DanielChapter 1

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¹Jehoiakim was king of Judah. In the third year of his rule, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He surrounded the city to attack it. ²The Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him. He also gave him some of the things from God's house. Nebuchadnezzar took these things away to the land of Shinar. He brought them to the temple of his god. He put them in the treasure house of his god. ³Then the king gave an order to Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials. He told him to bring in some young men from Israel. They were to come from the royal family and from the noble families. ⁴They had to be young men with no flaws, and good-looking. They had to be wise in every way, know a lot, and learn quickly. They had to be fit to serve in the king's palace. Ashpenaz was to teach them the language and the writings of the Chaldeans. ⁵The king gave them a share of his own food and wine each day. They were to be trained for three years. After that, they would go to work for the king. ⁶Some of these young men were from Judah. They were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷The chief official gave them new names. He named Daniel Belteshazzar. He named Hananiah Shadrach. He named Mishael Meshach. And he named Azariah Abednego. ⁸But Daniel made up his mind not to make himself unclean with the king's food or wine. So he asked the chief official to let him stay clean. ⁹Now God had caused the chief official to be kind to Daniel and to care about him. ¹⁰But the official said to Daniel, "I'm afraid of my master the king. He's the one who chose your food and drink. What if he sees that your faces look thinner than the other young men your age? You would put my head in danger with the king!" ¹¹The chief official had put a steward in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel spoke to this steward. ¹²He said, "Please test us, your servants, for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then compare how we look with the young men who eat the king's food. After that, treat us your servants based on what you see." ¹⁴So the steward agreed. He 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 fine food and the wine they were supposed to drink. He gave them vegetables instead. ¹⁷God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding. They understood every kind of writing and wisdom. And Daniel could understand all kinds of visions and dreams. ¹⁸The king had set a time for the training to end. When that time came, the chief official brought all the young men to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹The king talked with them. He found no one as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they went to work for the king. ²⁰The king asked them about many things that needed wisdom and understanding. Each time, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and spell-casters in his whole kingdom. ²¹And Daniel stayed there until the first year of King Cyrus.