Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has come to Jerusalem, and lays siege against it;
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 and the Lord gives into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, and some of the vessels of the house of God, and he brings them in [to] the land of Shinar, [to] the house of his god, and the vessels he has brought in [to] the treasure-house of his god.
And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim the king of Judah and a portion of the vessels of the house of God. And he carried them away into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasure chamber of his god.
3 And the king says, to Ashpenaz master of his eunuchs, to bring in out of the sons of Israel (even of the royal seed, and of the chiefs),
And the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the sons of Israel, and some of the offspring of the king and of the sovereigns:
4 boys in whom there is no blemish, and of good appearance, and skillful in all wisdom, and possessing knowledge, and teaching thought, and who have ability to stand in the palace of the king, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
young men, in whom there was no blemish, noble in appearance, and accomplished in all wisdom, cautious in knowledge, and well-educated, and who could stand in the palace of the king, so that he might teach them the letters and the language of the Chaldeans.
5 And the king appoints for them a rate, day by day, of the king’s portion of food, and of the wine of his drinking, so as to nourish them three years, that at the end thereof they may stand before the king.
And the king appointed for them provisions for each day, from his own food and from the wine which he himself drank, so that, after being nourished for three years, they would stand in the sight of the king.
6 And there are among them out of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Now, among those of the sons of Judah, there were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 and the chief of the eunuchs sets names on them, and he sets on Daniel, Belteshazzar; and on Hananiah, Shadrach; and on Mishael, Meshach; and on Azariah, Abed-Nego.
And the chief of the eunuchs assigned names to them: to Daniel, Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 And Daniel purposes in his heart that he will not defile himself with the king’s portion of food, and with the wine of his drinking, and he seeks of the chief of the eunuchs that he may not defile himself.
But Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not be polluted with the king’s meal, nor with the wine he drank, and he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not be contaminated.
9 And God gives Daniel for kindness and for mercies before the chief of the eunuchs;
And so God gave Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the leader of the eunuchs.
10 and the chief of the eunuchs says to Daniel, “I am fearing my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink, for why does he see your faces sadder than [those of] the boys which [are] of your circle? Then you have made my head indebted to the king,”
And the leader of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed food and drink for you, who, if he should see that your faces are leaner than those of the other youths your age, you would condemn my head to the king.”
11 And Daniel says to the Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs has appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the leader of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 “Please try your servants [for] ten days; and they give to us from the vegetables and we eat, and water, and we drink;
“I beg you to test us, your servants, for ten days, and let roots be given to us to eat and water to drink,
13 and our appearance is seen before you, and the appearance of the boys who are eating the king’s portion of food, and as you see—deal with your servants.”
and then observe our faces, and the faces of the children who eat the king’s food, and then deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14 And he listens to them, to this word, and tries them ten days:
When he had heard these words, he tested them for ten days.
15 and at the end of ten days their appearance has appeared better and fatter in flesh then any of the boys who are eating the king’s portion of food.
But, after ten days, their faces appeared better and fatter than all the children who had eaten from the king’s food.
16 And the Meltzar is taking away their portion of food, and the wine of their drink, and is giving to them vegetables.
Thereafter, Malasar took away their portions and their wine for drinking, and he gave them roots.
17 As for these four boys, God has given to them knowledge and understanding in every [kind of] literature, and wisdom; and Daniel has given instruction about every [kind of] vision and dreams.
Yet, to these children, God gave knowledge and instruction in every book, and wisdom, but to Daniel, also the understanding of all visions and dreams.
18 And at the end of the days that the king had said to bring them in, the chief of the eunuchs brings them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
And when the time was completed, after which the king had said that they would be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before the sight of Nebuchadnezzar.
19 And the king speaks with them, and there has not been found among them all like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and they stand before the king;
And, when the king conversed with them, there had not been found any so great in all the world as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and so they stood in the sight of the king.
20 and [in] any matter of wisdom [and] understanding that the king has sought of them, he finds them ten hands above all the enchanters, the conjurers, who [are] in all his kingdom.
And in every concept of wisdom and understanding, about which the king consulted with them, he found them to be ten times better than all the seers and astrologers put together, who were in his entire kingdom.
21 And Daniel is to the first year of Cyrus the king.
And so Daniel remained, even until the first year of king Cyrus.
