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young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome,[a] well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated[b] and having keen insight,[c] and who were capable[d] of entering the king’s royal service[e]—and to teach them the literature and language[f] of the Babylonians.[g] So the king assigned them a daily ration[h] from his royal delicacies[i] and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained[j] for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.[k] As it turned out,[l] among these young men[m] were some from Judah:[n] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.[o]

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “good of appearance.”
  2. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”
  3. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”
  4. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “who had strength.”
  5. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king” (cf. vv. 5, 19).
  6. Daniel 1:4 sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.
  7. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.
  8. Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
  9. Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”
  10. Daniel 1:5 tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.
  11. Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “stand before the king.”
  12. Daniel 1:6 tn Heb “and it happened that.”
  13. Daniel 1:6 tn Heb “among them.” The referent (the young men taken captive from Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. Daniel 1:6 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
  15. Daniel 1:6 sn The names reflect a Jewish heritage. In Hebrew Daniel means “God is my judge”; Hananiah means “the Lord is gracious”; Mishael means “who is what God is?”; and Azariah means “the Lord has helped.”