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Daniel 1:11-21

Daniel 1:11-21 NCV

Ashpenaz had ordered a guard to watch Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel said to the guard, “Please give us this test for ten days: Don’t give us anything but vegetables to eat and water to drink. After ten days compare how we look with how the other young men look who eat the king’s food. See for yourself and then decide how you want to treat us, your servants.” So the guard agreed to test them for ten days. After ten days they looked healthier and better fed than all the young men who ate the king’s food. So the guard took away the king’s special food and wine, feeding them vegetables instead. God gave these four young men wisdom and the ability to learn many things that people had written and studied. Daniel could also understand visions and dreams. At the end of the time set for them by the king, Ashpenaz brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked to them and found that none of the young men were as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So those four young men became the king’s servants. Every time the king asked them about something important, they showed much wisdom and understanding. They were ten times better than all the fortune-tellers and magicians in his kingdom! So Daniel continued to be the king’s servant until the first year Cyrus was king.