The Choice Young Men

1 In the third year of the reign of ^(A)Jehoiakim king of Judah, ^(B)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the ^(C)Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the ^(D)vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of ^(E)Shinar, to the house of his ^[a]god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his ^[b](F)god.

³ Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his ^[c]officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ^[d]royal ^(G)family and of the nobles, ⁴ youths in whom there was ^(H)no impairment, who were good-looking, suitable for ^(I)instruction in every kind of expertise, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to ^[e]serve in the king’s ^[f]court; and he ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the ^[g]literature and ^(J)language of the ^(K)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the ^(L)king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and ordered that they be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to ^[h](M)enter the king’s personal service.