Dual Panel1In the third <07969> year <08141> of the reign <04438> of King <04428> Jehoiakim <03079> of Judah <03063>, King <04428> Nebuchadnezzar <05019> of Babylon <0894> advanced <0935> against Jerusalem <03389> and laid it under siege <06696>.
2Now the Lord <0136> delivered <05414> King <04428> Jehoiakim <03079> of Judah <03063> into his power <03027>, along with some <07117> of the vessels <03627> of the temple <01004> of God <0430>. He brought <0935> them to the land <0776> of Babylonia <08152> to the temple <01004> of his god <0430> and put <0935> the vessels <03627> in the treasury <0214> <01004> of his god <0430>.
3The king <04428> commanded <0559> Ashpenaz <0828>, who was in charge of his court officials <05631>, to choose <0935> some of the Israelites <03478> <01121> who were of royal <04410> and noble <06579> descent <02233>–
4young men <03206> in whom <0834> there was no <0369> physical defect <03971> and who were handsome <04758> <02896>, well versed <07919> in all <03605> kinds of wisdom <02451>, well educated <01847> <03045> and having keen insight <04093> <0995>, and who <0834> were capable <03581> of entering <05975> the king’s <04428> royal service <01964>– and to teach <03925> them the literature <05612> and language <03956> of the Babylonians <03778>.
5So the king <04428> assigned <04487> them a daily <03117> <03117> ration <01697> from his royal <04428> delicacies <06598> and from the wine <03196> he himself drank <04960>. They were to be trained <01431> for the next three <07969> years <08141>. At the end <07117> of that time they were to enter <05975> the king’s <04428> service <06440> <05975>.
6As it turned out, among these young men <01121> were <01961> some from Judah <03063>: Daniel <01840>, Hananiah <02608>, Mishael <04332>, and Azariah <05838>.
7But the overseer <08269> of the court officials <05631> renamed <08034> <07760> them. He gave <07760> Daniel <01840> the name Belteshazzar <01095>, Hananiah <02608> he named Shadrach <07714>, Mishael <04332> he named Meshach <04335>, and Azariah <05838> he named Abednego <05664>.
8But Daniel <01840> made <07760> up <05921> his mind <03820> that <0834> he would not <03808> defile <01351> himself with the royal <04428> delicacies <06598> or the royal <04960> wine <03196>. He therefore asked <01245> the overseer <08269> of the court officials <05631> for permission not <03808> to defile <01351> himself.
9Then God <0430> made <05414> the overseer <08269> of the court officials <05631> sympathetic <07356> <02617> to Daniel <01840>.
10But he responded <0559> to Daniel <01840>, “I <0589> fear <03373> my master <0113> the king <04428>. He is the one who <0834> has decided <04487> your food <03978> and drink <04960>. What <04100> would happen if he saw <07200> that <0834> you looked <06440> malnourished <02196> in comparison <04480> to the other young men <03206> your age <01524>? If that happened, you would endanger <02325> my life <07218> with the king <04428>!”
11Daniel <01840> then spoke <0559> to <0413> the warden <04453> whom <0834> the overseer <08269> of the court officials <05631> had appointed <04487> over <05921> Daniel <01840>, Hananiah <02608>, Mishael <04332>, and Azariah <05838>:
12“Please <04994> test <05254> your servants <05650> for ten <06235> days <03117> by providing <05414> us with <04480> some vegetables <02235> to eat <0398> and water <04325> to drink <08354>.
13Then compare <07200> our appearance <04758> with that of <04758> the young men <03206> who are eating <0398> the royal <04428> delicacies <06598>; deal <06213> with <05973> us <05650> in light of what <0834> you see <07200>.”
14So the warden agreed <08085> to their proposal <01697> and tested <05254> them for ten <06235> days <03117>.
15At the end <07117> of the ten <06235> days <03117> their appearance <04758> <07200> was better <02896> and their bodies <01320> were healthier <01277> than <04480> all <03605> the young men <03206> who had been eating <0398> the royal <04428> delicacies <06598>.
16So the warden <04453> removed <05375> the delicacies <06598> and the wine <03196> from their diet <04960> and gave <05414> them a diet of vegetables <02235> instead.
17Now as for these <0428> four <0702> young men <03206>, God <0430> endowed <05414> them with knowledge <04093> and skill <07919> in all <03605> sorts of literature <05612> and wisdom <02451>– and Daniel <01840> had insight <0995> into all <03605> kinds of visions <02377> and dreams <02472>.
18When the time <03117> appointed <07117> by the king <04428> arrived <0935>, the overseer <08269> of the court officials <05631> brought <0935> them into Nebuchadnezzar’s <05019> presence <06440>.
19When the king <04428> spoke <01696> with <0854> them, he did not <03808> find <04672> among the entire <03605> group anyone like Daniel <01840>, Hananiah <02608>, Mishael <04332>, or Azariah <05838>. So they entered <05975> the king’s <04428> service <06440>.
20In every <03605> matter <01697> of wisdom <02451> and insight <0998> the king <04428> asked <01245> them <01992> about, he found <04672> them to be ten <06235> times <03027> better than <05921> any <03605> of the magicians <02748> and astrologers <0825> that <0834> were in his entire <03605> empire <04438>.
21Now Daniel <01840> lived <01961> on until <05704> the first <0259> year <08141> of Cyrus <03566> the king <04428>.