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| From the king's table |
In the third year of the reign of
Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and
besieged it. And 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.
Then 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 — 4 young 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. The 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.
Among those who were chosen were some
from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them
new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael,
Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
But 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. Now God had caused the official to
show favor and compassion to Daniel, but 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.”
Daniel then said to the guard whom the
chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,
“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat
and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who
eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you
see.” So he agreed to this and tested
them for ten days.
At the end of the ten days they looked
healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal
food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink
and gave them vegetables instead.
To 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.
At the end of the time set by the king
to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to
Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In 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.
And Daniel remained there until the
first year of King Cyrus.
Daniel 1:1 – 21
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| Baked fish and vegetables |
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Oh, my, I was just about to go get a dish of ice cream to eat while reading blog posts. Now, I think I shall not do that!
ReplyDeleteI always loved this story--especially since my mother insisted we eat healthy. I was probably thankful I wasn't the only one who ate that way. Now I'm a baked fish and veggie sort of girl. As long as it's topped off with a cookie!
ReplyDeleteThat rich ...! I like! Excellent.
ReplyDelete