young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king’s royal service– and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians.
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
2 Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Babylonia to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent–
5 So the king assigned them a daily ration from his royal delicacies and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.
6 As it turned out, among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego.
8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.
9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel.
10 But he responded to Daniel,“I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? If that happened, you would endanger my life with the king!”
11 Daniel then spoke to the warden whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
12 “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; deal with us in light of what you see.”
14 So the warden agreed to their proposal and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies.
16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine from their diet and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.
17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom– and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence.
19 When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.
20 In every matter of wisdom and insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.
11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have insight, discernment, and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners.
12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Now summon Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”
13 So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel,“Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?
14 I have heard about you, how there is a spirit of the gods in you, and how you have insight, discernment, and extraordinary wisdom.
15 Now the wise men and astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message.
13 The king then inquired of the wise men who were discerners of the times– for it was the royal custom to confer with all those who were proficient in laws and legalities.
14 Those who were closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These men were the seven officials of Persia and Media who saw the king on a regular basis and had the most prominent offices in the kingdom.
1 Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den It seemed like a good idea to Darius to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.
2 Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.
3 Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom.
4 Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.
2 The king’s servants who attended him said,“Let a search be conducted on the king’s behalf for attractive young women.
3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire.
10 The wise men replied to the king,“There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man.
11 What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods– but they don’t live among mortals!”
8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the king.
6 So I issued an order for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought before me so that they could make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.
18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, for none of the wise men in my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
18 He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
4 To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, a discerning plan to the young person.
24 Then Daniel went in to see Arioch(whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon). He came and said to him,“Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Escort me to the king, and I will disclose the interpretation to him!”
25 So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him,“I have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”
2 The king issued an order to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men in order to explain his dreams to him. So they came and awaited the king’s instructions.
3 captains of groups of fifty, the respected citizens, advisers and those skilled in magical arts, and those who know incantations.
12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon– Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego– and these men have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
48 Then the king elevated Daniel to high position and bestowed on him many marvelous gifts. He granted him authority over the entire province of Babylon and made him the main prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon. Daniel himself served in the king’s court.
7 Drinks were served in golden containers, all of which differed from one another. Royal wine was available in abundance at the king’s expense.
6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried into exile with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile.