Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
After King Jehoiakim had been ruling in Judah for almost three years, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem [with his army] and surrounded the city.
2 And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
[After two years, ] Yahweh allowed Nebuchadnezzar’s [soldiers] to capture Jehoiakim, [who was the] King of Judah. They also took some of the things that were in the temple of God, and took them to Babylonia. There Nebuchadnezzar put them in the temple of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—
Then Nebuchadnezzar commanded Ashpenaz, the chief official in his palace, to bring [to him] some of the Israeli men [whom they had brought to Babylon. He wanted men] who belonged to important families, including the family of the King of Judah.
4 young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace—and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.
[King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only] men who were very healthy, handsome/good-looking, wise, well-educated, capable of learning many things, and suitable for working in the palace. He also wanted to teach them the Babylonian language and have them read things that had been written in the Babylonian language.
5 The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service.
The king commanded [his servants], “Give them the same kind of food and wine that is given to me. Train them for three years. Then they will become my servants.”
6 Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Among the young Israeli men [who were chosen] were [me], Daniel, and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who all came from Judah.
7 The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
But Ashpenaz gave us [Babylonian] names. The name he gave to me was Belteshazzar, the name he gave to Hananiah was Shadrach, the name he gave to Mishael was Meshach, and the name he gave to Azariah was Abednego.
8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
But I decided that I would not eat the kind of food that the king ate, or drink the wine that he drank, because that would make me (ritually defiled/unacceptable to God). So I asked Ashpenaz to allow me to eat and drink other things.
9 Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,
God had caused Ashpenaz to greatly respect me,
10 but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!”
but he was worried about what I suggested. He said, “My master, the king, has commanded that you eat the kinds of food and drink that he does. If [you eat other things and as a result] you become more thin and pale than the other young men who are your age, he will [order his soldiers to] cut off my head because of what you have done!”
11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Ashpenaz had ordered a guard to watch me, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink.
So I said to this guard: “[Please] test us for ten days. [During that time] give us [only] vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13 Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
After ten days, see how we look, and see how the other young men look, the ones who are eating the kind of food that the king eats. Then you can decide about [what food you will let us eat].”
14 So he consented to this and tested them for ten days.
The guard agreed to do what I suggested, and he tested us like that for ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.
After ten days, [he saw that] my three friends and I looked healthier [DOU] than the young men who had been eating the food that the king wanted them to eat.
16 So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.
So after that, the guard gave us [only] vegetables to eat; he did not give us the king’s special food and wine.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.
And God gave to us four young men wisdom and the ability to study many things that Babylonians had written and studied. And [he also gave to] me the ability to understand the meaning of visions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the time specified by the king, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
When those three years that the king had set for training us young men from Judah were ended, Ashpenaz brought all of us to King Nebuchadnezzar.
19 And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.
The king talked with [each of] us, and realized that none of the other young men were as capable as Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah and I were. So we four became the king’s special advisors/servants.
20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
In all important matters, the king found that what we [four men] advised was ten times as good as what all the magicians and sorcerers/fortune-tellers in his kingdom advised.
21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
I remained [there serving the king more than 60 years], until the first year that Cyrus became king.
