³ The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family^(A) and from the nobility— ⁴ young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom,^(B) knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace.^(C) He was to teach them the Chaldean language^(D) and literature. ⁵ The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank.^(E) They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.^{[a](F) 6} Among them, from the Judahites, were Daniel,^(G) Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ The chief eunuch gave them names; he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.^(H)

¹¹ So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,