Single lesson
Daniel and the Priests of Bel
Daniel (Greek) 14:1–22
In Daniel (Greek) 14:1–22, Daniel refuses to worship Bel and helps the king test what is really happening in Bel’s temple. Students will trace the account, notice each choice, and compare the claims about Bel with what the evidence shows.
Before you teach
This account appears in Daniel (Greek). Cyrus has received the kingdom, Daniel is honoured by the king, and the Babylonians honour an idol called Bel with daily food and wine. The king asks Daniel why he does not worship Bel, and Daniel answers by speaking about the living God who created the sky and the earth.
Students will be able to sequence Daniel (Greek) 14:1–22 and explain from the passage how Daniel’s test exposed deceit about Bel.
Welcome: Who is worshipped here?
5 minBriefly introduce that this lesson is from Daniel (Greek), and explain that the class will watch how the account contrasts Bel with Daniel’s God. Ask students to listen for what Bel is said to receive each day, what Daniel refuses to do, and what Daniel says about the living God. Read verses 1–7 aloud together.
Daniel (Greek) 14:1, Daniel (Greek) 14:2, Daniel (Greek) 14:3, Daniel (Greek) 14:4, Daniel (Greek) 14:5, Daniel (Greek) 14:6, Daniel (Greek) 14:7
Read and explain: The test is set
10 minWalk through the next part slowly. The king becomes angry and sets life-and-death terms for the test. The priests propose that the food be placed in the temple, the door shut, and the king’s signet used to seal it. Point out that the text then reveals a hidden detail the king does not yet know: there is a secret entrance under the table.
Daniel (Greek) 14:8, Daniel (Greek) 14:9, Daniel (Greek) 14:10, Daniel (Greek) 14:11, Daniel (Greek) 14:12, Daniel (Greek) 14:13
Discuss: How does Daniel expose the deceit?
8 minRead verses 14–17 and ask students to identify Daniel’s practical step. Daniel has ashes scattered over the temple floor before the door is shut and sealed. Discuss why this matters in the story. The seals remain whole in the morning, yet the ashes will show whether anyone entered another way during the night.
Daniel (Greek) 14:14, Daniel (Greek) 14:15, Daniel (Greek) 14:16, Daniel (Greek) 14:17
Make and respond: Sequence and evidence cards
10 minIn pairs, students make eight small cards with short scene labels such as ‘Daniel refuses’, ‘priests make a claim’, ‘ashes scattered’, and ‘footsteps seen’. After arranging them in order, they add one line under each card saying what the text shows. Finish by noting the king first praises Bel, then sees the footprints of men, women, and children.
Daniel (Greek) 14:18, Daniel (Greek) 14:19, Daniel (Greek) 14:20, Daniel (Greek) 14:21
Closing: Outcomes in the account
7 minSummarise the final outcome carefully. The priests’ deception is exposed through the footprints and secret doors. The king kills the priests and gives Bel into Daniel’s power, and Daniel overthrows Bel and its temple. Close by asking students to state one thing this passage shows about idols and one thing it shows about truth being tested by evidence in this account.
Daniel (Greek) 14:21, Daniel (Greek) 14:22
Questions to explore
What reason does Daniel give for refusing to worship Bel?
Look for Daniel’s own words about idols made with hands and about the living God who created the sky and the earth.
Daniel (Greek) 14:4, Daniel (Greek) 14:5
Why are the ashes important in the middle of the story?
Use the verses that describe Daniel’s instruction about the ashes, the sealed door, and what the king later sees on the pavement.
Daniel (Greek) 14:14, Daniel (Greek) 14:19, Daniel (Greek) 14:20
How does the passage show that Bel did not eat the food?
Gather the clues the text provides: the secret entrance, the night visit by the priests and their families, and the footprints discovered in the morning.
Daniel (Greek) 14:13, Daniel (Greek) 14:15, Daniel (Greek) 14:20, Daniel (Greek) 14:21
Make, think or respond
Ashes and Footsteps Sequence Cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or scrap card
- pencils or pens
- scissors
- optional grey pencil or chalk
Try it together
- Cut paper into eight small cards.
- Write a short event from the account on each card and arrange the cards in order.
- On one extra card, draw simple footprints and write what they proved in the story.
- Share the order with a partner and check each card against the Bible reading.
- As a class, review how the evidence in the account exposed the deceit.
This activity helps students follow the sequence of Daniel (Greek) 14:1–22 and notice how ashes, footprints, and the secret doors reveal what really happened.
Adapt for your group
- For younger or less confident readers, provide six prepared event prompts on the board for students to copy before ordering them.
- For stronger readers, ask them to add the verse reference beside each sequence card and explain which choice led to each outcome.
An optional closing prayer
‘God, please help us value truth, recognise what is false, and honour you above things people make. Help us read carefully and respond wisely. Amen.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Daniel (Greek) 14
1 King Astyages was gathered to his fathers, and Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom.
2 Daniel lived with the king, and was honored above all his friends.
3 Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day twelve great measures of fine flour, forty sheep, and six firkins of wine were spent on it.
4 The king honored it and went daily to worship it; but Daniel worshiped his own God. The king said to him, “Why don’t you worship Bel?”
5 He said, “Because I may not honor idols made with hands, but only the living God, who has created the sky and the earth, and has sovereignty over all flesh.”
6 Then the king said to him, “Don’t you think that Bel is a living god? Don’t you see how much he eats and drinks every day?”
7 Then Daniel laughed, and said, “O king, don’t be deceived; for this is just clay inside, and brass outside, and never ate or drank anything.”
8 So the king was angry, and called for his priests, and said to them, “If you don’t tell me who this is who devours these expenses, you shall die.
9 But if you can show me that Bel devours them, then Daniel shall die; for he has spoken blasphemy against Bel.” Daniel said to the king, “Let it be according to your word.”
10 Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. The king went with Daniel into Bel’s temple.
11 So Bel’s priests said, “Behold, we will leave; but you, O king, set out the food, and mix the wine and set it out, shut the door securely, and seal it with your own signet.
12 When you come in the morning, if you don’t find that Bel has eaten everything, we will suffer death, or else Daniel, who speaks falsely against us.”
13 They weren’t concerned, for under the table they had made a secret entrance, by which they entered in continually, and consumed those things.
14 It happened, when they had gone out, the king set the food before Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them all over the temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door, sealed it with the king’s signet, and so departed.
15 Now in the night, the priests came with their wives and children, as they usually did, and ate and drank it all.
16 In the morning, the king arose, and Daniel with him.
17 The king said, “Daniel, are the seals whole?” He said, “Yes, O king, they are whole.”
18 And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked at the table, and cried with a loud voice, “You are great, O Bel, and with you is no deceit at all!”
19 Then Daniel laughed, and held the king that he should not go in, and said, “Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose footsteps these are.”
20 The king said, “I see the footsteps of men, women, and children.” Then the king was angry,
21 and took the priests with their wives and children, who showed him the secret doors, where they came in and consumed the things that were on the table.
22 Therefore the king killed them, and delivered Bel into Daniel’s power, who overthrew it and its temple.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.