Dan 1:1-7 | NASB2020 | STEP | In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah , Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

‏ Daniel 1:1-7

The Choice Young Men

1 In the third year of the reign of ^aJehoiakim king of Judah, ^bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the ^cLord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, 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.

3 Then the king told 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 monarchy}royal ^kfamily and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom there was ^lno impairment, who were good-looking, suitable for ^minstruction in every kind of expertise, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to ^{▼▼Lit stand}serve in the king’s ^{▼▼Lit palace}court; and he ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the ^{▼▼Or writing}literature and ^qlanguage of the ^rChaldeans. 5 The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the ^sking’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 ^{▼▼Lit stand before the king} ^uenter the king’s personal service. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were ^vDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name ^wBelteshazzar, to Hananiah ^xShadrach, to Mishael ^yMeshach, and to Azariah ^zAbed-nego.