The story in brief
Carried off to Babylon as a teenager, Daniel serves the most powerful kings on earth without bowing to their gods. A dream of a giant statue, a fiery furnace, a hand writing on a wall, and a night with the lions.
The chapters
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Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free
Taken to Babylon
An empire takes the brightest sons of Jerusalem. One of them draws a line at dinner.
Sources: Daniel 1; 2 Kings 24:1–16; 25:8–10; Jeremiah 46:2; Psalm 137:1–2; Babylonian Chronicle (ABC 5)
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Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free
Feet of Clay
A king demands to hear his own dream. Get it wrong, and every wise man dies.
Sources: Daniel 2; 2 Kings 24:7
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Chapter 3 · 5 min
The Fiery Furnace
The whole empire kneels. Three men stay standing.
Sources: Daniel 3
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Chapter 4 · 5 min
Weighed in the Balance
One king loses his mind. Another loses his kingdom in a single night.
Sources: Daniel 4–5; Nabonidus Cylinder from Ur; Verse Account of Nabonidus; Prayer of Nabonidus (4Q242)
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Chapter 5 · 5 min
The Lions’ Den
A law that cannot be changed, a man who will not change, and a den of lions.
Sources: Daniel 5:30–6:28; Ezra 1:1–4; Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7); Herodotus, Histories 1.191
Who’s who
The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.
- AshpenazMaster of the Eunuchs · Keeper of Captives
- NebuchadnezzarKing of Babylon · Conqueror · Builder
- Shadrach, Meshach and AbednegoThe Three Who Would Not Bow
- BelshazzarCrown Prince · Regent of Babylon
- Darius the MedeRuler of Babylon · Signer of the Decree
- DanielCaptive · Counselor · Prophet
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “Exile & Empire”. By the end of it, you can tell what the writing on the wall said, and where “swords into plowshares” comes from.
Stories in this journey
- Jonah: The Runaway Prophet
- Isaiah: Swords into Plowshares
- Daniel: In the Lions’ Den
- Esther: For Such a Time as This
Sources
- Daniel 1–6
Bible quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.
