1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, and a part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god.

3 And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the chief of his eunuchs, that he should bring of the children of Israel, both of the royal seed and of the nobles,

4 youths in whom was no blemish, and of goodly countenance, and skilful in all wisdom, and acquainted with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the language of the Chaldeans.

5 And the king appointed unto them a daily provision of the king's delicate food, and of the wine that he drank, to nourish them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

7 And the prince of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel he gave {the name} Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah, Shadrach, and to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abed-nego.

8 And Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not pollute himself with the king's delicate food, nor with the wine which he drank; and he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not have to pollute himself.

9 And God granted Daniel favour and mercy before the prince of the eunuchs.

10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king who hath appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces worse liking than the youths who are of your age? and ye would endanger my head with the king.

11 And Daniel said to the steward, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink;

13 then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's delicate food: and as thou shalt see, deal with thy servants.

14 And he hearkened unto them in this matter, and proved them ten days.

15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and were fatter in flesh than all the youths that ate of the king's delicate food.

16 So the steward took away their delicate food, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

18 And at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

19 And the king spoke with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: and they stood before the king.

20 And in all matters of judicious wisdom, as to which the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the scribes {and} magicians that were in all his realm.

21 And Daniel continued unto the first year of king Cyrus.

1 No terceiro ano do reinado de Jeoaquim, rei de Judá, veio Nabucodonozor, rei de Babilônia, a Jerusalém e a sitiou.

2 O Senhor entregou-lhe nas mãos a Jeoaquim, rei de Judá, e uma parte dos vasos da casa de Deus; ele os levou para a terra de Sinear para a casa do seu deus, e pôs os vasos na casa do tesouro do seu deus.

3 O rei disse a Aspenaz, chefe dos seus eunucos, que trouxesse alguns dos filhos de Israel, a saber, da linhagem real e dos nobres,

4 mancebos nos quais não houvesse defeito algum, mas de boa presença, instruídos em toda a sabedoria, conhecedores de ciência, entendidos em conhecimentos, e que tivessem habilidade para assistirem no palácio do rei; e que lhes ensinasse as letras e a língua dos caldeus.

5 O rei designou-lhe uma porção quotidiana das iguarias reais e do vinho que ele bebia, e que fossem mantidos por três anos; para que, passados estes, assistissem diante do rei.

6 Ora entre estes se achavam, dos filhos de Judá, Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias.

7 O príncipe dos eunucos lhes pôs por nome: a Daniel, o de Beltessazar; a Hananias, o de Sadraque; a Misael, o de Mesaque; e a Azarias, o de Abede-Nego.

8 Daniel, porém, assentou no seu coração não se contaminar com as iguarias reais nem com o vinho que o rei bebia; portanto pediu ao príncipe dos eunucos que lhe permitisse não contaminar-se.

9 Ora Deus fez que Daniel achasse graça e misericórdia diante do príncipe dos eunucos.

10 O príncipe dos eunucos disse a Daniel: Eu tenho medo do rei meu senhor, o qual ordenou que se vos desse de comer e de beber; pois porque veria ele os vossos rostos mais tristes que os dos outros mancebos da vossa idade? assim poríeis em perigo a minha cabeça para com o rei.

11 Então disse Daniel ao despenseiro, a quem o príncipe dos eunucos tinha constituído sobre Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias:

12 Experimenta, peço-te, os teus servos dez dias; e que se nos dêem legumes a comer e água a beber.

13 Depois se examinem diante de ti os nossos semblantes e os dos mancebos que comem das iguarias reais; e, conforme vires, há-te com os teus servos.

14 Assim os ouviu sobre isto, e os experimentou dez dias.

15 No fim dos dez dias apareceram os seus semblantes melhores, e eles estavam mais gordos de carne do que todos os mancebos que comiam das iguarias reais.

16 Assim o despenseiro tirou-lhes as iguarias e o vinho que deviam beber, e lhes dava legumes.

17 Ora quanto a estes quatro mancebos, deu-lhes Deus o conhecimento, e a inteligência em todas as letras e em toda a sabedoria: Daniel sabia discernir todas as visões e sonhos.

18 Passados os dias, depois dos quais o rei tinha ordenado que fossem apresentados, o príncipe dos eunucos os apresentou diante de Nabucodonozor.

19 O rei conversou com eles; e entre todos eles não foram achados outros tais como Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias, portanto ficaram assistindo diante do rei.

20 Em toda a matéria de sabedoria e discernimento, a respeito da qual lhes perguntou o rei, achou que eles excediam dez vezes todos os mágicos e encantadores que havia em todo o seu reino.

21 Daniel conservou-se até o primeiro ano do rei Ciro.