Faithfulness in Babylon

⁸ Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food^(A) or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.^{(B) 9} God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,^{(C) 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^[a] 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^[b] than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.^{(D) 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^(E) in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams^(F) 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.^(G) 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^[c](H) better than all the diviner-priests and mediums^(I) in his entire kingdom. ²¹ Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.^(J)