Daniel 1:11-21

New American Standard Bible

¹¹ But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be ^(A)given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance be ^[a]examined in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and put them to the test for ten days. ¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed ^(B)better, and ^[b]they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. ¹⁶ So the overseer continued to ^[c]withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept ^(C)giving them vegetables.

¹⁷ And as for these four youths, ^(D)God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of ^[d]literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of ^(E)visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Then at the end of the days which the king had ^[e]specified ^[f]for presenting them, the commander of the officials ^[g]presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like ^(F)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they ^[h](G)entered the king’s personal service. ²⁰ As for every matter of ^(H)expertise ^[i]and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ^(I)ten times ^(J)better than all the ^(K)soothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm. ²¹ And Daniel ^[j]continued until the ^(L)first year of Cyrus the king.