1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and laid siege against it;2 and the Lord gave into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, and a part of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them into the land of Shinar, into the house of his gods,and, the vessels, brought he into the treasure-house of his gods.3 Then did the king give word to Ashpenaz, the chief of his eunuchs,that he should bring in, of the sons of Israel, even of the seed royal, and of the nobles,4 youths in whom was no blemish, but comely of countenance, and skilful in all wisdom, and possessed of knowledge, and able to impart instruction, and who had vigour in them, to stand in the palace of the king,and that they should be taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.5 And the king appointed them the provision of each day upon its day, out of the delicacies of the king and out of the wine which he drank, and so to let them grow three years,and, at the end thereof, that they should stand before the king.6 Now there were, among them, out of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah;7 and the ruler of the eunuchs gave them names,yea he gave to Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah of Shadrach, and to Mishael of Meshach, and to Azariah of Abed-nego.8 But Daniel laid it upon his heart, that he would not defile himself with the delicacies of the king, nor with the wine which he drank,therefore sought he of the ruler of the eunuchs, that he might not defile himself.9 But, although God had brought Daniel into lovingkindness and tender compassion, before the ruler of the eunuchs,10 yet said the ruler of the eunuchs unto Daniel, I do fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink,for why should he see your faces more sad than those of the youths of your own age? so should ye bring me under the penalty of mine own head unto the king.11 Then said Daniel, unto the overseer whom the ruler of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:12 I pray theeprove thy servants, ten days,and let them give us vegetable food, that we may eat, and water that we may drink:13 then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenances of the youths who have been eating the delicacies of the king,and, as thou shalt see, deal thou with thy servants.14 So then he hearkened unto them, according to this word,and proved them ten-days;15 and, at the end of ten days, their countenances appeared more comely, and fatter in flesh,than any of the youths who had been eating the delicacies of the king.16 Thus it came about that the overseer continued taking away their delicacies, and the wine appointed them to drink,and kept on giving them vegetable food.17 And, as for these four youths, God, gave them, knowledge and skill, in all learning and wisdom,and, Daniel, had discernment, in all visions and dreams.18 Now, at the end of the days after which the king had given word to bring them in, then did the ruler of the eunuchs bring them in, before Nebuchadnezzar.19 So then the king, spake with them, and there was not found, from among them all, one like unto Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,therefore stood they before the king;20 and, in any matter of wisdom and discernment as to which the king, enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the sacred scribesthe magicians, who were in all his realm.21 Now Daniel continued, until the first year of Cyrus the king.

1 No ano terceiro do reinado de Jeoaquim, rei de Judá, veio Nabucodonosor, rei da Babilônia, a Jerusalém e a sitiou. 2 E o Senhor entregou nas suas mãos a Jeoaquim, rei de Judá, e uma parte dos utensílios da Casa de Deus, e ele os levou para a terra de Sinar, para a casa do seu deus, e pôs os utensílios na casa do tesouro do seu deus. 3 E disse o rei a Aspenaz, chefe dos seus eunucos, que trouxesse alguns dos filhos de Israel, e da linhagem real, e dos nobres, 4 jovens em quem não houvesse defeito algum, formosos de aparência, e instruídos em toda a sabedoria, e sábios em ciência, e entendidos no conhecimento, e que tivessem habilidade para viver no palácio do rei, a fim de que fossem ensinados nas letras e na língua dos caldeus. 5 E o rei lhes determinou a ração de cada dia, da porção do manjar do rei e do vinho que ele bebia, e que assim fossem criados por três anos, para que no fim deles pudessem estar diante do rei. 6 E entre eles se achavam, dos filhos de Judá, Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias. 7 E o chefe dos eunucos lhes pôs outros nomes, a saber: a Daniel pôs o de Beltessazar, e a Hananias, o de Sadraque, e a Misael, o de Mesaque, e a Azarias, o de Abede-Nego.

8 E Daniel assentou no seu coração não se contaminar com a porção do manjar do rei, nem com o vinho que ele bebia; portanto, pediu ao chefe dos eunucos que lhe concedesse não se contaminar. 9 Ora, deu Deus a Daniel graça e misericórdia diante do chefe dos eunucos. 10 E disse o chefe dos eunucos a Daniel: Tenho medo do meu senhor, o rei, que determinou a vossa comida e a vossa bebida; por que veria ele os vossos rostos mais tristes do que os dos jovens que são vossos iguais? Assim, arriscareis a minha cabeça para com o rei. 11 Então, disse Daniel ao despenseiro a quem o chefe dos eunucos havia constituído sobre Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias: 12 Experimenta, peço-te, os teus servos dez dias, fazendo que se nos deem legumes a comer e água a beber. 13 Então, se veja diante de ti a nossa aparência e a aparência dos jovens que comem a porção do manjar do rei, e, conforme vires, te hajas com os teus servos. 14 E ele conveio nisso e os experimentou dez dias. 15 E, ao fim dos dez dias, pareceram os seus semblantes melhores; eles estavam mais gordos do que todos os jovens que comiam porção do manjar do rei. 16 Desta sorte, o despenseiro tirou a porção do manjar deles e o vinho que deviam beber e lhes dava legumes.

17 Ora, a esses quatro jovens Deus deu o conhecimento e a inteligência em todas as letras e sabedoria; mas a Daniel deu entendimento em toda visão e sonhos. 18 E, ao fim dos dias em que o rei tinha dito que os trouxessem, o chefe dos eunucos os trouxe diante de Nabucodonosor. 19 E o rei falou com eles; e entre todos eles não foram achados outros tais como Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias; por isso, permaneceram diante do rei. 20 E em toda matéria de sabedoria e de inteligência, sobre que o rei lhes fez perguntas, os achou dez vezes mais doutos do que todos os magos ou astrólogos que havia em todo o seu reino. 21 E Daniel esteve até ao primeiro ano do rei Ciro.