Daniel 1
International Children’s Bible
Daniel Taken to Babylon
1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and surrounded it with his army. This happened during the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah. 2 The Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jehoiakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the things from the Temple of God. He carried them to Babylonia and put them in the temple of his gods.
3 Then King Nebuchadnezzar gave an order to Ashpenaz, his chief officer. He told Ashpenaz to bring some of the men from Judah into his house. He wanted them to be from important families. And he wanted those who were from the family of the king of Judah. 4 King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only healthy, young, Israelite men. These men were not to have anything wrong with their bodies. They were to be handsome and well educated. They were to be able to learn and understand things. He wanted those who were able to serve in his palace. Ashpenaz was to teach them the language and writings of the Babylonians. 5 The king gave the young men a certain amount of food and wine every day. That was the same kind of food that the king ate. They were to be trained for three years. Then the young men would become servants of the king of Babylon. 6 Among those young men were some from the people of Judah. These were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
7 Then Ashpenaz, the chief officer, gave them Babylonian names. Daniel’s new name was Belteshazzar. Hananiah’s was Shadrach. Mishael’s was Meshach. And Azariah’s new name was Abednego.
8 Daniel decided not to eat the king’s food and wine because that would make him unclean. So he asked Ashpenaz for permission not to make himself unclean in this way.
9 God made Ashpenaz want to be kind and merciful to Daniel. 10 But Ashpenaz said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my master, the king. He ordered me to give you this food and drink. If you don’t eat this food, you will begin to look worse than other young men your age. The king will see this. And he will cut off my head because of you.”
11 Ashpenaz had ordered a guard to watch Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 12 Daniel said to the guard, “Please give us this test for ten days: Don’t give us anything but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then after ten days compare us with the other young men who eat the king’s food. See for yourself who looks healthier. Then you judge for yourself how you want to treat us, your servants.”
14 So the guard agreed to test them for ten days. 15 After ten days they looked very healthy. They looked better than all of the young men who ate the king’s food. 16 So the guard took away the king’s special food and wine. He gave Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah vegetables instead.
17 God gave these four men wisdom and the ability to learn. They learned many kinds of things people had written and studied. Daniel could also understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 The end of the three years came. And Ashpenaz brought all of the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked to them. He found that none of the young men were as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So those four young men became the king’s servants. 20 Every time the king asked them about something important, they showed much wisdom and understanding. He found they were ten times better than all the fortune-tellers and magicians in his kingdom. 21 So Daniel continued to be the king’s servant until the first year Cyrus was king.
Daniel 1
21st Century King James Version
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
3 And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of the king’s seed and of the princes,
4 youths in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
6 Now among these of the children of Judah were: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
7 unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, Shadrach; and to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9 Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink. For why should he see your faces sadder than the youths who are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head before the king.”
11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 “Test thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink.
13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths who eat of the portion of the king’s meat. And as thou seest, deal with thy servants.”
14 So he consented to them in this matter, and tested them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the portion of the king’s meat.
16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.
17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
19 And the king communed with them, and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king.
20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.
21 And Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus.
Daniel 1
New English Translation
Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon
1 In the third[a] year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege.[c] 2 Now the Lord[d] delivered[e] King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power,[f] along with some of the vessels[g] of the temple of God.[h] He brought them to the land of Babylonia[i] to the temple of his god[j] and put[k] the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 The king commanded[l] Ashpenaz,[m] who was in charge of his court officials,[n] to choose[o] some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent[p]— 4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome,[q] well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated[r] and having keen insight,[s] and who were capable[t] of entering the king’s royal service[u]—and to teach them the literature and language[v] of the Babylonians.[w] 5 So the king assigned them a daily ration[x] from his royal delicacies[y] and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained[z] for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.[aa] 6 As it turned out,[ab] among these young men[ac] were some from Judah:[ad] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.[ae] 7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave[af] Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego.[ag]
8 But Daniel made up his mind[ah] that he would not defile[ai] himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine.[aj] He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. 9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel.[ak] 10 But he[al] responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided[am] your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age?[an] If that happened,[ao] you would endanger my life[ap] with the king!” 11 Daniel then spoke to the warden[aq] whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12 “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance[ar] with that of[as] the young men who are eating the royal delicacies;[at] deal with us[au] in light of what you see.” 14 So the warden[av] agreed to their proposal[aw] and tested them for ten[ax] days.
15 At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier[ay] than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies. 16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine[az] from their diet[ba] and gave them a diet of vegetables instead. 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.
18 When the time appointed by the king arrived,[bb] the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. 19 When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group[bc] anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.[bd] 20 In every matter of wisdom and[be] insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times[bf] better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire. 21 Now Daniel lived on until the first[bg] year of Cyrus the king.
Footnotes
- Daniel 1:1 sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605 b.c. At this time Daniel would have been a teenager. The reference to Jehoiakim’s third year poses a serious crux interpretum, since elsewhere these events are linked to his fourth year (Jer 25:1; cf. 2 Kgs 24:1; 2 Chr 36:5-8). Apparently Daniel is following an accession year chronology, whereby the first partial year of a king’s reign was reckoned as the accession year rather than as the first year of his reign. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is following a nonaccession year chronology, whereby the accession year is reckoned as the first year of the king’s reign. In that case, the conflict is only superficial. Most modern scholars, however, have concluded that Daniel is historically inaccurate here.
- Daniel 1:1 sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 b.c.
- Daniel 1:1 sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597 b.c. and included among many other Jewish captives the prophet Ezekiel. The third deportation occurred in 586 b.c., at which time the temple and the city of Jerusalem were thoroughly destroyed.
- Daniel 1:2 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Daniel 1:2 tn Heb “gave.”
- Daniel 1:2 tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.
- Daniel 1:2 tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”
- Daniel 1:2 tn Heb “house of God.”
- Daniel 1:2 sn The land of Babylonia (Heb “the land of Shinar”) is another name for Sumer and Akkad, where Babylon was located (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1, 9; Josh 7:21; Isa 11:11; Zech 5:11).
- Daniel 1:2 tn Or “gods” (NCV, NRSV, TEV; also later in this verse). The Hebrew term can be used as a numerical plural for many gods or as a plural of majesty for one particular god. Since Nebuchadnezzar was a polytheist, it is not clear if the reference here is to many gods or one particular deity. The plural of majesty, while normally used for Israel’s God, is occasionally used of foreign gods (cf. BDB 43 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 1, 2). See Judg 11:24 (of the Moabite god Chemosh); 1 Sam 5:7 (of the Philistine god Dagon); 1 Kgs 11:33 (of the Canaanite goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom); and 2 Kgs 19:37 (of the Assyrian god Nisroch). Since gods normally had their own individual temples, Dan 1:2 probably refers to a particular deity, perhaps Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon, or Marduk’s son Nabu, after whom Nebuchadnezzar was named. The name Nebuchadnezzar means “Nabu has protected the son who will inherit” (HALOT 660 s.v. נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר). For a discussion of how temples functioned in Babylonian religion, see H. Ringgren, Religions of the Ancient Near East, 77-81.
- Daniel 1:2 tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.
- Daniel 1:3 tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”
- Daniel 1:3 sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.
- Daniel 1:3 sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.
- Daniel 1:3 tn Heb “bring.”
- Daniel 1:3 tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”
- Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “good of appearance.”
- Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”
- Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”
- Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “who had strength.”
- Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king” (cf. vv. 5, 19).
- Daniel 1:4 sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.
- Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.
- Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
- Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”
- Daniel 1:5 tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.
- Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “stand before the king.”
- Daniel 1:6 tn Heb “and it happened that.”
- Daniel 1:6 tn Heb “among them.” The referent (the young men taken captive from Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Daniel 1:6 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
- 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.”
- Daniel 1:7 tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.
- Daniel 1:7 sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; and Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.
- Daniel 1:8 tn Heb “placed on his heart.”
- Daniel 1:8 tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”sn Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it was food that had been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.
- Daniel 1:8 tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”
- Daniel 1:9 tn Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.
- Daniel 1:10 tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
- Daniel 1:10 tn Heb “assigned” (see v. 5).
- Daniel 1:10 tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.
- Daniel 1:10 tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
- Daniel 1:10 tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.
- Daniel 1:11 sn Having failed to convince the overseer, Daniel sought the favor of the warden whom the overseer had appointed to care for the young men.
- Daniel 1:13 tn Heb “let our appearance be seen before you.”
- Daniel 1:13 tn Heb “the appearance of.”
- Daniel 1:13 tn Heb “delicacies of the king,” as also in v. 15.
- Daniel 1:13 tn Heb “your servants.”
- Daniel 1:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the warden mentioned in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Daniel 1:14 tn Heb “listened to them with regard to this matter.”
- Daniel 1:14 sn The number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number of completeness (cf. v. 20; Zech 8:23; Rev 2:10).
- Daniel 1:15 tn Heb “fat of flesh”; KJV, ASV “fatter in flesh”; NASB, NRSV “fatter” (although this is no longer a sign of health in Western culture).
- Daniel 1:16 tn Heb “the wine of their drinking.”
- Daniel 1:16 tn The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
- Daniel 1:18 tn Heb “at the end of the days that the king said to bring them.”
- Daniel 1:19 tn Heb “from all of them.”
- Daniel 1:19 tn Heb “stood before the king.”
- Daniel 1:20 tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.
- Daniel 1:20 tn Heb “hands.”
- Daniel 1:21 sn The Persian king Cyrus’ first year in control of Babylon was 539 b.c. Daniel actually lived beyond the first year of Cyrus, as is clear from 10:1. The purpose of the statement in 1:21 is merely to say that Daniel’s life spanned the entire period of the neo-Babylonian empire. His life span also included the early years of the Persian control of Babylon. However, by that time his age was quite advanced; he probably died sometime in the 530’s b.c.
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