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;
In the third year of the rule of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, shutting it in with his forces.
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.
And the Lord gave into his hands Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he took them away into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he put the vessels into the store-house 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, )
And the king gave orders to Ashpenaz, the captain of his unsexed servants, to take in some of the children of Israel, certain of the king's family, and those of high birth;
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.
Young men who were strong and healthy, good-looking, and trained in all wisdom, having a good education and much knowledge, and able to take positions in the king's house; and to have them trained in the writing and language of the Chaldaeans.
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.
And a regular amount of food and wine every day from the king's table was ordered for them by the king; and they were to be cared for for three years so that at the end of that time they might take their places before the king.
6 And there are among them out of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
And among these there were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
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.
And the captain of the unsexed servants gave them names; to Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar, to Hananiah the name of Shadrach, to Mishael the name of Meshach, and to Azariah the name of Abed-nego.
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.
And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean.
9 And God giveth Daniel for kindness and for mercies before the chief of the eunuchs;
And God put into the heart of the captain of the unsexed servants kind feelings and pity for Daniel.
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,'
And the captain of the unsexed servants said to Daniel, I am in fear of my lord the king, who has given orders about your food and your drink; what if he sees you looking less happy than the other young men of your generation? then you would have put my head in danger from the king.
11 And Daniel saith unto the Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs hath appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Then Daniel said to the keeper in whose care the captain of the unsexed servants had put 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;
Put your servants to the test for ten days; let them give us grain for our food and water for our drink.
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.'
Then take a look at our faces and the faces of the young men who have food from the king's table; and, having seen them, do to your servants as it seems right to you.
14 And he hearkeneth to them, to this word, and trieth them ten days:
So he gave ear to them in this thing and put them to the test 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.
And at the end of ten days their faces seemed fairer and they were fatter in flesh than all the young men who had their food from the king's table.
16 And the Meltzar is taking away their portion of food, and the wine of their drink, and is giving to them vegetables.
So the keeper regularly took away their meat and the wine which was to have been their drink, and gave them grain.
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.
Now as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and made them expert in all book-learning and wisdom: and Daniel was wise in all 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.
Now at the end of the time fixed by the king for them to go in, the captain of the unsexed servants took them in to 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;
And the king had talk with them; and among them all there was no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were given places before the king.
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.
And in any business needing wisdom and good sense, about which the king put questions to them, he saw that they were ten times better than all the wonder-workers and users of secret arts in all his kingdom.
21 And Daniel is unto the first year of Cyrus the king.
And Daniel went on till the first year of King Cyrus.
