Daniel 1:1–2:4

The Choice Young Men

1 In the third year of the reign of aJehoiakim king of Judah, bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

2 The aLord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the bvessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of cShinar, to the house of his 1god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his 1 dgod.

3 Then the king 1ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his 2officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the 3royal afamily and of the nobles,

4 youths in whom was ano defect, who were good-looking, showing bintelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for 1serving in the king’s 2court; and he ordered him to teach them the 3literature and clanguage of the dChaldeans.

5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the aking’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be 1educated three years, at the end of which they were to 2 benter the king’s personal service.

6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name aBelteshazzar, to Hananiah bShadrach, to Mishael bMeshach and to Azariah bAbed-nego.

Daniel’s Resolve

8 But Daniel 1made up his mind that he would not adefile himself with the bking’s choice food or with the cwine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.

9 Now God granted Daniel 1 afavor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,

10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would 1make me forfeit my head to the king.”

11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,

12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be agiven some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

13 “Then let our appearance be 1observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of ten days their appearance seemed abetter and 1they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food.

16 So the overseer continued to 1withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept agiving them vegetables.

17 As for these four youths, aGod gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of 1literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of bvisions and dreams.

18 Then at the end of the days which the king had 1specified 2for presenting them, the commander of the officials 3presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.

19 The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they 1 bentered the king’s personal service.

20 As for every matter of awisdom 1and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them bten times cbetter than all the 2 dmagicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.

21 And Daniel 1continued until the afirst year of Cyrus the king.

Chapter 2

The King’s Forgotten Dream

1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar 1 ahad dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his bsleep 2left him.

2 Then the king 1gave orders to call in the 2 amagicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the 3Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

3 The king said to them, “I 1 ahad a dream and my spirit 2is anxious to 3understand the dream.”

4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in 1 aAramaic: “bO king, live forever! cTell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”

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a	2 Ki 24:1 2 Ch 36:5 2 Ch 36:6
b	Je 25:1 Je 52:12 Je 52:28–30
a	Is 42:24 Da 2:37 Da 2:38
b	2 Ch 36:7 Je 27:19 Je 27:20 Da 5:2
c	Ge 10:10 Ge 11:2 Is 11:11 Zec 5:11
1	Or gods
d	Je 50:2 Je 51:44
1	Or said to
2	Or eunuchs, and so throughout the ch
3	Lit seed of the
a	2 Ki 24:15 Is 39:7
a	2 Sa 14:25
b	Da 1:17
1	Lit standing
2	Lit palace
3	Or writing
c	Is 36:11 Je 5:15 Da 2:4
d	Da 2:2 Da 2:4 Da 2:5 Da 2:10 Da 3:8 Da 4:7 Da 5:7 Da 5:11 Da 5:30 Da 9:1
a	Da 1:8
1	Or reared
2	Lit stand before the king
b	1 Sa 16:22 Da 1:19
a	Eze 14:14 Eze 14:20 Eze 28:3 Mt 24:15
a	Da 2:26 Da 4:8 Da 5:12
b	Da 2:49 Da 3:12
1	Lit set upon his heart
a	Le 11:47 Eze 4:13 Eze 4:14 Ho 9:3 Ho 9:4
b	Ps 141:4 Da 1:5
c	Dt 32:38 Da 5:4
1	Lit lovingkindness
a	Ge 39:21 1 Ki 8:50 Job 5:15 Job 5:16 Ps 106:46 Pr 16:7
1	Lit make my head guilty
a	Da 1:16
1	Lit seen
a	Ex 23:25 Pr 10:22
1	Lit fat of flesh
1	Lit take away
a	Da 1:12
a	1 Ki 3:12 1 Ki 3:28 Job 32:8 Da 1:20 Da 2:21 Da 2:23 Ac 7:22
1	Or writing
b	Da 2:19 Da 7:1 Da 8:1
1	Lit said
2	Lit to bring them in
3	Lit brought in
a	Da 1:6 Da 1:7
1	Lit stood before the king
b	Ge 41:46 Da 1:5
a	1 Ki 4:30 1 Ki 4:31 Da 1:17
1	Lit of
b	Ge 31:7 Nu 14:22 Ne 4:12 Job 19:3
c	Da 2:27 Da 2:28 Da 2:46 Da 2:48
2	Or soothsayer priests
d	Is 19:3 Da 2:2 Da 4:18 Da 5:7
1	Lit was until
a	Da 6:28 Da 10:1
1	Lit dreamed dreams
a	Ge 40:5–8 Ge 41:1 Ge 41:8 Job 33:15–17 Da 2:3 Da 4:5
b	Es 6:1 Da 6:18
2	Lit was gone upon him
1	Lit said to call
2	Or soothsayer priests
a	Ge 41:8 Ex 7:11 Is 47:12 Is 47:13 Da 1:20 Da 2:10 Da 2:27 Da 4:6 Da 5:7
3	Or master astrologers, and so throughout the ch
1	Lit dreamed
a	Ge 40:8 Ge 41:15 Da 4:5
2	Lit was troubled
3	Lit know
1	The text is in Aramaic from here through 7:28
a	Ezr 4:7 Is 36:11
b	Da 3:9 Da 5:10
c	Da 2:7