King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon Takes Judah's King Captive |
Daniel 1:1-21 The Book of Daniel [in Smaller Chunks] |
[During] the 3rd year of [Jeoiakim's rule as] king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, [Babylon's] king, came into Jerusalem & besieged it. [Jeremiah 52:30 in the 23rd year Nebuchadrezzar, [a.k.a. Nebuchadnezzar,] [ruled,] Nebuzar Adan, the captain of the guard, carried away captive 745 [people who were] Jews. All the [people] were 4,600 [total taken captive.] |
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, [Judah's] king, into [Nebuchadnezzar's] hand, [along] with part of the vessels [from] the house of God, that he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god. And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. |
[2 Kings 24:13 And he carried out [from there,] all the treasures of the house of the Lord & the treasures of the king's house & cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, [that] Solomon, [Israel's] king, had made, as the Lord had said, [for] the temple of the Lord.] |
And the king [spoke] to Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs, [so] that he should bring [some] of [Israel's] children & [some] of the king's & [prince's] seed, [a.k.a. offspring.] |
Children, in whom, was no blemish; but [were] well favored, [a.k.a. well liked;] & skillful in all wisdom; & [clever] in knowledge; & understanding science. And [those, who] had [the] ability [within] them to stand in the king's palace, [to] whom, they might teach the [Chaldean's, a.k.a. Babylonian's, knowledge & language.] |
And the king appointed them daily [provisions, from] the king's meat, [a.k.a. food,] & wine [that] he drank: [in order to] [nourish] them 3 years, [so] that at the end [of it,] they might stand before the king. |
Now, among these were the children of Judah: Daniel; Hananiah; Mishael; & Azariah: to whom, the prince, [a.k.a. leader] of the eunuchs, gave [them] names. For he gave the name of: Belteshazzar to Daniel; Shadrach to Hananiah; Meshach to Mishael; & Abed Nego to Azariah. |
But Daniel [planned within] his heart, that he wouldn't defile himself with the king's portion of meat, [a.k.a. food,] nor the wine [that] he drank. Therefore, [Daniel, requested [from] the [leader] of the eunuchs, that he might not defile himself. |
Now, God had brought Daniel into [high regard & fondness] with the [leader] of the eunuchs. And the [leader] of the eunuchs said to Daniel, [I'm afraid of] my lord, the king, who has appointed your meat & your drink. |
For why should he see your faces worse [looking] than the children, [a.k.a. young men who] are [Jews?] Then, you shall make me endanger my head [before] the king. |
Then, Daniel said to Melzar, whom the [leader] of the eunuchs had [put] over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah, I urge you to [test] your servants, 10 days; & let them give us pulse, [a.k.a. vegetables,] to eat & water to drink. |
Then, let our [faces] & the [faces] of the children, [who] eat the portion of the king's meat, be looked upon, [in front of] you. [Then,] deal with your servants, [according to what] you see. So, he [agreed] with them [about] this matter & tested them 10 days. |
And at the end of 10 days, their [faces] appeared [nicer-looking] & [more plump] than all the children, [a.k.a. young men, who ate] the king's portion of meat. [So,] Melzar took away their portion of meat & wine that they [were supposed to] drink & gave them [vegetables.] |
As for these 4 [young men,] God gave them knowledge & skill in all: learning & wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions & dreams. Now, at the end of the [time] that the king had said [that] [these] should be [brought] in, then, the [leader] of the eunuchs brought them in [in front of] Nebuchadnezzar. |
And the king [talked] with them. And among all [of] them, none was found like: Daniel; Hananiah; Mishael;& Azaraiah. Therefore, they stood [in front of] the king. And the king [examined] them in all matters of wisdom & understanding. |
He found them 10 times better than all the magicians & astrologers, [who] were in his realm. And Daniel, even continued [until] the first year of king Cyrus. [Daniel 6:28 So, this Daniel prospered [during] the reign of Darius & [during] the reign of Cyrus, the Persian.] |