Looking for a few good men
1Soldiers of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar surrounded and attacked Jerusalem before King Jehoiakim [1] had a chance to finish his third year as Judah’s king.2The Lord let Nebuchadnezzar capture King Jehoiakim and take sacred containers [2] from inside Jerusalem’s Temple. He carried them off to his homeland of Babylonia. [3] And he stored them in the sacred treasury of his gods.
3King Nebuchadnezzar told his chief of staff, Ashpenaz, [4] to find some of the best people Israel had to offer, especially from among the royal family and the nobles. 4Babylon’s king wanted to take an assortment of young men who were handsome, intelligent, and able to serve as the king’s palace advisors. He wanted them to learn the Chaldean language and read its literature.
5The king ordered his people to educate them for three years and provide them with food and wine as a palace expense. Then he expected them to work for him as advisors. [5]
6Ashpenaz chose men from Judah’s tribe. Among them: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7Then Ashpenaz gave them Babylonian-style names.
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- Daniel became Belteshazzar.
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- Hananiah became Shadrach.
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- Mishael became Meshach.
- Azariah became Abednego.
Daniel asks to eat only kosher food
8But Daniel decided to continue following Israel’s kosher [6] food laws. So he asked the palace chief of staff for permission to do that.9God made sure palace official’s were inclined to help Daniel and agree to his requests.
10The palace chief of staff told Daniel, “Listen, you’re asking a huge favor. The king himself set your menu. If you eat something else and end up looking puny or sickly compared to the others, the king will take my head.”
Test: Vegan vs Meat lover
11Daniel appealed to the man appointed to guard him and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12Daniel said, “Please, take 10 days to test what I’m requesting. Feed us vegetables and water. 13Then compare us to the other men who have been eating the king’s food. Decide what to do after you see the results of this test.”14The guard agreed. And he ran the test for 10 days. 15After that, he could see for himself that the four men from Judah look healthier and better fed than the young men eating the king’s food. 16So the guard continued to switch out the royal food and palace wine for vegetables.
17God gave all four of these men incredible intelligence, wisdom, and ability to digest and understand all kinds of literature. Daniel also knew how to interpret dreams and visions.
Interview with the king
18When the men finished the educational program Nebuchadnezzar had ordered for them, it was time to meet the king.19He spoke with all the young men who finished their education. And he decided that the four men of Judah were the best of the bunch. No one seemed better suited to serve the king than Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They got the job, stationed in the palace.
20On a scale of one to ten, the king gave the men of Judah a ten for their wisdom. All the other advisors and magicians managed no better than a “one.”
21Daniel served in the palace until Persian King Cyrus [7] took over.
