Daniel 1
New American Standard Bible
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. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were (N)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name (O)Belteshazzar, to Hananiah (P)Shadrach, to Mishael (Q)Meshach, and to Azariah (R)Abed-nego.
Daniel’s Resolve
8 But Daniel [i]made up his mind that he would not (S)defile himself with the (T)king’s choice food or with the (U)wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel (V)favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. 10 The commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has allotted your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking gaunt in comparison to the youths who are your own age? Then you would [j]make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be (W)given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be [k]examined in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14 So he listened to them in this matter, and put them to the test for ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed (X)better, and [l]they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16 So the overseer continued to [m]withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept (Y)giving them vegetables.
17 And as for these four youths, (Z)God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of [n]literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of (AA)visions and dreams.
18 Then at the end of the days which the king had [o]specified [p]for presenting them, the commander of the officials [q]presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like (AB)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they [r](AC)entered the king’s personal service. 20 As for every matter of (AD)expertise [s]and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them (AE)ten times (AF)better than all the (AG)soothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel [t]continued until the (AH)first year of Cyrus the king.
Footnotes
- Daniel 1:2 Or gods
- Daniel 1:2 Or gods
- Daniel 1:3 Or eunuchs, and so throughout the ch
- Daniel 1:3 Lit seed of the monarchy
- Daniel 1:4 Lit stand
- Daniel 1:4 Lit palace
- Daniel 1:4 Or writing
- Daniel 1:5 Lit stand before the king
- Daniel 1:8 Lit set upon his heart
- Daniel 1:10 Lit make my head guilty
- Daniel 1:13 Lit seen
- Daniel 1:15 Lit fat of flesh
- Daniel 1:16 Lit take away
- Daniel 1:17 Or writing
- Daniel 1:18 Lit said
- Daniel 1:18 Lit to bring them in
- Daniel 1:18 Lit brought them in
- Daniel 1:19 Lit stood before the king
- Daniel 1:20 Lit of
- Daniel 1:21 Lit was until
Daniel 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Daniel’s Captivity in Babylon
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim(A) king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar[a](B) king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 The Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God.(C) Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon,[b](D) to the house of his god,[c] and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials,[d] to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family(E) and from the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom,(F) knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace(G)—and to teach them the Chaldean language(H) and literature. 5 The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank.(I) They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court.[e](J) 6 Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel,(K) Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them other names: he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.(L)
Faithfulness in Babylon
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food(M) or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.(N) 9 God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,(O) 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[f] 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[g] than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.(P) 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(Q) in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams(R) 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.(S) 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[h](T) better than all the diviner-priests and mediums(U) in his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.(V)
Footnotes
- Daniel 1:1 Or Nebuchadrezzar
- Daniel 1:2 Lit Shinar
- Daniel 1:2 Or gods
- Daniel 1:3 Or his eunuchs
- Daniel 1:5 Lit to stand before the king
- Daniel 1:10 Lit would make my head guilty
- Daniel 1:15 Lit fatter of flesh
- Daniel 1:20 Lit hands
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.