Daniel 1:1-2:24

EasyEnglish Bible

Israel's enemies take Daniel and his friends to Babylon

1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem with his army. He put his soldiers around the city to attack it. This happened when Jehoiakim had been king of Judah for nearly three years. ² The Lord God gave Nebuchadnezzar power over King Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar took away some special things that belonged in God's temple in Jerusalem. He took those things back to Babylon. He put them among the valuable things in the temple of his own god.

³ Nebuchadnezzar had an officer who was called Ashpenaz. Ashpenaz had authority over the king's other officers. One day, Nebuchadnezzar said to Ashpenaz, ‘Bring some of the Israelite men to me. Choose some men from the king of Judah's family, and choose some men from the other important Israelite families.’ ⁴ Nebuchadnezzar wanted young men who were strong and handsome. They must be clever so that they could learn and understand things quickly. They must be good enough to become King Nebuchadnezzar's servants. They would learn the language of Babylon, and they would read its books.

⁵ Every day, King Nebuchadnezzar sent special food for these men to eat. It was the same food and wine that he had for himself. His officers would teach the young men for three years. After that, the young men would be ready to serve the king.

⁶ Some of the young men from Judah that Ashpenaz chose were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The king's officer gave new names to them. Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.

Daniel refuses to eat the king's food

⁸ But Daniel decided that God did not want him to eat the king's food and wine. He knew that it might be against God's rules. So he asked the king's special officer that he might not have to eat the king's food. ⁹ God had already caused the officer to like Daniel and to be kind to him. ¹⁰ But the officer said to Daniel, ‘I am afraid of the king, who is my master. He has chosen the food that he wants you to eat. If you eat different food, you might become weaker than the other young men. If the king sees that, he might kill me!’

¹¹ The officer had chosen a guard to watch Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So Daniel spoke to this man. ¹² He said, ‘Please sir, watch us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ After ten days, see what our faces and our bodies look like. Also see what the other young men who eat the king's food look like. When you look at them and you look at us, you can decide what to do with us.’

¹⁴ The guard agreed to what they said. He watched them for ten days. ¹⁵ After ten days, their faces seemed more handsome than the young men who ate the king's food. Their bodies also seemed to be fatter. ¹⁶ So the guard no longer gave them the king's food and wine to eat. He gave vegetables and water to them instead.

God makes Daniel and his friends wise

¹⁷ God helped these four young men to become clever and wise. While they studied, he helped them to learn from many different books. They could understand many things. Daniel could also understand the meaning of all kinds of dreams.

¹⁸ King Nebuchadnezzar had said that the young men must study for three years. After that time finished, the king's officer took them to the king. ¹⁹ The king spoke with all the young men. He discovered that there was nobody else like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they became the king's servants.^{[a] 20} Whenever the king needed help to understand something important, these men showed how wise they were. They knew ten times more than any of the king's other wise men. Those men used magic or they studied the stars to know what would happen in the future. They came from all the different countries that Nebuchadnezzar ruled.

²¹ And Daniel lived in Babylon until the year when Cyrus became king.

The king tells his wise men to explain his dream

2 When Nebuchadnezzar had been king for two years, he had many dreams. He had trouble in his mind and he could not sleep.

² He told his servants that they must bring the magicians, enchanters,^[b] diviners and wise men to him. He wanted them to explain his dream. So they came in and they stood in front of the king. ³ Then the king said to them, ‘I have had a dream that gives me trouble in my mind. I want to know what the dream means.’

⁴ Then the wise men answered the king. (This is in the Aramaic language.^[c]) They said, ‘King, live for ever! We are your servants. Tell us the dream. Then we will tell you what it means.’

⁵ The king replied to the wise men, ‘I have decided what to do. You must tell me what my dream was. Then you must tell me what it means. If not, I will punish you with death! My soldiers will cut you into pieces. They will knock down your houses so that they become heaps of stones. ⁶ You must tell me about the dream and you must tell me what it means. If you do that, I will give to you many gifts and great honour. So you must tell me my dream, and tell me what it means.’

⁷ They answered the king again, ‘We are your servants, so please tell us your dream. Then we will tell you what it means.’

⁸ The king said to them, ‘You know that I will not change my mind. So you are just trying to get more time. ⁹ If you do not tell me the dream, I will certainly punish you with death. You have agreed among yourselves to tell me lies. You want to deceive me until you can think of something better. So now, tell me the dream. Then I will believe you when you tell me what it means.’

¹⁰ The wise men answered the king, ‘There is nobody on earth who can know your dream! No king has ever asked anyone to do anything like this. No magician, enchanter or wise man could do that. Even the greatest and most powerful king has never asked anyone to do this. ¹¹ You are asking us to do something much too difficult! Nobody can do it, except the gods. And they do not live among men.’

¹² This made the king very angry. So he said to his soldiers, ‘Kill all the wise men in Babylon.’ ¹³ He sent a message to command them to kill all his wise men.

Some men went to look for Daniel and his friends too. They wanted to punish them with death. ¹⁴ But Daniel spoke carefully to Arioch. He was the captain of the king's soldiers who had gone to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ Daniel said to Arioch, ‘Why is the king's command so cruel?’ Then Arioch explained everything to Daniel. ¹⁶ So Daniel went to see the king. He asked the king for more time. Then he would be able to tell the king what the dream meant.

God shows the dream to Daniel

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his home. He told his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah what had happened. ¹⁸ He told them that they should pray to God in heaven. They should pray that God would help them with this problem. They should ask God to keep them safe. Then they would not die with all the other wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ During the night, Daniel had a vision. God showed him the secret of the king's dream. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. ²⁰ He said,

²⁴ So Daniel went to see Arioch, the king's officer. The king had told Arioch to kill all the wise men of Babylon. But Daniel said to him, ‘Do not kill Babylon's wise men. Take me to the king. Then I will tell the king what his dream means.’