Daniel 1
1
1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, and a part of the vessels of the house of God#GodHebrew: Elohim and he carried them into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god. 3And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the chief of his eunuchs, that he should bring of the children of Israel, both of the royal seed and of the nobles, 4youths in whom was no blemish, and of goodly countenance, and skilful in all wisdom, and acquainted with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the language of the Chaldeans. 5And the king appointed unto them a daily provision of the king's delicate food, and of the wine that he drank, to nourish them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. 6Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7And the prince of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah, Shadrach, and to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abed-nego.
8And Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not pollute himself with the king's delicate food, nor with the wine which he drank; and he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not have to pollute himself. 9And God#GodHebrew: Elohim granted Daniel favour and mercy before the prince of the eunuchs. 10And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king who hath appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces worse liking than the youths who are of your age? and ye would endanger my head with the king. 11And Daniel said to the steward, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink; 13then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's delicate food: and as thou shalt see, deal with thy servants. 14And he hearkened unto them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and were fatter in flesh than all the youths that ate of the king's delicate food. 16So the steward took away their delicate food, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.
17As for these four youths, God#GodHebrew: Elohim gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18And at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19And the king spoke with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: and they stood before the king. 20And in all matters of judicious wisdom, as to which the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the scribes and magicians that were in all his realm. 21And Daniel continued unto the first year of king Cyrus.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Daniel 1
1
Jerusalem taken by the Babylonians
1In the third year of the rule of Judah’s King Jehoiakim, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and attacked it. 2The Lord handed Judah’s King Jehoiakim over to Nebuchadnezzar, along with some of the equipment from God’s house. Nebuchadnezzar took these to Shinar, to his own god’s temple, putting them in his god’s treasury.
Training for royal service
3Nebuchadnezzar instructed his highest official Ashpenaz to choose royal descendants and members of the ruling class from the Israelites— 4good-looking young men without defects, skilled in all wisdom, possessing knowledge, conversant with learning, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. Ashpenaz was to teach them the Chaldean language and its literature. 5The king assigned these young men daily allotments from his own food and from the royal wine. Ashpenaz was to teach them for three years so that at the end of that time they could serve before the king. 6Among these young men from the Judeans were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7But the chief official gave them new names. He named Daniel “Belteshazzar,” Hananiah “Shadrach,” Mishael “Meshach,” and Azariah “Abednego.”
Test
8Daniel decided that he wouldn’t pollute himself with the king’s rations or the royal wine, and he appealed to the chief official in hopes that he wouldn’t have to do so. 9Now God had established faithful loyalty between Daniel and the chief official; 10but the chief official said to Daniel, “I’m afraid of my master, the king, who has mandated what you are to eat and drink. What will happen if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men in your group? The king will have my head because of you!”
11So Daniel spoke to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12“Why not test your servants for ten days? You could give us a diet of vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then compare our appearance to the appearance of the young men who eat the king’s food. Then deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14The guard decided to go along with their plan and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 16So the guard kept taking away their rations and the wine they were supposed to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 17And God gave knowledge, mastery of all literature, and wisdom to these four men. Daniel himself gained understanding of every type of vision and dream.
Result of the training
18When the time came to review the young men as the king had ordered, the chief official brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19When the king spoke with them, he found no one as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they took their place in the king’s service. 20Whenever the king consulted them about any aspect of wisdom and understanding, he found them head and shoulders above all the dream interpreters and enchanters in his entire kingdom. 21And Daniel stayed in the king’s service until the first year of King Cyrus.
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.