³The king told Ashpenaz, the chief-of-staff, to bring some of the Israelites, the royal family, and the nobility. ⁴They were to be young men who were healthy, good-looking, knowledgeable in all subjects, well-informed, intelligent, and able to serve in the king’s palace. They were to be taught the language and literature of the Babylonians.

⁵The king arranged for them to get a daily allowance of the king’s rich food and wine. They were to be trained for three years. After that, they were to serve the king. ⁶Among these young men were some Judeans: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷The chief-of-staff gave them ⸤Babylonian⸥ names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar. To Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach. To Mishael he gave the name Meshach. And to Azariah he gave the name Abednego.

⁸Daniel made up his mind not to harm himself by eating the king’s rich food and drinking the king’s wine. So he asked the chief-of-staff for permission not to harm himself in this way.

⁹God made the chief-of-staff kind and compassionate toward Daniel. ¹⁰The chief-of-staff told Daniel, “I’m afraid of my master, the king. The king determined what you should eat and drink. If he sees that you look worse than the other young men your age, he would have my head cut off.”

¹¹The chief-of-staff put a supervisor in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel said to the supervisor, ¹²“Please test us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then compare us to the young men who are eating the king’s rich food. Decide how to treat us on the basis of how we look.”

¹⁴The supervisor listened to them about this matter and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵After ten days they looked healthier and stronger than the young men who had been eating the king’s rich food. ¹⁶So the supervisor took away the king’s rich food and wine and gave them vegetables.

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