Daniel 1:8-21 - Daniel's Resolve

⁸ And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean. ⁹ And God put into the heart of the captain of the unsexed servants kind feelings and pity for Daniel. ¹⁰ And the captain of the unsexed servants said to Daniel, I am in fear of my lord the king, who has given orders about your food and your drink; what if he sees you looking less happy than the other young men of your generation? then you would have put my head in danger from the king.

¹¹ Then Daniel said to the keeper in whose care the captain of the unsexed servants had put Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: ¹² Put your servants to the test for ten days; let them give us grain for our food and water for our drink. ¹³ Then take a look at our faces and the faces of the young men who have food from the king's table; and, having seen them, do to your servants as it seems right to you. ¹⁴ So he gave ear to them in this thing and put them to the test for ten days. ¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their faces seemed fairer and they were fatter in flesh than all the young men who had their food from the king's table. ¹⁶ So the keeper regularly took away their meat and the wine which was to have been their drink, and gave them grain.

¹⁷ Now as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and made them expert in all book-learning and wisdom: and Daniel was wise in all visions and dreams. ¹⁸ Now at the end of the time fixed by the king for them to go in, the captain of the unsexed servants took them in to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king had talk with them; and among them all there was no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were given places before the king. ²⁰ And in any business needing wisdom and good sense, about which the king put questions to them, he saw that they were ten times better than all the wonder-workers and users of secret arts in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel went on till the first year of King Cyrus.