The Lord let Nebuchadnezzar capture Jehoiakim and take away some of the things used in God's temple. And when the king returned to Babylonia, he put these things in the temple of his own god.

One day the king ordered Ashpenaz, his highest palace official, to choose some young men from the royal family of Judah and from other leading Jewish families.

The king said, “They must be healthy, handsome, smart, wise, educated, and fit to serve in the royal palace. Teach them how to speak and write our language

and give them the same food and wine that I am served. Train them for three years, and then they can become court officials.”

But the king's chief official gave them Babylonian names: Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego.

Daniel made up his mind to eat and drink only what God had approved for his people to eat. And he asked the king's chief official for permission not to eat the food and wine served in the royal palace.

But the man still told him, “The king has decided what you must eat and drink. And I am afraid he will kill me, if you eat something else and end up looking worse than the other young men.”

The king's official had put a guard in charge of Daniel and his three friends. So Daniel said to the guard,

Ten days later, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better than the young men who had been served food from the royal palace.

God made the four young men smart and wise. They read a lot of books and became well educated. Daniel could also tell the meaning of dreams and visions.

At the end of the three-year period set by King Nebuchadnezzar, his chief palace official brought all the young men to him.

The king interviewed them and discovered that none of the others were as outstanding as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were given positions in the royal court.

Daniel served there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

During the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had such horrible nightmares that he could not sleep.

So he called in his counselors, advisors, magicians, and wise men,

and said, “I am disturbed by a dream that I don't understand, and I want you to explain it.”

They answered in Aramaic, “Your Majesty, we hope you live forever! We are your servants. Please tell us your dream, and we will explain what it means.”

“Your Majesty,” they said, “if you will only tell us your dream, we will interpret it for you.”

The king replied, “You're just stalling for time,

His advisors explained, “Your Majesty, you are demanding the impossible! No king, not even the most famous and powerful, has ever ordered his advisors, magicians, or wise men to do such a thing.

This made the king so angry that he gave orders for every wise man in Babylonia to be put to death, including Daniel and his three friends.

and asked, “Why did the king give such cruel orders?” After Arioch explained what had happened,

Daniel rushed off and said to the king, “If you will just give me some time, I'll explain your dream.”

Then he said, “Pray that the God who rules from heaven will be merciful and explain this mystery, so that we and the others won't be put to death.”

In a vision one night, Daniel was shown the dream and its meaning. Then he praised the God who rules from heaven: