Daniel 1
The Choice Young Men
1In the third year of the reign of aJehoiakim king of Judah, bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2The cLord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the dvessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of eShinar, to the house of his ▼▼ Or gods
god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his ▼▼ Or gods
,
hgod. 3Then the king ▼▼ Or said to
ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his ▼▼ Or eunuchs, and so throughout the ch
officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ▼▼ Lit seed of the
royal lfamily and of the nobles, 4youths in whom was mno defect, who were good-looking, showing nintelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for ▼▼ Lit standing
serving in the king’s ▼▼ Lit palace
court; and he ordered him to teach them the ▼▼ Or writing
literature and rlanguage of the sChaldeans. 5The king appointed for them a daily ration from the tking’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be ▼▼ Or reared
educated three years, at the end of which they were to ▼▼ Lit stand before the king
,
wenter the king’s personal service. 6Now among them from the sons of Judah were xDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name yBelteshazzar, to Hananiah zShadrach, to Mishael aaMeshach and to Azariah abAbed-nego. Daniel’s Resolve
8But Daniel ▼▼ Lit set upon his heart
made up his mind that he would not addefile himself with the aeking’s choice food or with the afwine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9Now God granted Daniel ▼▼ Lit lovingkindness
,
ahfavor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, 10and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would ▼▼ Lit make my head guilty
make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12“Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be ajgiven some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13“Then let our appearance be ▼▼ Lit seen
observed 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.” 14So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of ten days their appearance seemed albetter and ▼▼ Lit fat of flesh
they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16So the overseer continued to ▼▼ Lit take away
withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept aogiving them vegetables. 17As for these four youths, apGod gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of ▼▼ Or writing
literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of arvisions and dreams. 18Then at the end of the days which the king had ▼▼ Lit said
specified ▼▼ Lit to bring them in
for presenting them, the commander of the officials ▼▼ Lit brought in
presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like avDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they ▼▼ Lit stood before the king
,
axentered the king’s personal service. 20As for every matter of aywisdom ▼▼ Lit of
and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them baten times bbbetter than all the ▼▼ Or soothsayer priests
,
bdmagicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. 21And Daniel ▼▼ Lit was until
continued until the bffirst year of Cyrus the king.
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