Old Testament
The Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is the thirty-second of the 46 books of the Old Testament: 14 chapters and 531 verses.
About Daniel
About Daniel · Stories and visions
Daniel joins court stories — the fiery furnace, the lions' den, the writing on the wall — to apocalyptic visions of empires rising and falling before the kingdom of God. Set in the Babylonian exile, the book in its final form addresses a much later persecution, a dating long discussed in Catholic scholarship; the Catholic canon includes its Greek portions, with the song of the three young men and the tales of Susanna and Bel. It was written to steady believers under pressure to apostatize: empires are temporary, fidelity is not, and the Son of Man receives an everlasting dominion.
| Testament | Old Testament — book 32 of 46, 32 of 73 in the Bible |
|---|---|
| Canon | Protocanonical (in every Christian canon) |
| Chapters | 14 |
| Verses | 531, as Bless numbers them |
| Latin | Clementine Vulgate, every chapter |
| Bp. Challoner | Summaries of all 14 chapters · 71 notes |
| Catechism | 9 paragraphs cite it |
Chapter by chapter
All 14 chapters, in brief.
Bishop Richard Challoner’s summary of each chapter, from his revision of the Douay-Rheims (1749–52). Open a chapter for the full text.
Daniel 1
21 versesDaniel and his companions are taken into the palace of the king of Babylon: they abstain from his meat and wine, and succeed better with pulse and water. Their excellence and wisdom.
Daniel 2
49 versesDaniel, by divine revelation, declares the dream of Nabuchodonosor, and the interpretation of it. He is highly honoured by the king.
Daniel 3
100 versesNabuchodonosor set up a golden statue; which he commands all to adore: the three children for refusing to do it are cast into the fiery furnace; but are not hurt by the flames. Their prayer and canticle of praise.
Daniel 4
34 versesNabuchodonosor's dream, by which the judgments of God are denounced against him for his pride, is interpreted by Daniel, and verified by the event.
Daniel 5
31 versesBaltasar's profane banquet: his sentence is denounced by a handwriting on the wall, which Daniel reads and interprets.
Daniel 6
28 versesDaniel is promoted by Darius: his enemies procure a law forbidding prayer; for the transgression of this law Daniel is cast into the lions' den: but miraculously delivered.
Daniel 7
28 versesDaniel's vision of the four beasts, signifying four kingdoms: of God sitting on his throne: and of the opposite kingdoms of Christ and Antichrist.
Daniel 8
27 versesDaniel's vision of the ram and the he goat interpreted by the angel Gabriel.
Daniel 9
27 versesDaniel's confession and prayer: Gabriel informs him concerning the seventy weeks to the coming of Christ.
Daniel 10
21 versesDaniel having humbled himself by fasting and penance seeth a vision, with which he is much terrified; but he is comforted by an angel.
Daniel 11
45 versesThe angel declares to Daniel many things to come, with regard to the Persian and Grecian kings: more especially with regard to Antiochus as a figure of Antichrist.
Daniel 12
13 versesMichael shall stand up for the people of God: with other things relating to Antichrist, and the end of the world.
Daniel 13
65 versesThe history of Susanna and the two elders. This history of Susanna, in all the ancient Greek and Latin Bibles, was placed in the beginning of the book of Daniel: till St. Jerome, in his translation, detached it from thence; because he did not find it in the Hebrew: which is also the case of the history of Bel and the Dragon. But both the one and the other are received by the Catholic Church: and were from the very beginning a part of the Christian Bible.
Daniel 14
42 versesThe history of Bel, and of the great serpent worshipped by the Babylonians.
Bp. Richard Challoner · chapter summaries
In the comments
What the saints said.
2 quotations from 2 saints linked to passages of Daniel in Bless. Each names the work it comes from.
St. Francis of Assisi · on Daniel 3:57
On this theme
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars: in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Canticle of the Creatures, 1225
St. Rose of Lima · on Daniel 12:3
On this theme
Know that the greatest service that man can offer to God is to help convert souls.
Recorded words, c. 1615
Coming up
Read at Mass.
From October 29, 2026 to October 28, 2027, Daniel is read at the principal Mass on 5 days in the US calendar. The next 8 readings:
| Date | Celebration | Reading | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 3:25, 34-43 | |
| Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62 | |
| Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 | |
| Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 | |
| computed | Transfiguration of the Lord | First Reading | Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 |
| computed | Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels | First Reading | Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 |
| computed | Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Daniel 12:1-3 |
| computed | The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe | First Reading | Daniel 7:13-14 |
| computed | St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr | First Reading | Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20 |
| computed | St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 |
| computed | Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Daniel 2:31-45 |
| computed | Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:57, 58, 59, 60, 61 |
| computed | St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 |
| computed | St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs | First Reading | Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 |
| computed | Thanksgiving Day | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 |
| computed | Thanksgiving Day | First Reading | Daniel 6:12-28 |
| computed | Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 |
| computed | Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Daniel 7:2-14 |
| computed | Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 |
| computed | Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | First Reading | Daniel 7:15-27 |
| computed | Monday of the Second Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 9:4b-10 |
| computed | Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 3:25, 34-43 |
| computed | Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62 |
| computed | Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent | First Reading | Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 |
No more readings are listed here; the liturgical calendar has every date through December 31, 2028.
Citations as published in the USCCB liturgical calendar (principal Mass, first option). Dates after May 31, 2027 are computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.