Daniel1
New International Version
1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
3Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—
4young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.
5The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
6Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
7The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
9Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel,
10but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,
12“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”
14So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
16So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
19The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.
20In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
21And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Daniel 1.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The captivity of Daniel and his companions. (1-7). Their refusal to eat the king's meat. (8-16). Their improvement in wisdom. (17-21).
vv1-7
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, took Jerusalem, and carried whom and what he pleased away. From this first captivity, most think the seventy years are to be dated. It is the interest of princes to employ wise men; and it is their wisdom to find out and train up such. Nebuchadnezzar ordered that these chosen youths should be taught. All their Hebrew names had something of God in them; but to make them forget the God of their fathers, the Guide of their youth, the heathen gave them names that savoured of idolatry. It is painful to reflect how often public education tends to corrupt the principles and morals.
vv8-16
The interest we think we make for ourselves, we must acknowledge to be God's gift. Daniel was still firm to his religion. Whatever they called him, he still held fast the spirit of an Israelite. These youths scrupled concerning the meat, lest it should be sinful. When God's people are in Babylon they need take special care that they partake not of her sins. It is much to the praise of young people, not to covet or seek the delights of sense. Those who would excel in wisdom and piety, must learn betimes to keep the body under. Daniel avoided defiling himself with sin; and we should more fear that than any outward trouble. It is easier to keep temptation at a distance, than to resist it when near. And we cannot better improve our interest in any with whom we have found favour, than to use it to keep us from sin. People will not believe the benefit of avoiding excess, and of a spare diet, nor how much they contribute to the health of the body, unless they try. Conscientious temperance will always do more, even for the comfort of this life, than sinful indulgence.
vv17-21
Daniel and his fellows kept to their religion; and God rewarded them with eminence in learning. Pious young persons should endeavour to do better than their fellows in useful things; not for the praise of man, but for the honour of the gospel, and that they may be qualified for usefulness. And it is well for a country, and for the honour of a prince, when he is able to judge who are best fitted to serve him, and prefers them on that account. Let young men steadily attend to this chapter; and let all remember that God will honour those who honour him, but those who despise him shall be lightly esteemed.
Key Words
שָׁלוֹשׁ: three; occasionally (ordinal) third, or (multiple) thrice
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
מַלְכוּת: a rule; concretely, a dominion
יְהוֹיָקִים: Jehojakim, a Jewish king
מֶלֶךְ: a king
יְהוּדָה: Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory
נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר: Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar, or -retstsor), king of Babylon
בָּבֶל: Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם: Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine
Cross References
Daniel 1Directly fulfills Isaiah's prophecy to Hezekiah that his descendants would be eunuchs in Babylon's palace.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel instance of a pagan monarch changing a Hebrew captive's name to reflect local deities.
Supported by JFB
Like Joseph, Daniel receives divine favor and mercy in the eyes of his pagan keeper.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Historical account of Nebuchadnezzar binding Jehoiakim and carrying off temple vessels.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explains the chronological harmonization of Jehoiakim's third year with Nebuchadnezzar's first.
Supported by JFB
Moses was likewise trained in pagan lore without compromising his faithfulness to God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Ezekiel's contemporary proverb mocks the prince of Tyre by comparison to Daniel's renowned wisdom.
Sets up the desecration of these exact temple vessels later by Belshazzar.
Pagan physical perfection requirements for royal service mirror God's blameless standard for priests.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Ezekiel similarly protests against eating defiled food during exile, echoing Daniel's devotion.
Fulfills the promise that God would make His captive people pitied by their captors.
Establishes the span of Daniel's lifelong ministry through the entire Babylonian exile.
The ultimate return of these temple vessels under Cyrus, completing the cycle.
Supported by JFB
Hosea's prophecy that Israel would eat unclean food in the land of Assyria.
God-given wisdom that vastly excels the famed wisdom of all eastern sages.