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From: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-64
The two corrupt elders
[5] In that year two elders from the people were appointed as judges. Concerning
them the Lord had said: “Iniquity came forth from Babylon, from elders who were
judges, who were supposed to govern the people.” [6] These men were frequently
at Joakim’s house, and all who had suits at law came to them.
[7] When the people departed at noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s gar-
den to walk. [8] The two elders used to see her every day, going in and walking
about, and they began to desire her. [9] And they perverted their minds and
turned away their eyes from looking to Heaven or remembering righteous judg-
ments.
Susanna condemned to death
[19] When the maids had gone out, the two elders rose and ran to her, and said:
[20] “Look, the garden doors are shut, no one sees us, and we are in love with
you; so give your consent, and lie with us. [21] If you refuse, we will testify a-
gainst you that a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your
maids away.”
[22] Susanna sighed deeply, and said, “I am hemmed in on every side. For if I do
this thing, it is death for me; and if I do not, I shall not escape your hands. [23] I
choose not to do it and to fall into your hands, rather than to sin in the sight of
the Lord.”
[24] Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the two elders shouted a-
gainst her. [25] And one of them ran and opened the garden doors. [26] When
the household servants heard the shouting in the garden, they rushed in at the
side door to see what had happened to her. [27] And when the elders told their
tale, the servants were greatly ashamed for nothing like this had ever been said
about Susanna.
[28] The next day, when the people gathered at the house of her husband Joa-
kim, the two elders came, full of their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death.
[29] They said before the people, “Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah,
who is the wife of Joakim.” [30] So they sent for her. And she came, with her
parents, her children, and all her kindred.
[33] But her family and friends and all who saw her wept.
[34] Then the two elders stood up in the midst of the people, and laid their hands
upon her head. [35] And she, weeping, looked up toward heaven, for her heart
trusted in the Lord. [36] The elders said, “As we were walking in the garden a-
lone, this woman came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed
the maids. [37] Then a young man, who had been hidden, came to her and lay
with her. [38] We were in a corner of the garden and when we saw this wicked-
ness we ran to them. [39] We saw them embracing, but we could not hold the
man, for he was too strong for us, and he opened the doors and dashed out.
[40] So we seized this woman and asked her who the young man was, but she
would not tell us. These things we testify.”
[41] The assembly believed them because they were elders of the people and
judges; and they condemned her to death.
[42] Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, “O eternal God, who
dost discern what is secret, who art aware of all things before they come to be.”
[43] Thou knowest that these men have borne false witness against me. And
now I am to die! Yet I have done none of the things that they have wickedly in-
vented against me!”
[44] The Lord heard her cry.
Daniel intervenes
[47] All the people turned to him, and said, “What is this that you have said?”
[48] Taking his stand in the midst of them, he said, “Are you such fools, you
sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination
and without learning the facts? [49] Return to the place of judgment. For thes
men have borne false witness against her.”
[50] Then all the people returned in haste. And the elders said to him, “Come, sit
among us and inform us, for God has given you that right.” [51] And Daniel said
to them, “Separate them far from each other, and I will examine them.”
[52] When they were separated from each other, he summoned one of them and
said to him, “You old relic of wicked days, your sins have now come home,
which you have committed in the past, [53] pronouncing unjust judgments, con-
demning the innocent and letting the guilty go free, though the Lord said, “Do not
put to death an innocent and righteous person.” [54] Now then, if you really saw
her, tell me this: Under what tree did you see them being intimate with each o-
ther?” He answered, “Under a mastic tree.” [55] And Daniel said, “Very well! You
have lied against your own head for the angel of God has received the sentence
from God and will immediately cut you in two.”
[56] Then he put him aside, and commanded them to bring the other. And he
said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you
and lust has perverted your heart. [57] This is how you both have been dealing
with the daughters of Israel, and they were intimate with you through fear; but a
daughter of Judah would not endure your wickedness. [58] Now then, tell me: Un-
der what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?” He answered,
“Under an evergreen oak.” [59] And Daniel said to him, “Very well! You also have
lied against your own head, for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to saw
you in two, that he may destroy you both.”
[60] Then all the assembly shouted loudly and blessed God, who saves those
who hope in him. [61] And they rose against the two elders, for out of their own
mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness; [62] and they did to
them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbour; acting in accor-
dance with the law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was
saved that day.
[63] And Hilkiah and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, and so did
Joakim her husband and all her kindred, because nothing shameful was found in
her. [64] And from that day onward Daniel had a great reputation among the peo-
ple.
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Commentary:
13:1-14:42. These chapters which, as we have said, are to be found only in the
Greek manuscripts, form an endpiece to the book of Daniel that has been pas-
sed down to the Church. It fits in with the rest of the book because it, too, has
Daniel as the main protagonist; but here he is not an interpreter of dreams or a
seer of visions: he is a judge raised up by God to save the innocent (chap. 13),
a wise man who shows how ridiculous it is to worship idols, as pagans do (chap.
14). Taken together, these two chapters set at the end of the book show that life
goes on and that God ensures that justice is done, and that he exposes idols for
what they are.
13:1-64. The episode of Daniel in the lions’ den, and this story of Susanna, with
its well-drawn characters and scenarios, are the two most popular passages in
the book of Daniel. The Susanna story is set in a Jewish community, and it
forms an independent narrative; it probably existed on its own originally, indepen-
dent of the other stories in the book. The version of Theodotion puts it at the start
of the book, to act as an introduction to Daniel, whose name in fact means “God
is my judge”. There are notable differences between the Septuagint and Theodo-
tion texts; in the latter, the emphasis is put on Susanna’s innocence; in the for-
mer, it is on the wickedness of the two elders. Throughout the book of Daniel we
have been shown that Daniel knows the secrets about the End; in the story of
Susanna we see that he can read men’s hearts and judge accordingly.
Some Fathers of the Church read this story as an allegory. St Hippolytus, for
example, writes: “Susanna suffered at the hands of the elders what we still suf-
fer today from the kings of Babylon. Susanna is a figure of the Church; Joakim,
of Christ. The garden beside their house is an image of the dwelling-place of the
faithful, who are planted like fruitful trees in the Church. Babylon is the power of
this world. The two elders stand for the two enemies of the Church — the Jews
and the pagans. The words, [they] were judges, who were supposed to govern
the people, mean that they handed down unjust sentences against the just”
(”Commentarium in Danielem”, 1, 15).
13:1-14. This passage describes the context of the story — a well-to-do Jewish
family, all God-fearing people. Susanna could be taken as a symbol of Israel.
And then there are two wicked judges, who are supposed to give the people lea-
dership. These two elders may have some link with the two false prophets who
committed adultery and who are denounced in Jeremiah 29:21-23. The point is
clearly made that what leads them astray is lust. A work attributed to St John
Chrysostom comments on this passage: “If no passion undermines and corrupts
it, the soul will remain clean and unstained. But if he does not guard his eyes,
and looks at whatever he wants around him in the world, […] the poison of desire
will enter through a man’s sight and strike to the bottom of his heart; and he who
was once a sober and modest man will be overwhelmed by a whirlwind of pas-
sions” (”De Susanna”, col. 591).
13:15-44. The dramatic tension reaches its climax with the sentence passed on
Susanna. Faced with the dilemma of saving her life by sinning against the Lord,
or by dying by staying faithful to her husband and to God, Susanna opts for the
second course of action. She is a model for the people in the trials they have to
endure. She cannot prove her innocence to the people, but she can certainly as-
sert it to God, who knows all hidden things; and then she waits (v. 42). “How of-
ten does the trickery of those moved by envy and intrigue force many noble
Christians into the same corner? They are offered only one choice — offend God
or ruin their reputation. The only acceptable and upright solution is, at the same
time, highly painful. Yet they must decide: ‘Let me rather fall into your power
through no act of mine, than commit sin in the Lord’s sight’” (St. Josemaria Es-
criva, “Christ is Passing By”, 68).
13:45-64. Nothing can be hidden from God (”He is a great eye, ever watchful:
nothing that happens in the world can be hidden from him”: St Hippolytus, “Com-
mentarium in Danielem”, 1, 33) and his judgments are just and true. Here he
acts by rousing the spirit of prophecy (here called “the holy spirit”) in Daniel, who
as a young man is very different to the elders. Daniel criticizes the people for be-
ing taken in so easily by the elders, and he convinces them to reopen the case.
He tries to discover the truth, without being overawed by the seniority of the two
judges. He uses a simple trick to divine the truth. All come to see that Susanna
is a virtuous woman, true to her husband. She thus becomes a symbol of Israel’s
faithfulness to her God. In the earlier part of the book Daniel was esteemed by fo-
reign kings; now the text shows that his own people, too, hold him in high regard.
This is a further reason for accepting the revelations made through him.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.