^11 (A)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[a] and not for evil, ^(B)to give you a future and a hope. ^12 (C)Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^(D)and I will hear you. ^13 (E)You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^(F)with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^(G)and I will restore your fortunes and ^(H)gather you from all the nations and all the places ^(I)where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

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. ⁶ Among these were ^(K)Daniel, ^(L)Hananiah, ^(M)Mishael, and ^(N)Azariah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷ And ^(O)the chief of the eunuchs ^(P)gave them names: ^(Q)Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel's Faithfulness

⁸ But Daniel ^(R)resolved that he would not ^(S)defile himself with ^(T)the king's food, or with ^(U)the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to ^(V)defile himself.