Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem and surrounded the city to cut off all supplies to 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 The Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar victory over Jehoiakim king of Judah, and he gave him some of the sacred objects from the house of God. He brought them into the land of Babylonia, to the house of his god, and he placed the sacred objects in his god's treasury.
[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 The king spoke to Ashpenaz, his chief official, to bring in some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of 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, attractive in appearance, skillful in all wisdom, filled with knowledge and understanding, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the Babylonians' literature and language.
[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 counted out for them a daily portion of his delicacies and some of the wine that he drank. These young men were to be trained for three years, and after that, they would serve the king.
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 were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, some of the people of Judah.
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 names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called 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 intended in his mind that he would not pollute himself with the king's delicacies or with the wine that he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official that he might not pollute 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 gave Daniel favor and compassion through the respect that the chief official had for him.
God had caused Ashpenaz to greatly respect me,
10 The chief official said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my master the king. He has commanded what food and drink you should have. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men of your own age? The king might have my head because of you.”
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 spoke to the steward whom the chief official had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Ashpenaz had ordered a guard to watch me, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12 He said, “Please test us, your servants, for ten days. Give us only some 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 appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the king's delicacies, and treat us, your servants, based on 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 the steward agreed with him to do this, and he tested them for ten days.
The guard agreed to do what I suggested, and he tested us like that for ten days.
15 At the end of ten days their appearance was more healthy, and they were better nourished, than all the young men who ate the king's delicacies.
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 took away their delicacies and their wine and gave them only vegetables.
So after that, the guard gave us [only] vegetables to eat; he did not give us the king’s special food and wine.
17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and insight in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel could understand 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 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official brought them in before 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 The king spoke with them, and among the whole group there were none to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They stood before the king, ready to serve him.
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 question of wisdom and understanding that the king asked them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and those who claimed to speak with the dead, who were 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 Daniel was 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.
