύχετο πρὸς κύριον
The king revered it, and the king went every day and worshiped it, but Daniel prayed to the Lord.
εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Δανιηλ διὰ τί οὐ προσκυνεῖς τῷ Βηλ καὶ εἶπε Δανιηλ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα οὐδένα σέβομαι ἐγὼ εἰ μὴ κύριον τὸν θεὸν τὸν κτίσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἔχοντα πάσης σαρκὸς κυριείαν
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.”
But the king said to him, “This, then, is not a god? Do you not see how much is spent on it each day?”
εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δανιηλ μηδαμῶς μηδείς σε παραλογιζέσθω οὗτος γὰρ ἔσωθεν μὲν πήλινός ἐστιν ἔξωθεν δὲ χαλκοῦς ὀμνύω δέ σοι κύριον τὸν θεὸν τῶν θεῶν ὅτι οὐθὲν βέβρωκε πώποτε οὗτος
Daniel said to him, By no means, let no one deceive you; for this one is clay inside, but bronze outside. And I swear to you by the Lord, the God of gods, that this one has never eaten anything.
θυμωθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκάλεσε τοὺς προεστηκότας τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς παραδείξατε τὸν ἐσθίοντα τὰ παρασκευαζόμενα τῷ Βηλ εἰ δὲ μή γε ἀποθανεῖσθε ἢ Δανιηλ ὁ φάσκων μὴ ἐσθίεσθαι αὐτὰ ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτὸς ὁ Βηλ ἐστὶν ὁ κατεσθίων αὐτά
Enraged, the king summoned those in charge of the temple and said to them, Show who is eating what is prepared for Bel; otherwise you shall die, or Daniel, who says that they are not eaten by him. And they said, Bel himself is the one who eats them.
δὲ Δανιηλ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα γινέσθω οὕτως ἐὰν μὴ παραδείξω ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Βηλ ὁ κατεσθίων ταῦτα ἀποθανοῦμαι καὶ πάντες οἱ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἦσαν δὲ τῷ Βηλ ἱερεῖς ἑβδομήκοντα χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων
And Daniel said to the king, “Let it be so; if I do not prove that it is not Bel who consumes these things, I shall die, and all who are with me.” Now there were seventy priests of Bel, apart from women and children.
but the king into the shrine
παρετέθη τὰ βρώματα ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ Δανιηλ καὶ οἶνος κερασθεὶς εἰσηνέχθη καὶ παρετέθη τῷ Βηλ καὶ εἶπεν Δανιηλ σὺ αὐτὸς ὁρᾷς ὅτι κεῖται ταῦτα βασιλεῦ σὺ οὖν ἐπισφράγισαι τὰς κλεῖδας τοῦ ναοῦ ἐπὰν κλεισθῇ
Food was set before the king and Daniel, and mixed wine was brought in and set before Bel; and Daniel said, You yourself see that these things are lying there, O king. You therefore seal the keys of the temple when it has been closed.
But the word to the king
δὲ Δανιηλ ἐκέλευσε τοὺς παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐκβαλόντας πάντας ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ κατασῆσαι ὅλον τὸν ναὸν σποδῷ οὐθενὸς τῶν ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ εἰδότος καὶ τότε τὸν ναὸν ἐκέλευσε σφραγίσαι τῷ τοῦ βασιλέως δακτυλίῳ καὶ τοῖς δακτυλίοις τινῶν ἐνδόξων ἱερέων καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως
But Daniel ordered those with him, after driving everyone out of the temple, to cover the whole temple with ashes, without anyone outside it knowing, and then he ordered the temple to be sealed with the king’s ring and with the rings of certain honored priests; and it happened so.
ἐγένετο τῇ ἐπαύριον παρεγένοντο ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον οἱ δὲ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Βηλ διὰ ψευδοθυρίδων εἰσελθόντες κατεφάγοσαν πάντα τὰ παρακείμενα τῷ Βηλ καὶ ἐξέπιον τὸν οἶνον καὶ εἶπεν Δανιηλ ἐπίδετε τὰς σφραγῖδας ὑμῶν εἰ μένουσιν ἄνδρες ἱερεῖς καὶ σὺ δέ βασιλεῦ σκέψαι μή τί σοι ἀσύμφωνον γεγένηται καὶ εὗρον ὡς ἦν ἡ σφραγίς καὶ ἀπέβαλον τὴν σφραγῖδα
It happened on the following day that they came to the place, and the priests of Bel, having entered through false windows, devoured everything lying beside Bel and drank the wine. And Daniel said, “Put on your seals, if they remain, priestly men; and you also, king, examine whether anything inconsistent has happened to you.” And they found that the seal was as it had been, and they removed the seal.
ἀνοίξαντες τὰς θύρας εἴδοσαν δεδαπανημένα πάντα τὰ παρατεθέντα καὶ τὰς τραπέζας κενάς καὶ ἐχάρη ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Δανιηλ μέγας ἐστὶν ὁ Βηλ καὶ οὐκ ἔστι παρ᾿ αὐτῷ δόλος
Having opened the doors, they saw everything that had been set out consumed, and the tables empty; and the king rejoiced and said to Daniel, “Great is Bel, and there is no deceit with him.”
ἐγέλασε Δανιηλ σφόδρα καὶ εἶπεν τῷ βασιλεῖ δεῦρο ἰδὲ τὸν δόλον τῶν ἱερέων καὶ εἶπεν Δανιηλ βασιλεῦ ταῦτα τὰ ἴχνη τίνος ἐστί
Daniel laughed greatly and said to the king, Come, see the deceit of the priests. And Daniel said, O king, whose footprints are these?
The king said, “Of men and women and children.”
ἐπῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον ἐν ᾧ ἦσαν οἱ ἱερεῖς καταγινόμενοι καὶ εὗρε τὰ βρώματα τοῦ Βηλ καὶ τὸν οἶνον καὶ ἐπέδειξε Δανιηλ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ ψευδοθύρια δι᾿ ὧν εἰσπορευόμενοι οἱ ἱερεῖς ἐδαπάνων τὰ παρατιθέμενα τῷ Βηλ
He came upon the house in which the priests were staying, and found the food of Bel and the wine, and Daniel showed the king the secret doors through which the priests entered and consumed what was set before Bel.
ἐξήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκ τοῦ Βηλίου καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς τῷ Δανιηλ καὶ τὴν δαπάνην τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν ἔδωκε τῷ Δανιηλ τὸν δὲ Βηλ κατέστρεψε
The king brought them out of the temple of Bel and handed them over to Daniel, and he gave Daniel the expense for it; but he destroyed Bel.
There was a dragon in the same place, and the Babylonians worshiped it.
εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Δανιηλ μὴ καὶ τοῦτον ἐρεῖς ὅτι χαλκοῦς ἐστιν ἰδοὺ ζῇ καὶ ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει προσκύνησον αὐτῷ
The king said to Daniel, “Will you also say of this one that it is made of bronze? Behold, it lives and eats and drinks; worship it.”
Daniel said, “King, give me the authority, and I will kill the dragon without sword or club.”
The king yielded to him and said to him, “It is given to you.”
λαβὼν ὁ Δανιηλ πίσσης μνᾶς τριάκοντα καὶ στέαρ καὶ τρίχας ἥψησεν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐποίησε μάζαν καὶ ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὸ στόμα τοῦ δράκοντος καὶ φαγὼν διερράγη καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτὸν τῷ βασιλεῖ λέγων οὐ ταῦτα σέβεσθε βασιλεῦ
Daniel took thirty minas of pitch, fat, and hair, boiled them together, made a mass, and threw it into the dragon’s mouth; and when it had eaten, it burst open. And he showed it to the king, saying, “You do not worship these, O king.”
συνήχθησαν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας πάντες ἐπὶ τὸν Δανιηλ καὶ εἶπαν Ιουδαῖος γέγονεν ὁ βασιλεύς τὸν Βηλ κατέστρεψε καὶ τὸν δράκοντα ἀπέκτεινε
All those from the country gathered against Daniel and said, The king has become a Jew; he destroyed Bel and killed the dragon.
ἰδὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ὅτι ἐπισυνήχθη ὁ ὄχλος τῆς χώρας ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν ἐκάλεσε τοὺς συμβιωτὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν δίδωμι τὸν Δανιηλ εἰς ἀπώλειαν
When the king saw that the crowd of the country had gathered against him, he called his companions and said, I give Daniel over to destruction.
δὲ λάκκος ἐν ᾧ ἐτρέφοντο λέοντες ἑπτά οἷς παρεδίδοντο οἱ ἐπίβουλοι τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐχορηγεῖτο αὐτοῖς καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τῶν ἐπιθανατίων σώματα δύο καὶ ἐνεβάλοσαν τὸν Δανιηλ οἱ ὄχλοι εἰς ἐκεῖνον τὸν λάκκον ἵνα καταβρωθῇ καὶ μηδὲ ταφῆς τύχῃ καὶ ἦν ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ Δανιηλ ἡμέρας ἕξ
And there was a pit in which seven lions were kept, to which the king’s conspirators were handed over, and two bodies of those condemned to death were supplied to them each day; and the crowds threw Daniel into that pit, so that he might be devoured and not even receive burial; and Daniel was in the pit six days.
ἐγένετο τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἕκτῃ καὶ ἦν Αμβακουμ ἔχων ἄρτους ἐντεθρυμμένους ἐν σκάφῃ ἐν ἑψήματι καὶ στάμνον οἴνου κεκερασμένου καὶ ἐπορεύετο εἰς τὸ πεδίον πρὸς τοὺς θεριστάς
It came to pass on the sixth day, and Habakkuk was carrying broken-up loaves in a vessel in a broth, and a jar of mixed wine, and he was going to the plain toward the harvesters.
ἐλάλησεν ἄγγελος κυρίου πρὸς Αμβακουμ λέγων τάδε λέγει σοι κύριος ὁ θεός τὸ ἄριστον ὃ ἔχεις ἀπένεγκε Δανιηλ εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων ἐν Βαβυλῶνι
An angel of the Lord spoke to Habakkuk, saying, “Thus says the Lord God to you: Bring the meal that you have to Daniel in the lions’ den in Babylon.”
Habakkuk said, “Lord God, I have not seen Babylon, and I do not know where the pit is.”
ἐπιλαβόμενος αὐτοῦ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου τοῦ Αμβακουμ τῆς κόμης αὐτοῦ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἔθηκεν αὐτὸν ἐπάνω τοῦ λάκκου τοῦ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι
The angel of the Lord, taking Habakkuk by the hair of his head, set him above the pit that was in Babylon.
Habakkuk said to Daniel, Rise, eat the meal that the Lord God has sent you.
Daniel said, “For the Lord God remembered me, who does not forsake those who love him.”
ἔφαγε Δανιηλ ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος κυρίου κατέστησε τὸν Αμβακουμ ὅθεν αὐτὸν ἔλαβε τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ δὲ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἐμνήσθη τοῦ Δανιηλ
Daniel ate, and the angel of the Lord restored Habakkuk to the place from which he had taken him. On that same day, the Lord God remembered Daniel.
But the king, after these things, mourning for Daniel and bending down into the pit, sees him sitting.
Crying out, the king said, Great is the Lord God, and there is no other besides him.
ἐξήγαγεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν Δανιηλ ἐκ τοῦ λάκκου καὶ τοὺς αἰτίους τῆς ἀπωλείας αὐτοῦ ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὸν λάκκον ἐνώπιον τοῦ Δανιηλ καὶ κατεβρώθησαν
The king brought Daniel out of the pit, and he cast those responsible for his destruction into the pit before Daniel, and they were devoured.