Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, come hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and layeth siege against it;
During the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem and surrounded it.
2 and the Lord giveth into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, and some of the vessels of the house of God, and he bringeth them in [to] the land of Shinar, [to] the house of his god, and the vessels he hath brought in [to] the treasure-house of his god.
The Lord allowed him to defeat King Jehoiakim, and also to remove some of the objects used in the Temple of God. He took them back to Babylon, to the house of his god, placing them in the treasury of his god.
3 And the king saith, to Ashpenaz master of his eunuchs, to bring in out of the sons of Israel, (even of the royal seed, and of the chiefs, )
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to take charge of some of the captured Israelites from the royal and noble families,
4 lads in whom there is no blemish, and of good appearance, and skilful in all wisdom, and possessing knowledge, and teaching thought, and who have ability to stand in the palace of the king, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
“They are to be young men without any physical defect who are good-looking,” he said. “They must be well-educated, quick to learn, have good insight, and be well able to serve in the king's palace and be taught the literature and language of Babylon.”
5 And the king doth appoint for them a rate, day by day, of the king's portion of food, and of the wine of his drinking, so as to nourish them three years, that at the end thereof they may stand before the king.
The king also provided them with a daily allowance of the same kind of rich food and wine he was served. At the end of their three years of education they would enter the king's service.
6 And there are among them out of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Among those chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah.
7 and the chief of the eunuchs setteth names on them, and he setteth on Daniel, Belteshazzar; and on Hananiah, Shadrach; and on Mishael, Meshach; and on Azariah, Abed-Nego.
The chief eunuch gave them new names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
8 And Daniel purposeth in his heart that he will not pollute himself with the king's portion of food, and with the wine of his drinking, and he seeketh of the chief of the eunuchs that he may not pollute himself.
However, Daniel made up his mind not to make himself impure by eating the king's rich food and wine. He asked the chief eunuch to allow him not to make himself impure.
9 And God giveth Daniel for kindness and for mercies before the chief of the eunuchs;
God had helped Daniel to be viewed with kindness and sympathy by the chief eunuch.
10 and the chief of the eunuchs saith to Daniel, 'I am fearing my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink, for why doth he see your faces sadder than [those of] the lads which [are] of your circle? then ye have made my head indebted to the king,'
But the chief eunuch told Daniel, “I'm afraid of what my lord the king would do to me. He's the one who decided what you should eat and drink. What if he were to see you looking pale and sickly compared to the other young men of your age. Because of you the king would have my head!”
11 And Daniel saith unto the Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs hath appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Daniel then spoke with the guard that the chief eunuch had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12 'Try, I pray thee, thy servants, ten days; and they give to us of the vegetables, and we eat, and water, and we drink;
“Please put us, your servants, to the test and just give us vegetables to eat and water to drink for ten days,” Daniel told him.
13 and our appearance is seen before thee, and the appearance of the lads who are eating the king's portion of food, and as thou seest — deal with thy servants.'
“After that, compare us with those young men who ate the king's rich food. Then decide on the basis of what you see.”
14 And he hearkeneth to them, to this word, and trieth them ten days:
The guard agreed to the proposal they made and tested them for ten days.
15 and at the end of ten days their appearance hath appeared better and fatter in flesh then any of the lads who are eating the king's portion of food.
When the ten days were up they looked healthier and better fed than all the young men who had eaten the king's rich food.
16 And the Meltzar is taking away their portion of food, and the wine of their drink, and is giving to them vegetables.
After that the guard didn't give them the rich food and wine, just vegetables.
17 As to these four lads, God hath given to them knowledge and understanding in every [kind of] literature, and wisdom; and Daniel hath given instruction about every [kind of] vision and dreams.
God gave these four young men the ability to learn and understand in all areas of literature and knowledge, while Daniel was also given the gift of interpreting all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 And at the end of the days that the king had said to bring them in, bring them in doth the chief of the eunuchs before Nebuchadnezzar.
When their time of education ordered by the king was over, the chief eunuch brought all the young men before King Nebuchadnezzar.
19 And the king speaketh with them, and there hath none been found among them all like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and they stand before the king;
The king talked with them and none could compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king's service.
20 and [in] any matter of wisdom [and] understanding that the king hath sought of them, he findeth them ten hands above all the scribes, the enchanters, who [are] in all his kingdom.
Whatever subject the king asked them about, everything that required wisdom of understanding, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
21 And Daniel is unto the first year of Cyrus the king.
Daniel remained in this position until the first year of King Cyrus' reign.
