6. Then Daniel said, smiling, "O king, do not make a mistake, for this one is clay on the inside and brass on the outside, and he has never eaten."
7. And the king, being angry, called for his priests and said to them, "If you do not tell me who it is that has eaten these expenses, you will die.
8. But if you can show that Bel has eaten these, Daniel will die, because he has blasphemed against Bel." And Daniel said to the king, "Let it be according to your word."
9. Now the priests of Bel were seventy, besides their wives, and little ones, and sons. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel.
10. And the priests of Bel said, "Behold, we are going out, and you, O king, set out the meats, and mix the wine, and close the door, and seal it with your ring.
11. And when you have entered in the morning, if you have not found that Bel has consumed all, we will suffer death, or else Daniel will, who has lied against us."
12. But they had no concern because they had made a secret entrance under the table, and they always went in through it and devoured those things.
13. And so it happened, after they had departed, that the king set the foods before Bel, and Daniel commanded his servants, and they brought ashes, and he sifted them throughout the temple in the sight of the king, and, as they left, they shut the door, and after sealing it with the king's ring, they departed.
14. But the priests entered by night, according to their custom, with their wives, and their sons, and they ate and drank everything.
15. But the king arose at first light, and Daniel with him.
16. And the king said, "Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?" And he answered, "They are unbroken, O king."
17. And as soon as he had opened the door, the king stared at the table, and cried out with a loud voice, "Great are you, O Bel, and there is not any deceit with you."
18. And Daniel laughed, and he held back the king, so that he would not enter, and he said, "Look at the pavement, notice whose footsteps these are."
19. And the king said, "I see the footsteps of men, and women, and children." And the king was angry.
20. Then he apprehended the priests, and their wives, and their sons, and they showed him the secret doors through which they entered and consumed the things that were on the table.
21. Therefore, the king slaughtered them and delivered Bel into the power of Daniel, who overturned him and his temple.