Bible 1
A long time ago, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, set off with his army. He defeated many nations and brought back prisoners. Among the places he invaded and he took prisoners was the city of Jerusalem.
Bible 2
One of these prisoners was a young man called Daniel. He was sad. He did not want to leave his home.
Bible 3
On the way to Babylon the soldiers told the prisoners to sing for them. ‘Sing us one of your happy Jewish songs!’ they said.
Bible 4
‘How can we sing?’ the prisoners replied, ‘We are being forced to live in a foreign land!’
Bible 5
Daniel was a good man. He was very wise, and very sensible. The king of Babylon liked him.
Bible 6
‘I have chosen you to be one of my special servants!’ said the king.‘I will do my best,’ Daniel replied.
Bible 7
Daniel was a very good servant. He was so good, the king promoted him.
Bible 8
Some of the king’s other servants were jealous. ‘How come Daniel gets promoted?’ they asked.
Bible 9
The jealous servants decided to try and get rid of Daniel. So they watched Daniel carefully to see if he made any mistakes they could report to the king.
Bible 10
But Daniel was hard working and honest. He didn’t make mistakes and served the king well every day.
Bible 11
The jealous servants made up a nasty plan. ‘We’ll trick the king into killing Daniel!’ they said. They had noticed that he prayed to God three times each day.
Bible 12
They went to the king. ‘We want a new law in Babylon!’ they said.
Bible 13
‘Whenever anyone prays, they must only pray to the King for the next thirty days!’
Bible 14
The king was flattered and said, ‘I like that law!’ He wanted everyone to pray and worship him.
Bible 15
‘Anyone who doesn’t pray to me, will be thrown to the hungry lions!’ the king ordered.
Bible 16
As soon as the law was made, the jealous servants watched Daniel to see what he would do. Would he dare pray to God?
Bible 17
Daniel knew that it was wrong to pray to anybody or anything but the Lord God.
Bible 18
So Daniel continued to pray three times a day to God. He even opened his windows wide so it was no secret to anyone that he was praying.
Bible 19
‘We’ve trapped him!’ the jealous servants exclaimed. They went straight to the king.
Bible 20
‘Daniel is praying to his God and not the king,’ they reported, ‘He is breaking your new law and you must throw him to the lions!’
Bible 21
The king liked Daniel and did not want him to die. ‘You have tricked me into making a law that I cannot change!’ said the king. He was very, very angry with Daniel’s enemies.
Bible 22
But the law was made, and the king had to keep it. He ordered that Daniel be arrested.
Bible 23
‘I’m so sorry about this!’ said the king to Daniel, ‘I don’t want you to die in the lion’s den but I have no choice.’
Bible 24
‘Don’t worry,’ said Daniel. ‘My God is able to keep me safe, even down there with the hungry lions!’
Bible 25
The soldiers dropped Daniel through the entrance into the lions’ den. The lid was sealed again so he could not escape. Then king went back to his house feeling very sad…
Bible 26
That night the troubled king could not sleep. He felt terrible about what he had done to his friend.
Bible 27
The next morning the king ran to the lions’ den. ‘Was Daniel still alive?’ Surely the lions had eaten him.
Bible 28
The lid was lifted and the king called down. ‘Daniel! Did your God keep you safe?’
Bible 29
‘Yes my God kept me safe,’ came the reply. ‘He sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions.’
Bible 30
‘Pull Daniel out of the den at once!’ the king ordered. Daniel was very pleased to be out of the hole.
Bible 31
Then the king turned to the jealous servants. ‘You tricked me into throwing my friend Daniel to the lions!’ he said, ‘I have a nasty surprise for you.’
Bible 32
‘Throw these wicked men to the lions!’ the king demanded. The jealous servants were hurled into the den, where the hungry lions immediately devoured them.
Bible 33
Then the king made a new law. ‘From now on,’ he commanded, ‘Everyone must worship the God that Daniel worships!’
Bible 34
‘Daniel’s God is the One True God. His kingdom will last forever. Everyone must worship only this God!’
Bible 35
Daniel was pleased. God had answered his prayer - even in the land of Babylon. He had trusted the Lord and been kept safe.
Daniel keeps praying
Daniel refuses to stop praying to God, who answers his prayers to deliver him from the lions' den.
Daniel 6:1-28
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