Daniel 1:1-2:23

New Living Translation

Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s Court

1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah,^[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia^[b] and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. ⁴ “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.^[c]” ⁵ The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.

⁶ Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. ⁷ The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:

⁸ But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. ⁹ Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. ¹⁰ But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”

¹¹ Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹² “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. ¹³ “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” ¹⁴ The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. ¹⁶ So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.

¹⁷ God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

¹⁸ When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. ²⁰ Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

²¹ Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.^[d]

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 One night during the second year of his reign,^[e] Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. ² He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers,^[f] and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, ³ he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”

⁴ Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic,^[g] “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

⁵ But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! ⁶ But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!”

⁷ They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

⁸ The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, ⁹ ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”

¹⁰ The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! ¹¹ The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”

¹² The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. ¹³ And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.

¹⁴ When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. ¹⁵ He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. ¹⁶ Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.

¹⁷ Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. ¹⁸ He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. ²⁰ He said,