1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it.
2And the Lord gave into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and the vessels he brought to the treasure house of his god.
3And the king said to Ashpenaz, the chief of his eunuchs, to bring some of the sons of Israel, both from the royal offspring and from the nobles—
4young men in whom there was no blemish, good in appearance, and skilled in all wisdom, and knowing knowledge, and understanding insight, and who had the ability to stand in the palace of the king—and to teach them the writing and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
5And the king assigned them a daily portion, day by day, from the king’s rich food and from the wine of his drinking, and to raise them for three years, so that at their end they might stand before the king.
6Now among these, from the sons of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7And the chief of the eunuchs assigned them names: to Daniel he assigned Belteshazzar, to Hananiah, Shadrach, to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego.
8But Daniel set upon his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s rich food or with the wine of his drinking; so he sought from the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9And God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the chief of the eunuchs.
10And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men your own age? Then you would make my head guilty before the king.”
11Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12“Test your servants, please, for ten days: let them give us some of the vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the king’s rich food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.
15And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who were eating the king’s rich food.
16So the steward continued to carry off their rich food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all writing and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in every vision and dream.
18And at the end of the days that the king had said to bring them in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.
19And the king spoke with them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they stood before the king.
20And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his kingdom.
21And Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.
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