Daniel 1
Wycliffe Bible
1 In the third year of the realm of Jehoiakim, king of Judah (In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah), Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2 And the Lord betook in his hand Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and he took a part of the vessels of the house of God; and he bare out those into the land of Shinar, into the house of his god, and he took the vessels into the house of treasure of his god. (And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, into his power, and he took some of the vessels of the House of God; and he carried them back to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he put the vessels in the treasure house of his god.)
3 And the king said to Ashpenaz, sovereign of his honest servants and chaste, that he should bring in of the sons of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and the children of tyrants, [or (of) strong men,] (And the king said to Ashpenaz, the ruler of his honest and chaste servants, that is, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the Israelites, yea, some of the king’s descendants, and some of the young men of the strong men,)
4 in which were no wem, fair in shape, and learned in all wisdom, wary in knowing, and taught in chastising, either learning, and that might stand in the palace of the king, that he should teach them the letters and language of Chaldees. (in whom there was no blemish, or fault, comely in shape, and learned in all wisdom, yea, knowledgeable, and taught in learning, or in the disciplines, and who might stand in the palace of the king, so that he could teach them the letters and the language of the Chaldeans.)
5 And the king ordained to them lifelode by each day of his meats, and of the wine whereof he drank; that they nourished by three years, should stand afterward before the sight of the king. (And the king ordained for them the daily sustenance of his food, and the wine which he drank; and that after they were nourished for three years, they would stand before the king.)
6 Therefore Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, of the sons of Judah, were among them. (And so Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, of the sons of Judah, were among them.)
7 And the sovereign of the honest servants and chaste putted to them names (And the ruler of the honest and chaste servants, that is, the master of the eunuchs, gave them new names); to Daniel he putted Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 Forsooth Daniel purposed in his heart, that he should not be defouled of the board of the king, neither of the wine of his drink; and he prayed the sovereign of the honest servants and chaste, that he should not be defouled. (But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with the king’s food, nor with his wine to drink; and he beseeched the ruler of the eunuchs, that he might not be so defiled.)
9 Forsooth God gave grace and mercy to Daniel, in the sight of the prince of honest servants and chaste. (And God made the ruler of the eunuchs to show grace and mercy to Daniel.)
10 And the prince of honest servants and chaste said to Daniel, I dread my lord the king, that ordained to you meat and drink; and if he see your faces leaner than (the) other young waxing men, your even-eld(er)s, ye shall condemn mine head to the king. (And the ruler of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who ordained for you food and drink; for if he shall see your faces leaner than the other young men, yea, your fellows, then ye shall condemn my head to the king.)
11 And Daniel said to Melzar, whom the prince of honest servants and chaste had ordained on Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (And Daniel said to Melzar, whom the ruler of the eunuchs had ordained over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,)
12 I beseech, assay thou us thy servants by ten days, and pottages be given to us to eat, and water to drink; (I beseech thee, assay thou us thy servants for ten days, and let vegetables be given to us to eat, and water to drink;)
13 and behold thou our cheers, and the cheers of children that eat the king’s meat; and as thou seest, so do thou with thy servants. (and look thou upon our faces, and upon the faces of the young men who eat the king’s food; and as thou seest fit, so do thou with thy servants.)
14 And when he heard such a word, he assayed them (for) ten days.
15 Forsooth after ten days the cheers of them appeared better and fatter, than all the children that ate the king’s meat. (And after ten days their faces appeared better and fatter, than all the other young men who ate the king’s food.)
16 Certainly Melzar took [away] the meats, and the wine of the drink of them, and gave them pottages. (And so Melzar took away the food, and the wine, and gave them vegetables to eat, and water to drink.)
17 Forsooth to these children God gave knowing and learning in each book, and in all wisdom; but to Daniel God gave understanding of all visions and dreams. (And to these young men God gave knowledge from each book, and learning from all wisdom; but to Daniel alone God gave understanding of all visions and dreams.)
18 Therefore when the days were [ful]filled, after which the king said, that they should be brought in, the sovereign of honest servants and chaste brought in them, in the sight of Nebuchadnezzar. (And so when the days were fulfilled, after which the king had said, that they should be brought in, the ruler of the eunuchs brought them in, before Nebuchadnezzar.)
19 And when the king had spoken to them, such were not found of all, as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and they stood in the sight of the king. (And when the king had spoken to them, such was not found from any of the others, as from Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and so they stood before the king, that is, and so they entered into his service.)
20 And each word of wisdom and of understanding, which the king asked of them, he found in them tenfold, over all false diviners and astronomers, that were in all his realm (over all the fortunetellers, and the astrologers, who were in all his kingdom).
21 Forsooth Daniel was (there) till to the first year of king Cyrus.
Daniel 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Daniel’s Captivity in Babylon
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim(A) king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar[a](B) king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 The Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God.(C) Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon,[b](D) to the house of his god,[c] and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials,[d] to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family(E) and from the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom,(F) knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace(G)—and to teach them the Chaldean language(H) and literature. 5 The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank.(I) They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court.[e](J) 6 Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel,(K) Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them other names: he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.(L)
Faithfulness in Babylon
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food(M) or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.(N) 9 God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,(O) 10 yet he said to Daniel, “My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I’m afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life[f] with the king.”
11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. 15 At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier[g] than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.(P) 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
Faithfulness Rewarded
17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding(Q) in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams(R) of every kind. 18 At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.(S) So they began to serve in the king’s court. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them 10 times[h](T) better than all the diviner-priests and mediums(U) in his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.(V)
Footnotes
- Daniel 1:1 Or Nebuchadrezzar
- Daniel 1:2 Lit Shinar
- Daniel 1:2 Or gods
- Daniel 1:3 Or his eunuchs
- Daniel 1:5 Lit to stand before the king
- Daniel 1:10 Lit would make my head guilty
- Daniel 1:15 Lit fatter of flesh
- Daniel 1:20 Lit hands
2001 by Terence P. Noble
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