³ Then King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, ·his chief officer [or the chief of his eunuchs], to bring some of the ·men of Judah into his palace. He wanted them to be from important families, including the family of the king of Judah [^L…sons of Israel, from the royal family and from the nobility]. ⁴ King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only ·young Israelite men [^Lchildren] who had ·nothing wrong with them [^Lno blemish; 2 Sam. 14:25; Song 4:4]. They were to be ·handsome [^Lof good appearance] and ·well educated [^Lskilled in all wisdom], ·capable of learning [^Lknowing knowledge] and understanding, and able to ·serve [^Lstand] in his palace [Gen. 41:33]. Ashpenaz was to teach them the language and ·writings [literature] of the ·Babylonians [^LChaldeans; ^Cprobably Akkadian and Aramaic; the literature would include myths and legends as well as divination texts]. ⁵ The king ·gave the young men [^Lallotted/assigned to them] ·a certain amount of food and wine every day, just like the food he ate [^La daily ration of the royal food and wine he drank]. The young men were to be ·trained [educated] for three years, and then they would ·become servants of the king of Babylon [^Lstand before the king].