Daniel 1:8–16

Faithfulness in Babylon

⁸Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food ^ror with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. ^s9God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, ^t10yet he said to Daniel, “My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I’m afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life ^uwith the king.”

¹¹So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹²“Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then 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.” ¹⁴He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. ¹⁵At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier ^vthan all the young men who were eating the king’s food. ^w16So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.