Daniel 1:3–13

3 The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal familye and from the nobility—4 young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom,f knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace.g He was to teach them the Chaldean languageh and literature. 5 The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank.i They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.D,j 6 Among them, from the Judahites, were Daniel,k Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief eunuch gave them names; he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.l

FAITHFULNESS IN BABYLON

8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s foodm or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.n 9 God had granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch,o 10 yet he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men your age? You would endanger my lifeE with the king.”

11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.”