A Man Named Daniel

Chapter 1: The Eating Contest

The king of Judah, Jehoiakim, was in his third reigning year when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. The Lord God delivered the sinful king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar not only captured the king and the people, but also some of the vessels from the house of God, and carried them to the land of Shinar, and placed them in the house of his god.

Nebuchadnezzar said to Ashpenaz the master of the eunuchs that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes, children of whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in 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 tongue of the Chaldeans.

And the king fed these men the king’s meat, and gave them his wine to drink, so nourishing three years, so that at the end of three years they’d be able to stand before him.

Among these were the children of Judah, and these men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The prince of the eunuchs gave them Babylonian names, so Daniel was named Belteshazzar, Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mishael was called Meshach, and Azariah was called Abednego. But Daniel didn’t want to eat or drink what the king had to offer, because he didn’t want to defile himself. He was a Godly man.

“I beg your pardon, but we wish not to defile ourselves,” Daniel said to the prince of the eunuchs. God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

“I fear my lord the king,” said this man. “who hath appointed your meat and drink. For why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.”

Daniel said to Melzar, who the prince of the eunuchs had set over them, “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat, and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.”

So Melzar stopped giving them the meat and wine, and fed them with pulse, which would normally be what a peasant would eat, rather than what would be eaten by a man of wealth. So for ten days, the four men ate pulse and drank water, while everyone else had meat and wine. And after those ten days, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were fairer and fatter in flesh than the other men. So from then on, they continued with this diet. And as four these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

At the end of the days that the king said he should bring them in, the prince of the eunuchs presented them to him. Nebuchadnezzar communed with them, and found none like Daniel and his companions. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were all in his realm.

And Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.

That concludes this chapter. This was taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, and can be found in Daniel chapter 1.