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
New Living Translation
Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s Court
1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah,[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia[b] and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.[c]” 5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:
Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego.
8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. 9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” 14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. 20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
21 Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.[d]
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
