1In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and surrounded it with his army.
2The Lord allowed King Jehoiakim of Judah to be captured, along with some vessels from God's temple. Nebuchadnezzar took them to the land of Shinar, to the temple of his god, and placed the vessels in his god’s treasury.
3The king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his palace officials, to bring in some of the Israelites who were part of the royal family or were nobles.
4He wanted young men who had no physical defects, were good-looking, skilled in all wisdom, educated, intelligent, and capable of serving in the king's palace. Ashpenaz was also to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians.
5The king assigned them a daily portion of his own finest food and the wine he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and after that, they would serve the king directly.
6Among these young men from Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7The chief official gave them new names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar; Hananiah, Shadrach; Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego.
8But Daniel decided in his heart that he would not make himself unclean by eating the king's rich food or drinking the wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.
9God caused Daniel to receive kindness and compassion from the chief official.
10The chief official said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has decided what you are to eat and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than other young men your age? If that happened, you would put my head in danger with the king."
11Then Daniel spoke to the guard whom the chief official had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12"Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink."
13"After that, compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the king's rich food. Then decide what to do with your servants based on what you see."
14The guard agreed to test them for ten days.
15After ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who ate the king's rich food.
16So the guard continued to take away their rich food and the wine they were supposed to drink, and instead gave them vegetables.
17As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and understanding in all kinds of literature and wisdom. Daniel also had the ability to understand all visions and dreams.
18At the end of the time the king had set for bringing them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
19The king talked with them, and out of everyone, no one was found to be like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they became the king's advisors.
20In every matter that required wisdom and understanding, when the king asked them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
21Daniel continued to serve even until the first year of King Cyrus's reign.