‏ Daniel 1

The Choice Young Men

1 In the third year of the reign of aJehoiakim king of Judah, bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the cLord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the dvessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of eShinar, to the house of his
Or gods
god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his
Or gods
hgod.

3 Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his
Or eunuchs, and so throughout the ch
officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the
Lit seed of the monarchy
royal kfamily and of the nobles,
4youths in whom there was lno impairment, who were good-looking, suitable for minstruction in every kind of expertise, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to
Lit stand
serve in the king’s
Lit palace
court; and he ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the
Or writing
literature and qlanguage of the rChaldeans.
5The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the sking’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and ordered that they be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to
Lit stand before the king
uenter the king’s personal service.
6Now among them from the sons of Judah were vDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name wBelteshazzar, to Hananiah xShadrach, to Mishael yMeshach, and to Azariah zAbed-nego.

Daniel’s Resolve

8 But Daniel
Lit set upon his heart
made up his mind that he would not abdefile himself with the acking’s choice food or with the adwine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.
9Now God granted Daniel aefavor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. 10The commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has allotted your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking gaunt in comparison to the youths who are your own age? Then you would
Lit make my head guilty
make me forfeit my head to the king.”
11But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12“Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be aggiven some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then let our appearance be
Lit seen
examined in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

14 So he listened to them in this matter, and put them to the test for ten days. 15And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed aibetter, and
Lit fat of flesh
they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food.
16So the overseer continued to
Lit take away
withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept algiving them vegetables.

17 And as for these four youths, amGod gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of
Or writing
literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of aovisions and dreams.

18 Then at the end of the days which the king had
Lit said
specified
Lit to bring them in
for presenting them, the commander of the officials
Lit brought them in
presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.
19And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like asDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they
Lit stood before the king
auentered the king’s personal service.
20As for every matter of avexpertise
Lit of
and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them axten times aybetter than all the azsoothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm.
21And Daniel
Lit was until
continued until the bbfirst year of Cyrus the king.
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