³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^(A)his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family^[a] and of ^(B)the nobility, ⁴ youths without ^(C)blemish, of good appearance and ^(D)skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to ^(E)teach them the literature and language of the ^(F)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of ^(G)the food that the king ate, and of ^(H)the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for ^(I)three years, and at the end of that time they were to ^(J)stand before the king.