Dan 1:8-16 | NETfull | STEP | But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:8-16

8 But Daniel made up his mind ^{▼▼ Heb “placed on his heart.”} that he would not defile ^{▼▼ Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”} ^{▼▼ Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it had to do with such food having been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.} himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ^{▼▼ Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”} He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. 9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. ^{▼▼ Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.} 10 But he ^{▼▼ Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.} responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ^{▼▼ Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.} your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ^{▼▼ Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.} If that happened, ^{▼▼ The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.} you would endanger my life ^{▼▼ Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.} with the king!” 11 Daniel then spoke to the warden ^{▼▼ Having failed to convince the overseer, Daniel sought the favor of the warden whom the overseer had appointed to care for the young men.} whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12 “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance ^{▼▼ Heb “let our appearance be seen before you.”} with that of ^{▼▼ Heb “the appearance of.”} the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; ^{▼▼ Heb “delicacies of the king.” So also in v. 15.} deal with us ^{▼▼ Heb “your servants.”} in light of what you see.” 14 So the warden ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (the warden mentioned in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} agreed to their proposal ^{▼▼ Heb “listened to them with regard to this matter.”} and tested them for ten ^{▼▼ The number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number of completeness. Cf. v. 20; Zech 8:23; Rev 2:10.} days.

15 At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier ^{▼▼ Heb “fat of flesh”; KJV, ASV “fatter in flesh”; NASB, NRSV “fatter” (although this is no longer a sign of health in Western culture).} than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies. 16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine ^{▼▼ Heb “the wine of their drinking.”} from their diet ^{▼▼ The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.} and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.