1:1 | In the third* year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar* of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem* and laid it under siege.* |
1:2 | Now the Lord* delivered* King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power,* along with some of the vessels* of the temple of God.* He brought them to the land of Babylonia* to the temple of his god* and put* the vessels in the treasury of his god. |
1:3 | The king commanded* Ashpenaz,* who was in charge of his court officials,* to choose* some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent* – |
1:4 | young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome,* well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated* and having keen insight,* and who were capable* of entering the king’s royal service* – and to teach them the literature and language* of the Babylonians.* |
1:5 | So the king assigned them a daily ration* from his royal delicacies* and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained* for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.* |
1:6 | As it turned out,* among these young men* were some from Judah:* Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.* |
1:7 | But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave* Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego.* |
1:8 | 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. |
1:9 | Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel.* |
1:10 | But he* responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided* your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age?* If that happened,* you would endanger my life* with the king!” |
1:11 | Daniel then spoke to the warden* whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: |
1:12 | “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink. |
1:13 | Then compare our appearance* with that of* the young men who are eating the royal delicacies;* deal with us* in light of what you see.” |
1:14 | So the warden* agreed to their proposal* and tested them for ten* days. |
1:15 | At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier* than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies. |
1:16 | So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine* from their diet* and gave them a diet of vegetables instead. |
1:17 | Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams. |
1:18 | When the time appointed by the king arrived,* the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. |
1:19 | When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group* anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.* |
1:20 | In every matter of wisdom and* insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times* better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire. |
1:21 | Now Daniel lived on until the first* year of Cyrus the king. |