If integrated into the book of Daniel: 14.27.

Pitch, fat, and hair: Pitch is a dark, thick, and sticky substance related to petroleum; it burns (see the comments on TYM 23). “Tar” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) is a reasonable equivalent, although technically it is a modern product. A great deal of scholarly energy has gone into trying to explain this peculiar group of ingredients, with some far-fetched results. Probably the author is simply trying to think up something particularly repellent. Doran’s commentary enters into the spirit of the thing: “The mixture Daniel concocts does not sound too appetizing, but as every good chef knows, presentation is everything, and Daniel displays it in the form of barley cakes.” Moore wryly describes “This curious concoction” as “neither explosive in itself nor poisonous to snakes (though hardly nutritious).”

Made cakes: Needless to say, this does not refer to the layered and frosted dessert. Of the English translations, only Moore has found a way to express what is meant here; Daniel “made patties.” The Greek word for cakes actually applies to goods baked from barley. The author is probably saying that Daniel took this boiled mess and formed it into patties that looked like barley cakes, as Doran assumes in the quotation just above. Contemporary English Version makes this clear with “he shaped the mixture into cakes that looked something like loaves of barley bread [bread made out of barley flour].”

Burst open: Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version make the scene more graphic by saying the creature “swelled up and burst open.” This is a nice touch, and it is not so much an addition as an expansion of what is included in bursting open. There may be a subtle indication that the snake explodes into pieces; see the next comment.

See what you have been worshiping!: The translator’s goal here is to put words in Daniel’s mouth appropriate to the occasion. Good News Translation is not bad, saying “That’s the kind of thing you Babylonians worship,” and Contemporary English Version is similar with “Take a look at what you Babylonians worship.” Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version correctly bring across the fact that you is plural, referring to the Babylonians, not just the king. Actually, the Greek says something like “Behold the things you worship”—the word used for “the things … worship” is plural. Since the snake is singular, we may be supposed to think of the snake as being blown to bits.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.