Daniel 1:1–7

Daniel’s Captivity in Babylon

1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim ^aking of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar ^bcking 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. ^dNebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, ^efto the house of his god, ^gand put the vessels in the treasury of his god.

³The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, ^hto bring some of the Israelites from the royal family ⁱand from the nobility— ⁴young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, ^jknowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace ^k—and to teach them the Chaldean language ^land literature. ⁵The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. ^mThey were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court. ^no6Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel, ^pHananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷The chief official gave them other names: he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah. ^q