Daniel 1

1In the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign as king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2The Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. He carried them off to the land of Shinar, to the temple of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief court officer, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility, 4young men without any defect, good-looking, skilled in every kind of wisdom, well informed and quick to learn, 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 ration from the royal food and from the wine he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. 6Among these, from the people of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7The chief court officer gave them new names: he called Daniel Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego. 8But Daniel resolved not to make himself unclean with the royal food or with the wine the king drank, and he asked the chief court officer for permission not to make himself unclean. 9Now God had caused the chief court officer to show Daniel kindness and compassion. 10But the chief court officer said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king. He is the one who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees that you look worse than the other young men your age? You would put my head at risk with the king.” 11So Daniel spoke to the guard whom the chief court officer 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 royal food, and then treat your servants in the light of what you see.” 14So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16So the guard took away the royal food and the wine they were supposed to drink, and gave them vegetables instead. 17To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every kind of 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 court officer presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king talked with them, and among them all there was no one like 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 wiser than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. 21And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.