^*In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah ^acame Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. ²^*And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with ^bpart of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried ^cinto the land of Shinar to the house of his god; ^dand he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

³And the king spake unto Ashpenaz ^ethe master of his eunuchs, that he should bring ^*certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of ^fthe princes; ⁴Children in whom was no ^gblemish, but well favoured, and ^hⁱskilful in all wisdom, and cunning in ⁱknowledge, and understanding ⁱ^kscience, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and ^lwhom they might teach ⁱ^mthe learning and the tongue of ⁿthe Chaldeans. ⁵And the king appointed them ⁿⁿa daily provision of ^othe king’s meat, and of ^†the wine which he drank: so nourishing them ^pthree years, that at the end thereof they might ^qstand before the king.

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Footnotes

a 2 Kin. 24:1, 2. 2 Chr. 36:6. Comp. Jer. 25:1.
b Ne. 7:70 (Heb.). So ch. 2:42 (Chald.). Comp. 2 Kin. 24:13. & 25:15. 2 Chr. 36:7, 10. Jer. 27:18. & 52:19. ch. 5:2, 3, 23. Baruch 1:8.
c Zech. 5:11. See Gen. 11:2.
d 2 Chr. 36:7. Ezra 1:7. ch 5:2. Comp. 1 Sam. 5:2.
e Jer. 39:3, 13 (Heb.).
*[Foretold 2 Kin. 20:17, 18.]. Isai. 39:7.
fSee Esther 1:3.
g Job 31:7. So Lev. 24:19, 20.
h Ps. 101:1. ch. 9:13, 22.
iver. 17 (Heb.).
iver. 17 (Heb.).
iver. 17 (Heb.).
kSee Eccles. 10:20.
lComp Acts 7:22.
iver. 17 (Heb.).
mSee Isai. 47:10.
nch. 2:2, 4, 5, 10. & 3:8. & 4:7. & 5:7, 11.
nnSee 2 Chr. 31:16.
oHeb. as ver. 8, 13, 15, 16. ch. 11:26.
†Heb. the wine of his drink. ver. 8, 16.
pComp. ver. 18.
q 1 Kin. 10:8. ver. 19. So ver. 4. ch. 2:2. See Gen. 41:46.

Cross references

*About B.C. 607.
*About B.C. 606.

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In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.

NLTNew Living Translation

During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and some of of the utensils of the temple of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to the treasury of his gods.

And the king ordered Ashpenaz, the commander of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the lords, youths who have no physical defect, and who are handsome, and who are prudent in all wisdom and endowed with knowledge, and who understand insight, and who have the ability in them to serve in the palace of the king. And the king ordered him to teach them the literature and the language of the Chaldeans. And the king assigned to them his daily portion from the fine food of the king, and from the wine that he drank, and instructed that they were to be educated for three years. And at the end of their training, they were to be stationed before the king.