Daniel Removed to Babylon 1 ULT In the year of three to the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came{ to} Jerusalem and besieged against it. BSB BSB: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 ULT And the Lord gave into his hand Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them{ to} the land of Shinar,{ to} the house of his god, and he brought the vessels{ into} the house of treasure of his god. BSB BSB: And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
3 ULT Then the king told Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring from the sons of Israel, both from the seed of the kingdom and from the nobles, BSB BSB: Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—
4 ULT youths in whom was not any blemish and{ who were} good of appearance and being skillful in all wisdom and knowers of knowledge and understanders of knowledge and in whom was strength to stand in the palace of the king, and to teach them the writing and tongue of the Chaldeans. BSB BSB: young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace—and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.
5 ULT And the king assigned to them the matter of a day in its day from the portion of the king and from the wine of his drinking, and three years for their upbringing, and from the end of them they would stand to the face of the king. BSB BSB: The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service.
6 ULT And among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. BSB BSB: Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 ULT And the chief of the eunuchs gave names to them. And to Daniel, he gave Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, Shadrach; and to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. BSB BSB: The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
Daniel’s Faithfulness 8 ULT But Daniel set upon his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king or with the wine of his drinking. So he sought from the chief of the eunuchs that he would not defile himself. BSB BSB: But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
9 ULT And God gave Daniel to favor and to compassions to the face of the chief of the eunuchs. BSB BSB: Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,
10 ULT And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel,“I, I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the youths who{ are} like your age? Then you would endanger my head with the king.” BSB BSB: but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!”
11 ULT Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, BSB BSB: Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 ULT “Please test your servants{ for} ten days, and let them give to us from vegetables, and let us eat, and water, and let us drink. BSB BSB: “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13 ULT Then let our appearances be seen to your face, and the appearance of the youths eating the portion of the king, and according to what you see, do with your servants.” BSB BSB: Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14 ULT And he listened to them in this matter, and he tested them{ for} ten days. BSB BSB: So he consented to this and tested them for ten days.
15 ULT And at the end of ten days, their appearances, it was seen better and fatter of flesh than all of the youths eating the portion of the king. BSB BSB: And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.
16 ULT So the steward was taking away their portion and the wine of their drinkings, and he was giving vegetables to them. BSB BSB: So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.
Daniel’s Wisdom 17 ULT And these four youths, God gave to them knowledge and skill in all writing and wisdom, and Daniel understood all visions and dreams. BSB BSB: To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 ULT And at the end of the days, when the king had said to bring them in, then the chief of the eunuchs brought them to the face of Nebuchadnezzar. BSB BSB: Now at the end of the time specified by the king, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
19 ULT And the king spoke with them, and none was found from all of them like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they stood to the face of the king. BSB BSB: And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.
20 ULT And every matter of wisdom{ and} understanding that the king sought from them, then he found them ten hands above all of the magicians{ and} enchanters who{ were} in all of his kingdom. BSB BSB: In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
21 ULT And Daniel was{ there} until the year of one to Cyrus the king. BSB BSB: And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.