Daniel Removed to Babylon
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2Ch 36:5-72Ki 24:1-22Ki 24:13 And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, 1 to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god. 2Ch 36:7Jer 27:19-20Zec 5:11Deu 32:30Deu 28:49-52Gen 10:10Gen 11:2Jdg 2:14
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family 2and the nobility— Isa 39:72Ki 20:17-182Ki 24:15Jer 41:1 young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace—and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans. 3 Act 7:22Dan 5:11Pro 22:292Sa 14:25Dan 1:17-20Dan 2:10Dan 5:7Lev 21:18-21
The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service. Dan 1:191Ki 10:8Dan 1:81Ki 4:22-231Sa 16:222Ch 9:72Ki 25:30Gen 41:46
Among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Ezk 14:14Dan 2:17Ezk 14:20Mat 24:15Ezk 28:3Mrk 13:14 The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. Dan 5:12Dan 4:8Dan 2:492Ki 23:342Ki 24:17Dan 1:3Dan 1:10-11Dan 2:26
Daniel’s Faithfulness
But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself. Psa 141:41Co 10:18-21Ezk 4:13-14Lev 11:45-471Co 7:37Psa 119:115Hos 9:3-41Co 8:7-10
Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, Gen 39:21Psa 106:461Ki 8:50Pro 16:7Neh 2:4Act 7:10Ezr 7:27-28Neh 1:11 but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!” Mat 6:16-18Jhn 12:42-43Pro 29:25
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. Rom 14:2Dan 1:16Deu 8:3Gen 1:29-30 Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
So he consented to this and tested them for ten days. And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. Exo 23:25Pro 10:222Ki 4:42-44Hag 1:6Mat 4:4Deu 28:1-14Hag 1:9Mal 2:2 So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead. Dan 1:12
Daniel’s Wisdom
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams. 1Ki 3:12Jas 1:5Job 32:8Dan 2:21Dan 2:23Col 1:9Pro 2:6Psa 119:98-100
Now at the end of the time specified by the king, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. Dan 1:5 And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. Dan 1:5Gen 41:46Pro 22:291Ki 17:1Jer 15:19
In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. 1Ki 4:29-34Exo 8:19Isa 47:12-14Gen 41:81Ki 10:1-31Ki 10:23-24Exo 7:22Exo 8:7 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. Dan 6:28Dan 10:1