﻿Daniel.
Chapter 1.
In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 
The Lord gave King Jehoiakim of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. He brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in his god’s treasury. 
The king told Ashpenaz, chief of his eunuchs, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility: 
young men without any physical defect, handsome, skilled in every kind of wisdom, knowledgeable and discerning, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 
The king assigned them a daily portion of his own food and the wine he drank. They were to be trained for three years, after which they would serve before the king. 
Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the people of Judah. 
The chief of the eunuchs gave them names: he named Daniel Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego. 
But Daniel resolved in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s food or the wine he drank. So he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 
God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. 
The chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking more haggard than the other young men your age? You would put my head in danger with the king.” 
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 
“Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 
Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the king’s food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 
He agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 
At the end of ten days they looked better and were better nourished than all the young men who ate the king’s food. 
So the steward kept taking away their assigned food and the wine they were to drink, and giving them vegetables. 
God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood every kind of vision and dream. 
At the end of the time the king had set for presenting them, the chief of the eunuchs brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. 
The king spoke with them, and among them all none was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. 
In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king asked them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. 
Daniel remained until the first year of King Cyrus. 
