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The key moments of the book, in order, one picture at a time.
Daniel 1:8-16
Daniel refuses the king's food
Daniel lives in Babylon. The king has had him brought along with three other young Hebrews: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Every day, they are served the king's meat and wine. But Daniel does not want to defile himself with this food. He goes to see the chief of the eunuchs and asks him a favor.
The chief is afraid. "If you look thinner than the other young men, the king will have my head cut off!" Daniel then proposes a test: "Give us only vegetables and water for ten days. Then compare us with the others."
The chief agrees to try. Ten days pass. Daniel and his three friends look healthier, even stronger than all those who eat the king's food. So the guard keeps giving them vegetables, without fear, until the end of their training.
Daniel 2:24-49
Daniel interprets the king's dream
Daniel comes before King Nebuchadnezzar. He says, "No wise man can reveal your dream. But a God in heaven reveals secrets." Daniel then tells the forgotten dream: an immense statue, head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, feet of clay. A stone strikes the statue and shatters it to dust. Then it becomes a great mountain that fills the whole earth.
Daniel explains: each part represents a future kingdom, from the most powerful to the most fragile. The stone is a kingdom that God will establish forever, a kingdom that will never end.
The king is astonished. He bows down before Daniel and declares, "Your God is truly the God of gods." He showers Daniel with gifts and appoints him governor over the whole province of Babylon, chief of all the wise men. At his request, his three friends also receive important positions in the kingdom.
Daniel 3:13-30
The fiery furnace
King Nebuchadnezzar is furious. Three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to worship his golden statue. He has them brought before him. "If you do not obey, I will throw you into the furnace. What god will be able to save you?" The three men answer calmly, "Our God is able to save us. But even if He does not, we will not worship your statue."
The king, filled with rage, orders the furnace heated seven times hotter. Soldiers tie up the three men and throw them into the flames. The fire is so fierce that it kills the soldiers who come near.
Then Nebuchadnezzar stands up, astonished. "Did we not throw three men bound into the fire? I see four men walking in the fire, unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!"
He calls them to come out. Their clothes do not even smell of fire. The king then proclaims the greatness of the God who saved his servants.
Daniel 4:28-37
Nebuchadnezzar's humbling
Twelve months pass. King Nebuchadnezzar walks on the roof of his palace in Babylon. He looks at the great city and he is proud. He says, "Is this not Babylon, which I have built by my power, for my glory!"
No sooner has he finished speaking than a voice falls from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, your kingdom is taken from you. You will be driven away from among men. You will live with the beasts of the field, you will eat grass like oxen, until you know that the Most High rules over all things."
Immediately, it happens. The king loses his reason. He lives outdoors, his hair grows like feathers, his nails like claws. After a long time, he lifts his eyes to heaven. His reason returns to him. He acknowledges that God is the true King. Then Nebuchadnezzar regains his throne, his glory, and he praises the Most High, whose works are just and whose ways are perfect.
Daniel 5:1-30
The writing on the wall
King Belshazzar gives a great feast. He has the gold cups stolen from the temple in Jerusalem brought out. His guests drink from them and sing the praises of their idols. It is a sacrilegious feast.
Suddenly, a hand appears. It writes on the wall of the palace. The king turns pale with fear. No one can read these mysterious words. Daniel is sent for, a wise man known for understanding hidden things.
Daniel looks at the writing and speaks without fear: "Here is what God declares. Your days are numbered. You have been weighed and found wanting. Your kingdom will be divided." Belshazzar, troubled, rewards Daniel all the same.
That night, the enemies attack. King Belshazzar dies. Babylon falls, just as God had announced through that hand on the wall.
Daniel 6:10-23
Daniel in the lions' den
Daniel learns of it: King Darius has signed a decree. For thirty days, no one is to pray to anyone but the king. Whoever disobeys will be thrown to the lions. Ministers jealous of Daniel have schemed it all to trap him.
Daniel changes nothing in his habits. Three times a day, he opens his window facing Jerusalem and prays to his God, as always. The ministers spy on him and rush to report him. Darius is sad, he loved Daniel, but the law cannot be revoked. He orders Daniel thrown into the lions' den. He says to him, "May your God save you!" A stone seals the entrance.
The king does not sleep all night. At dawn, he runs to the den and cries out, "Daniel, has your God been able to save you?" A voice answers, "My God sent his angel. He shut the lions' mouths." Daniel comes out unharmed. The king has the accusers thrown in his place.
Characters in This Chapter
Faithful Jewish exile who served in Babylonian and Persian courts
Babylonian king who had troubling dreams and eventually acknowledged God
One of Daniel's three friends who survived the fiery furnace
One of Daniel's three friends who survived the fiery furnace
One of Daniel's three friends who survived the fiery furnace
