| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. | 1In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege. |
| 2The Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. | 2Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Babylonia to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. |
| 3The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility-- | 3The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent-- |
| 4young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king's palace--and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. | 4young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king's royal service--and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians. |
| 5The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king's court. | 5So the king assigned them a daily ration from his royal delicacies and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king's service. |
| 6Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. | 6As it turned out, among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. |
| 7The chief official gave them other names: he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah. | 7But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. |
| 8Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. | 8But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. |
| 9God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, | 9Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. |
| 10yet he said to Daniel, "My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I'm afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life with the king." | 10But he responded to Daniel, "I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? If that happened, you would endanger my life with the king!" |
| 11So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, " | 11Daniel then spoke to the warden whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: |
| 12Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. | 12"Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink. |
| 13Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king's food, and deal with your servants based on what you see." | 13Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; deal with us in light of what you see." |
| 14He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. | 14So the warden agreed to their proposal and tested them for ten days. |
| 15At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king's food. | 15At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies. |
| 16So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. | 16So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine from their diet and gave them a diet of vegetables instead. |
| 17God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. | 17Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom--and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams. |
| 18At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. | 18When the time appointed by the king arrived, the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar's presence. |
| 19The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to serve in the king's court. | 19When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king's service. |
| 20In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them 10 times better than all the diviner-priests and mediums in his entire kingdom. | 20In every matter of wisdom and insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire. |
| 21Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. | 21Now Daniel lived on until the first year of Cyrus the king. |
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