18. As soon as he had opened the door, the king looked at the table and cried aloud, “You are great, O Bel; there is no deceit in you.”
19. But Daniel laughed and kept the king from entering. He said, “Look at the floor and consider whose footprints these are.”
20. “I see the footprints of men, women, and children!” said the king.
21. In his wrath the king arrested the priests, their wives, and their children. They showed him the secret door by which they used to enter to consume what was on the table.
22. The king put them to death, and handed Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.
23. There was a great dragon which the Babylonians revered.
24. The king said to Daniel, “You cannot deny that this is a living god, so worship it.”
25. But Daniel answered, “I worship the Lord, my God, for he is the living God.