1:15 At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier 1 than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies. 1:16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine 2 from their diet 3 and gave them a diet of vegetables instead. 1:17 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.
1:18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, 4 the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. 1:19 When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group 5 anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. 6 1:20 In every matter of wisdom and 7 insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times 8 better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire. 1:21 Now Daniel lived on until the first 9 year of Cyrus the king.
1 tn Heb “fat of flesh”; KJV, ASV “fatter in flesh”; NASB, NRSV “fatter” (although this is no longer a sign of health in Western culture).
2 tn Heb “the wine of their drinking.”
3 tn The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”
5 tn Heb “from all of them.”
6 tn Heb “stood before the king.”
7 tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.
8 tn Heb “hands.”
9 sn The Persian king Cyrus’ first year in control of Babylon was 539