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The Choice Young Men

¹ In the third year of the reign of ^(C1)Jehoiakim king of Judah, ^(C2)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.² And the ^(C1)Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the ^(C2)vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of ^(C3)Shinar, to the house of his ^(F1)god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his ^(F1)(C4)god.

³ Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his ^(F1)officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ^(F2)royal ^(C1)family and of the nobles,⁴ youths in whom there was ^(C1)no impairment, who were good-looking, suitable for ^(C2)instruction in every kind of expertise, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to ^(F1)serve in the king's ^(F2)court; and he ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the ^(F3)literature and ^(C3)language of the ^(C4)Chaldeans.⁵ The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the ^(C1)king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and ordered that they be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to ^(F1)(C2)enter the king's personal service.⁶ Now among them from the sons of Judah were ^(C1)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.⁷ Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name ^(C1)Belteshazzar, to Hananiah ^(C2)Shadrach, to Mishael ^(C2)Meshach, and to Azariah ^(C2)Abed-nego.

Daniel's Resolve

⁸ But Daniel ^(F1)made up his mind that he would not ^(C1)defile himself with the ^(C2)king's choice food or with the ^(C3)wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.⁹ Now God granted Daniel ^(C1)favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials.¹⁰ The commander of the officials said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has allotted your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking gaunt in comparison to the youths who are your own age? Then you would ^(F1)make me forfeit my head to the king."¹¹ But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,¹² "Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be ^(C1)given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.¹³ "Then let our appearance be ^(F1)examined in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king's choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see."

¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and put them to the test for ten days.¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed ^(C1)better, and ^(F1)they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice food.¹⁶ So the overseer continued to ^(F1)withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept ^(C1)giving them vegetables.

¹⁷ And as for these four youths, ^(C1)God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of ^(F1)literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of ^(C2)visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Then at the end of the days which the king had ^(F1)specified ^(F2)for presenting them, the commander of the officials ^(F3)presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.¹⁹ And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like ^(C1)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they ^(F1)(C2)entered the king's personal service.²⁰ As for every matter of ^(C1)expertise ^(F1)and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ^(C2)ten times ^(C3)better than all the ^(C4)soothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm.²¹ And Daniel ^(F1)continued until the ^(C1)first year of Cyrus the king.