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Daniel 1:3-5  New English Translation

3 The king commanded[a] Ashpenaz,[b] who was in charge of his court officials,[c] to choose[d] some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent[e]— 4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome,[f] well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated[g] and having keen insight,[h] and who were capable[i] of entering the king’s royal service[j]—and to teach them the literature and language[k] of the Babylonians.[l] 5 So the king assigned them a daily ration[m] from his royal delicacies[n] and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained[o] for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.[p]

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 1:3 tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”
  2. Daniel 1:3 sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.
  3. Daniel 1:3 sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.
  4. Daniel 1:3 tn Heb “bring.”
  5. Daniel 1:3 tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”
  6. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “good of appearance.”
  7. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”
  8. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”
  9. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “who had strength.”
  10. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king” (cf. vv. 5, 19).
  11. Daniel 1:4 sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.
  12. Daniel 1:4 tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.
  13. Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
  14. Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”
  15. Daniel 1:5 tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.
  16. Daniel 1:5 tn Heb “stand before the king.”
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