Daniel 1

1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it.

2The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried them off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and put the articles in the treasure house of his god.

3Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—

4young men without any defect, good-looking, skilled in all wisdom, well informed, quick to understand, and able to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

5The king assigned them a daily portion from the king’s food and from the wine he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.

6Among them, from the people of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

7The chief official gave them new names: he named Daniel Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego.

8But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.

9God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the eyes of the chief official,

10and the chief official said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and your drink. What if he sees your faces looking worse than those of the other young men your age? You would put my head at risk with the king.”

11Then Daniel spoke to the steward whom the chief official had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

12“Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.

13Then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the king’s 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 the ten days they looked healthier and better fed than all the young men who ate the king’s food.

16So the steward kept taking away their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.

17To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams of every kind.

18At the end of the time the king had set for bringing them in, the chief official brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.

19The king talked with them, and among them all no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.

20In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king asked them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

21Daniel remained until the first year of King Cyrus.