¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.^(A)

⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor^(A) and compassion^(B) to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[a] food and drink.^(C) Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king^(A), with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates,^(B) so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? ⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel^(C) by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me,^(D) the king granted my requests.^(E)

I was cupbearer^(C) to the king.

²⁷ Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart^(A) to bring honor^(B) to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way ²⁸ and who has extended his good favor^(C) to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me,^(D) I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.