Four young men from Judah—Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—were among those selected. The head of the palace staff gave them Babylonian names: Daniel was named Belteshazzar, Hananiah was named Shadrach, Mishael was named Meshach, Azariah was named Abednego. But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. The head of the palace staff, by God’s grace, liked Daniel, but he warned him, “I’m afraid of what my master the king will do. He is the one who assigned this diet and if he sees that you are not as healthy as the rest, he’ll have my head!” But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: “Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see.” The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables. God gave these four young men knowledge and skill in both books and life. In addition, Daniel was gifted in understanding all sorts of visions and dreams. At the end of the time set by the king for their training, the head of the royal staff brought them in to Nebuchadnezzar. When the king interviewed them, he found them far superior to all the other young men. None were a match for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And so they took their place in the king’s service. Whenever the king consulted them on anything, on books or on life, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom put together. Daniel continued in the king’s service until the first year in the reign of King Cyrus.
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Compare All Versions: Daniel 1:6-21
3 Days
Courage, faith and determination are qualities most of us want to grow in, but how can we do that? With this 3-day devotional by Tammy Hotsenpiller, you’ll learn about three giants of the faith who excelled in these areas as the Holy Spirit led them to stand up for God during their day and age.
4 days
Are you working in a company or industry that is agnostic or even antagonistic to the things of the Lord? The book of Daniel reminds us that God can use our position in powerful ways for His glory. In this four-day plan, we will study how Daniel leveraged his long career as a public servant to glorify God through his exceptional work.
4 Days
The days in which “Christian values” were largely embraced in business and culture are long gone. Our sense of “exile” feels increasingly acute. How are you as a Christian professional supposed to respond to that sobering reality? In this reading plan, we’ll answer that question together as we explore four biblical principles for working in exile.
We face spiritual battles daily, and the way to face them and fight them is on our knees in prayer! Let's look into various instances in Scripture where prayer was done to respond to challenges people were facing. When battles come, we strengthen ourselves through prayer, crying out to Him who provides relief, refuge, and victory.
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