Daniel 1
1
1During the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem and surrounded it. 2The Lord allowed him to defeat King Jehoiakim,#1:2. “The Lord allowed him to defeat King Jehoiakim”: literally, “The Lord gave King Jehoiakim into his hand.” and also to remove some of the objects used in the Temple of God. He took them back to Babylon,#1:2. Literally, “the land of Shinar.” to the house of his god,#1:2. Or “gods.” placing them in the treasury of his god.
3Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch,#1:3. In other words, his chief of staff. Eunuchs were often given such positions in these times, and the term also came to mean the one in charge of the court, without necessarily meaning he had been castrated. The emphasis is on this man's position of authority. to take charge of some of the captured Israelites from the royal and noble families. 4“They are to be young men without any physical defect who are good-looking,” he said. “They must be well-educated, quick to learn, have good insight, and be well able to serve in the king's palace and be taught the literature and language of Babylon#1:4. Literally, “the Chaldeans.”.” 5The king also provided them with a daily allowance of the same kind of rich food and wine he was served. At the end of their three years of education they would enter the king's service.#1:5. “Enter the king's service”: literally, “they would stand before the king.” This is taken to mean entering service (see Deuteronomy 10:8).
6Among those chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. 7The chief eunuch gave them new names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
8However, Daniel made up his mind not to make himself impure#1:8. “Make himself impure”: or “unclean.” An observant Jew would have had several problems in consuming such a diet—the use of unclean meats, the animals not killed in accordance with Levitical law, portions of the meat and also the wine offered to pagan gods, the rich food and wine would not be a healthy diet etc. by eating the king's rich food and wine. He asked the chief eunuch to allow him not to make himself impure. 9God had helped Daniel to be viewed with kindness and sympathy by the chief eunuch.
10But the chief eunuch told Daniel, “I'm afraid of what my lord the king would do to me. He's the one who decided what you should eat and drink. What if he were to see you looking pale and sickly compared to the other young men of your age. Because of you the king would have my head!”
11Daniel then spoke with the guard that the chief eunuch had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12“Please put us, your servants, to the test and just give us vegetables#1:12. The word means “from plants,” so would include cereals, beans, green plants, etc. to eat and water to drink for ten days,” Daniel told him. 13“After that, compare us with those young men who ate the king's rich food. Then decide on the basis of what you see.” 14The guard agreed to the proposal they made and tested them for ten days.
15When the ten days were up they looked healthier and better fed than all the young men who had eaten the king's rich food. 16After that the guard didn't give them the rich food and wine, just vegetables.
17God gave these four young men the ability to learn and understand in all areas of literature and knowledge, while Daniel was also given the gift of interpreting all kinds of visions and dreams.
18When their time of education ordered by the king was over, the chief eunuch brought all the young men before King Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king talked with them and none could compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king's service. 20Whatever subject the king asked them about, everything that required wisdom of understanding,#1:20. The Hebrew does not say “wisdom and understanding” as most versions translate it. Some argue that “wisdom of understanding” indicates a superlative, in that the highest form of wisdom is indicated. Others suggest that “understanding” qualifies the term “wisdom,” indicating that this wisdom did not include so-called Babylonian “wisdom” of astrology and divination etc. he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. 21Daniel remained in this position until the first year of King Cyrus' reign.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Daniel 1
1
The Story of Daniel and his Friends
1.1—6.28
The Young Men at Nebuchadnezzar's Court
1 #
2 Kgs 24.1; 2 Chr 36.5–7 In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia attacked Jerusalem and surrounded the city. 2#2 Kgs 20.17–18; 24.10–16; 2 Chr 36.10; Is 39.7–8The Lord let him capture King Jehoiakim and seize some of the temple treasures. He took some prisoners back with him to the temple of his gods in Babylon, and put the captured treasures in the temple storerooms.
3The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief official, to select from among the Israelite exiles some young men of the royal family and of the noble families. 4They had to be handsome, intelligent, well trained, quick to learn, and free from physical defects, so that they would be qualified to serve in the royal court. Ashpenaz was to teach them to read and write the Babylonian language. 5The king also gave orders that every day they were to be given the same food and wine as the members of the royal court. After three years of this training they were to appear before the king. 6Among those chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all of whom were from the tribe of Judah. 7The chief official gave them new names: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
8Daniel made up his mind not to let himself become ritually unclean by eating the food and drinking the wine of the royal court, so he asked Ashpenaz to help him, 9and God made Ashpenaz sympathetic to Daniel. 10Ashpenaz, however, was afraid of the king, so he said to Daniel, “The king has decided what you are to eat and drink, and if you don't look as fit as the other young men, he may kill me.”
11So Daniel went to the guard whom Ashpenaz had placed in charge of him and his three friends. 12“Test us for ten days,” he said. “Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then compare us with the young men who are eating the food of the royal court, and base your decision on how we look.”
14He agreed to let them try it for ten days. 15When the time was up, they looked healthier and stronger than all those who had been eating the royal food. 16So from then on the guard let them continue to eat vegetables instead of what the king provided.
17God gave the four young men knowledge and skill in literature and philosophy. In addition, he gave Daniel skill in interpreting visions and dreams.
18At the end of the three years set by the king, Ashpenaz took all the young men to Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king talked with them all, and Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah impressed him more than any of the others. So they became members of the king's court. 20No matter what question the king asked, or what problem he raised, these four knew ten times more than any fortune teller or magician in his whole kingdom. 21Daniel remained at the royal court until Cyrus the emperor of Persia conquered Babylonia.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.