Previous     Next       Play // Stop Sound    

          DASV: Daniel 1    

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,
along with some of the sacred vessels of the temple of God.
He carried them off to the land of Shinar to the temple of
his god, and brought the sacred vessels into the treasure-house
of his god.

3 The king commanded Ashpenaz, the chief of his palace officials
who were eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the Israelites
from the royal family and nobility.
4 These were to be young men in whom there was no blemish,
handsome, well versed in all wisdom, gifted with knowledge,
insightful, and competent to stand in the king's palace. He was
to teach them the learning and the language of the Chaldeans.
5 The king assigned them a daily portion from royal rations of food
and the wine which he himself drank. They were to be educated
for three years, so that at the end of their training they would
be capable of entering the king's service.
6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all
from the tribe of Judah.
7 The chief of the palace officials gave them new names: Daniel he
called Belteshazzar; Hananiah he called Shadrach; Mishael he
called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself
with the king's food or with the wine that he drank. So he asked
the chief of the palace officials for permission not to defile
himself.
9 Now God made Daniel to find favor and compassion in the sight
of the chief of the palace officials.
10 But the chief of the palace officials replied to Daniel, "I
fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink.
What would happen if he finds you are in worse shape than the
other youths that are of your same age? That would endanger my
head with the king."

11 Then Daniel asked the attendant whom the chief of the palace
officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
12 "Please test your servants, for ten days by giving us
vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13 You can compare our appearance and the appearance of the other
youths who eat of the king's food. Then deal with your servants
according to what you see."
14 So he agreed to it and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of ten days their appearance was better, and they
were more nourished, than all the youths who ate the king's food.
16 So the attendant took away their royal delicacies, and the wine
that they were supposed to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.

17 Now as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge
and skill in all literature and wisdom. Daniel had the ability
to understand all visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the set time for training that the king had
ordered, the chief of the palace officials brought them for
presentation to Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king interviewed them, and among them all none was found
like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered
into the service of the king.
20 When the king consulted with them in every matter of wisdom
and understanding, he found them ten times better than all
the magicians and enchanters in his entire realm.
21 Daniel continued in that role until the first year of
King Cyrus.

 Previous     Next       Play // Stop Sound