Daniel 1:1–2:13
Daniel’s Development in the King’s Court
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and ⌊some of⌋a of the utensils of the temple of God,b and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to ⌊the treasury⌋c of his gods.
3 And the king ⌊ordered⌋d Ashpenaz, the commander of his court officials, to bring ⌊some of the Israelites⌋e from ⌊the royal family⌋f and from the lords,g 4 youths who ⌊have no physical defect⌋,h and who are ⌊handsome⌋,i and who are prudentj in all wisdom and ⌊endowed with knowledge⌋,k and who understand insight, and who have the ⌊ability⌋l 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. 5 And the king assigned to them ⌊his daily portion⌋m from the fine food of the king, and from ⌊the wine that he drank⌋,n and instructed that ⌊they were to be educated for three years⌋.o And at the end of their training, ⌊they were to be stationed⌋p ⌊before⌋q the king. 6 Now there was among them ⌊from the Judeans⌋,r Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 And the commander of the court officials gave them names, and he called Daniel, Belteshazzar; and Hananiah, Shadrach; and Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego.
8 Now ⌊Daniel resolved⌋s that he would not defile himself with the fine food of the king, and with ⌊the wine that he drank⌋,t and so he requested from the commander of the court officials permission so that he would not defile himself. 9 And Godu gave Daniel favor and compassion ⌊before⌋v the commander of the court officials, 10 and the commander of the court officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord, the king, who has determined your food and your drink, for ⌊why should⌋w he see your face having a worse appearance than the young men who ⌊are your age⌋?x Then you will endanger my head with the king.” 11 Theny Daniel asked the guardz whom the commander of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us ⌊some of the vegetables⌋,a and let us eat and let us drink water. 13 Thenb let our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the fine food of the king be compared ⌊before you⌋,c and then deal with your servants ⌊according to what you see⌋.”d 14 So he agreed to this proposal with them, and he tested them for ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their appearances appeared better and they were healthier of body than all the young men who were eating the fine food of the king. 16 ⌊So⌋e the guard ⌊continued to withhold⌋f their fine food and the wine of their drink, and he gave themg vegetables.
17 ⌊And as for these four young men⌋,h Godi gave to them knowledge and insight into all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had insight into all visionsj and dreams. 18 And at the end of the time the king had set to bring them, the commander of the court officials brought them in ⌊before⌋k Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, ⌊and among all of them no one was found like⌋l Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; then they stood ⌊before⌋m the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired from them, he found them ten times better than all of the magiciansn and conjurerso that ⌊were in his entire kingdom⌋.p 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of Cyrus the king.
2 Nowa in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 So the king said to call the magiciansb and the conjurersc and the sorcerers and the ⌊astrologers⌋d to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood ⌊before⌋e the king. 3 And the king said to them, “⌊I have had a dream⌋f and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
4 And the ⌊astrologers⌋g said to the king in Aramaic,h “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation.” 5 The king answered and said to the ⌊astrologers⌋,i “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its explanation,j then you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins. 6 But if you tell me the dream and its explanation, you will receive gifts and rewardsk and great honor from me. Therefore, tell me the dream and its explanation.”l 7 They answered once more and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will make the explanation known.” 8 The king answered and said, “⌊Certainly⌋m I know that ⌊you are trying to gain time⌋n ⌊because⌋o you have seen ⌊that this matter is firmly decreed by me⌋,p 9 for if you do not make the dream known to me, ⌊your verdict is fixed⌋,q and you have conspired to say a lying and deceitful word to me until the ⌊circumstances⌋r will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation.” 10 The ⌊astrologers⌋s answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; ⌊in fact⌋,t no great and powerful king has ever asked a thing like this of any magicianu or conjurerv or ⌊astrologer⌋.w 11 And the thing that the king is asking is too difficult and ⌊there is no one who⌋x can reveal it to the king except the gods ⌊whose dwelling is not with mortals⌋.”y
12 Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said that all the wise men of Babylon are to be destroyed. 13 And the decree was issued, and the wise men ⌊were on the verge of being executed⌋,z and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed.