Daniel 1
New Catholic Bible
Edifying Accounts: The Acts of Daniel and His Companions[a]
Daniel and His Companions Trained for the King’s Service
Chapter 1
The Food Test.[b] 1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched into Jerusalem and laid siege to it.[c] 2 The Lord allowed King Jehoiakim of Judah to fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the temple of God, which he carried off to the land of Shinar and placed in the temple treasury of his own god.
3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring into the palace some Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility; 4 young men who were handsome and without physical defects of any kind, possessing an aptitude for every branch of knowledge and with great insight, clearly showing the necessary competence to serve in the king’s palace. Those so chosen were to be instructed in the language and the literature of the Chaldeans.
5 The king designated a daily allotment of food and wine from the royal table for them. After having been educated for three years, they would enter the king’s service. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief eunuch assigned them different names: Daniel would be called Belteshazzar, Hananiah would be called Shadrach, Mishael would be called Meshach, and Azariah would be called Abednego.
8 However, Daniel was determined not to defile himself by partaking of food and wine from the royal table, and he pleaded with the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement. 9 God influenced the eunuch to grant this favor and to treat Daniel with compassion. 10 However, the eunuch said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king. He has specifically designated what food and drink are to be supplied to you. If he should notice that you appear to be notably thinner than the other young men of your age, he would probably issue a command that I be beheaded.”
11 Then Daniel said to the guard whom the eunuch had assigned to supervise Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for a period of ten days, during which we will be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 You can then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat only the food designated by the king. Then deal with your servants and treat us in accordance with what you observe.”
14 The guard agreed to this proposal and tested them for a period of ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked better nourished and healthier than any of the young men who had subsisted solely on the food provided by the king. 16 Therefore, the guard continued to withdraw the food and the wine they were to drink, and he provided them with vegetables. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and learning. In addition, Daniel was given the gift of interpreting visions and dreams of every kind.
18 When the time arrived that the king had designated for their presentation to him, the eunuch brought all the young men into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar. 19 After the king had spoken with all of them, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, all four of them were appointed to the king’s court. 20 In regard to whatever point of wisdom or understanding the king would question them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters throughout his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.[d]
Footnotes
- Daniel 1:1 Instead of simply asserting truths, the sacred author illustrates these with stories that contain lessons. On the basis of his rather inaccurate knowledge of history, he imagines some young Jewish men at a pagan court, in the setting of the Babylonian and Persian regimes; these young men do not lack physical gifts, education, courage, and, above all, faith. Among these a certain Daniel stands out.
- Daniel 1:1 A well-told little incident that encourages Jews to remain faithful to the law of Moses: let them refuse to adopt the pagan customs that Antiochus wants to impose on them. God will reward their fidelity (see 2 Mac 6:18; 7:42).
- Daniel 1:1 The verse combines two expeditions of Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem, one in the third year of his reign (605 B.C.), the other in 598–597 B.C., when he captured the city and took away its sacred vessels. He also took away King Jehoiachin, who had very recently succeeded Jehoiakim; it was against the latter, who had rebelled, that the king of Babylon had been moving (see 2 Ki 24:1, 10-16; 2 Chr 36:5-10).
- Daniel 1:21 The first year of the reign of King Cyrus: that is, 539 B.C., the year of Cyrus’s conquest of Babylon.
Daniel 1
Complete Jewish Bible
1 In the third year of the reign of Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah, N’vukhadnetzar king of Bavel came to Yerushalayim and laid siege to it; 2 and Adonai handed Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah over to him, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He took them to the land of Shin‘ar, to the house of his god and placed the articles in the storehouse of his god.
3 The king ordered Ashp’naz, the eunuch serving as his chief officer, to bring into the palace from the people of Isra’el some of royal or noble descent. 4 They were to be boys without physical defect, handsome in appearance, versed in all kinds of wisdom, quick to learn, discerning, and having the capacity to serve in the king’s palace; and he was to teach them the language and literature of the Kasdim. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of his own food and the wine he drank, and they were to be cared for in this way for three years. At the end of this time they were to become the king’s attendants.
6 Among these, from the people of Y’hudah, were Dani’el, Hananyah, Misha’el and ‘Azaryah. 7 The chief officer gave them other names — to Dani’el he gave the name Belt’shatzar; to Hananyah, Shadrakh; to Misha’el, Meishakh; and to ‘Azaryah, ‘Aved-N’go.
8 But Dani’el resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or the wine he drank, so he asked the chief officer to be excused from defiling himself. 9 God caused the chief officer to be kind and sympathetic toward Dani’el; 10 however, the chief officer said to Dani’el, “I’m afraid of my lord the king. After all, he has given you an allowance of food and drink; so if he were to see you boys looking worse than the others your age, you would be putting my own head in danger from the king.”
11 Then Dani’el said to the guard whom the chief officer had put in charge of Dani’el, Hananyah, Misha’el and ‘Azaryah, 12 “Please! Try an experiment on your servants — for ten days have them give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then see how we look, and compare us with how the boys who eat the king’s food look; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 He agreed to do what they had asked and gave them a ten-day test. 15 At the end of ten days they looked better and more robust than all the boys who were eating the king’s food. 16 So the guard took away their food and the wine they were supposed to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17 To these four boys God had given knowledge and skill in every aspect of learning and wisdom; moreover, Dani’el could understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 When the time the king had set for them to be presented came, the chief officer presented them to N’vukhadnetzar; 19 and when the king spoke with them, none was found among all of them to compare with Dani’el, Hananyah, Misha’el and ‘Azaryah. So they entered the king’s service; 20 and in all matters requiring wisdom and understanding, whenever the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and exorcists in his entire kingdom.
21 So Dani’el remained there until the first year of King Koresh.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.