Daniel Taken to Babylon

1 During the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah [^C605 bc], Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [^Cruled 605–562 bc] came to Jerusalem and ·surrounded it with his army [besieged/^Lpressed it]. ² The Lord ·allowed Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jehoiakim king of Judah [^Lgave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand; ^CGod was in control, not Nebuchadnezzar]. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the ·things [articles; utensils; ^Ccups, forks, and other items used in ritual; 5:2–4; Ex. 27:9; 30:27; 31:8–9; Ezra 1:9–11] from the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God, which he carried to ·Babylonia [^Lthe land of Shinar] and put in the ·temple [^Lhouse of the treasury] of his ·gods [or god; ^Cprobably Marduk, the chief god of Babylon].

³ Then King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, ·his chief officer [or the chief of his eunuchs], to bring some of the ·men of Judah into his palace. He wanted them to be from important families, including the family of the king of Judah [^L…sons of Israel, from the royal family and from the nobility]. ⁴ King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only ·young Israelite men [^Lchildren] who had ·nothing wrong with them [^Lno blemish; 2 Sam. 14:25; Song 4:4]. They were to be ·handsome [^Lof good appearance] and ·well educated [^Lskilled in all wisdom], ·capable of learning [^Lknowing knowledge] and understanding, and able to ·serve [^Lstand] in his palace [Gen. 41:33]. Ashpenaz was to teach them the language and ·writings [literature] of the ·Babylonians [^LChaldeans; ^Cprobably Akkadian and Aramaic; the literature would include myths and legends as well as divination texts]. ⁵ The king ·gave the young men [^Lallotted/assigned to them] ·a certain amount of food and wine every day, just like the food he ate [^La daily ration of the royal food and wine he drank]. The young men were to be ·trained [educated] for three years, and then they would ·become servants of the king of Babylon [^Lstand before the king]. ⁶ Among those young men were Daniel [^C“God is my judge”], Hananiah [^C“The Lord is gracious to me”], Mishael [^C“Who is like God”], and Azariah [^C“The Lord is my helper”] from the ·people [^Lsons] of Judah.

⁷ Ashpenaz, the chief ·officer [or of the eunuchs], gave them names [^CBabylonian, that is Akkadian, names]. Daniel’s new name was Belteshazzar, Hananiah’s was Shadrach, Mishael’s was Meshach, and Azariah’s was Abednego [^Cthe new names praised Babylonian gods].

⁸ Daniel ·decided [^Lset his heart] not to eat the king’s food or drink his wine because that would ·defile [contaminate] him [^Cperhaps would make him ritually unclean, but more likely because he depended on God to sustain him]. So he ·asked [sought] ·Ashpenaz [^Lthe chief officer/or of the eunuchs] for permission not to ·defile [contaminate] himself in this way.

⁹ God made Ashpenaz, the chief ·officer [or of the eunuchs], want to be ·kind [loving] and ·merciful [gracious] to Daniel, ¹⁰ but ·Ashpenaz [^Lthe chief officer/or of the eunuchs] said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my master, the king. He ·ordered me to give you this [^Lallotted/assigned your] food and drink. If you begin to look ·worse [thinner] than other ·young men [children; youth] your age, the king will see this. Then ·he will cut off my head because of you [^Lyou will forfeit my head to the king].”

¹¹ Daniel spoke to the ·guard [or attendant; steward] whom the chief ·officer [or of the eunuchs] had ·appointed [allotted/assigned] over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please give us this test for ten days: Don’t give us anything but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare how we look with how the other ·young men [children; youth] look who eat the king’s ·food [rations]. See for yourself and then decide how you want to treat us, your servants.”

¹⁴ So the ·guard [or attendant; steward] ·agreed to test [^Llistened to them on this matter and tested] them for ten days. ¹⁵ After ten days they looked healthier and ·better fed [^Ltheir flesh was fatter] than all the ·young men [children; youths] who ate the king’s ·food [rations]. ¹⁶ So the ·guard [or attendant; steward] took away the king’s special food and wine, feeding them vegetables instead.

¹⁷ God gave these four ·young men [children; youths] ·wisdom [knowledge] and ·the ability to learn many things that people had written and studied [insight into wisdom and literature]. Daniel could also understand visions and dreams.

¹⁸ At the end of the ·time [^Ldays] ·set for them by the king [^Lwhich the king said to bring them; v. 5], ·Ashpenaz [^Lthe chief officer/or of the eunuchs] brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked to them and found that none of the young men were ·as good as [^Llike] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So ·those four young men became the king’s servants [^Lthey stood before the king]. ²⁰ Every time the king ·asked them about [^Lsought from them] something important, they showed much wisdom and understanding. They were ten times better than all the ·magicians [enchanters] and ·fortune-tellers [diviners] in his kingdom! ²¹ So Daniel ·continued to be the king’s servant [was there] until the first year Cyrus was king.