The Prophet Daniel

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- Kapitel 1 -

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 into his hand Jehoiakim the king of Judah and a portion of the vessels of the house of God. And he carried them away into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasure chamber of his god.(a)

And the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the sons of Israel, and some of the offspring of the king and of the sovereigns:(b)

young men, in whom there was no blemish, noble in appearance, and accomplished in all wisdom, cautious in knowledge, and well-educated, and who could stand in the palace of the king, so that he might teach them the letters and the language of the Chaldeans.

And the king appointed for them provisions for each day, from his own food and from the wine which he himself drank, so that, after being nourished for three years, they would stand in the sight of the king.

Now, among those of the sons of Judah, there were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

And the chief of the eunuchs assigned names to them: to Daniel, Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

Daniel’s Faithfulness

But Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not be polluted with the king’s meal, nor with the wine he drank, and he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not be contaminated.(c)

And so God gave Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the leader of the eunuchs.(d)

And the leader of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed food and drink for you, who, if he should see that your faces are leaner than those of the other youths your age, you would condemn my head to the king.”

And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the leader of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,(e)

“I beg you to test us, your servants, for ten days, and let roots be given to us to eat and water to drink,(f)

and then observe our faces, and the faces of the children who eat the king’s food, and then deal with your servants according to what you see.”

When he had heard these words, he tested them for ten days.

But, after ten days, their faces appeared better and fatter than all the children who had eaten from the king’s food.

Thereafter, Malasar took away their portions and their wine for drinking, and he gave them roots.

Daniel’s Wisdom

Yet, to these children, God gave knowledge and instruction in every book, and wisdom, but to Daniel, also the understanding of all visions and dreams.

And when the time was completed, after which the king had said that they would be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before the sight of Nebuchadnezzar.(g)

And, when the king conversed with them, there had not been found any so great in all the world as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and so they stood in the sight of the king.

And in every concept of wisdom and understanding, about which the king consulted with them, he found them to be ten times better than all the seers and astrologers put together, who were in his entire kingdom.(h)

And so Daniel remained, even until the first year of king Cyrus.

Fußnoten

(a)1:2 His god:Bel or Belus, the principal idol of the Chaldeans.(Challoner)

(b)1:3 The word tyrannorum could also be translated as tyrants, but in this context it does not seem to refer to tyrannical leaders. The word tyrannorum probably refers to various rulers conquered and subjugated by the king, as opposed to leaders who are part of this king’s own administration. It is interesting that the term “sons” is used to refer to those of Israel, whereas “offspring” is used, perhaps in a somewhat derogatory manner, to refer to the others.(Conte)

(c)1:8 Be polluted, etc:Viz., either by eating meat forbidden by the law, or which had before been offered to idols.(Challoner)

(d)1:9 Notice that the chief of the eunuchs “præpositus eunuchorum” is different from the leader of the eunuchs “principis eunuchorum.” The leader of the eunuchs seems to be a step down from the chief of the eunuchs.(Conte)

(e)1:11 Malasar is sometimes replaced in translations with “steward”. He seems to be two steps down in rank, that is, one step down from the leader, and another step down from the chief eunuch. Daniel begins with one of the lowest ranks in this society, as one of the captive sons of Israel. He then moves up to a position akin to that of a student, but he still cannot approach the chief of the eunuchs directly. He must plead his case through intermediaries.(Conte)

(f)1:12 Roots:The word legumina resembles the English word legume, but is often translated more generally as vegetables. In this case, roots was chosen for the translation of legumina out of deference to the Douay-Rheims translation “let pulse be given us to eat.” Pulse refers to vegetable roots, (somewhat different from our potatoes) which must be beaten as part of their preparation. It is unlikely that these young men in training, captives from a war, having rejected the king’s own food and wine, would be given food as desirable as a variety of fresh vegetables. Rather, they received easily stored vegetables, such as roots.(Conte)

(g)1:18 The chief of the eunuchs brings them in, not the leader of the eunuchs, and not Malasar.(Conte)

(h)1:20 The word magos is the same word often translated in the Gospel of Matthew as Magi. In this case, it probably refers not merely to wise men or learned men, but those specializing in interpreting the stars, i.e., astrologers.(Conte)

Daniel und seine Freunde gehorchen Gott

Im dritten Jahre der Herrschaft Joakims, des Königs von Juda, zog Nabuchodonosor, der König von Babylon, gegen Jerusalem und belagerte es.

Und der Herr gab Joakim, den König von Juda, und einen Teil der Gefäße des Hauses Gottes in seine Hand und er führte sie in das Land Sennaar hinweg, in das Haus seines Gottes, und brachte die Gefäße in das Schatzhaus seines Gottes.

Hierauf befahl der König Asphenez, dem obersten der Kämmerer, von den Söhnen Israels, vom königlichen und fürstlichen Geblüte,

Jünglinge herbeibringen zu lassen, welche ohne Fehl, schön von Gestalt, in aller Weisheit unterrichtet, klugen Verstandes, voll Einsicht und geschickt seien, im Palaste des Königs Dienst zu tun, und sie in Schrift und Sprache der Chaldäer unterrichten zu lassen.

Auch bestimmte der König ihnen einen täglichen Unterhalt von seinen eigenen Speisen und von dem Weine, von dem er selbst trank, und befahl, sie drei Jahre zu erziehen, dass sie nach Verlauf derselben vor dem Könige Dienst täten.

Unter ihnen waren von den Söhnen Judas: Daniel, Ananias, Misael und Azarias.

Der oberste der Kämmerer aber gab ihnen andere Namen: Daniel nannte er Baltassar, Ananias Sidrach, Misael Misach und Azarias Abdenago.

Daniel aber nahm sich in seinem Herzen vor, sich nicht durch des Königs Kost noch durch den Wein, den dieser trank, zu verunreinigen und bat den Oberkämmerer, zu machen, dass sie nicht befleckt würden.

Gott aber ließ Daniel Gnade und Erbarmen vor dem Angesichte des Oberkämmerers finden.

Und der Oberkämmerer sprach zu Daniel: Ich fürchte mich vor meinem Herrn, dem Könige, der euch Speise und Trank angewiesen hat; denn wenn dieser sieht, dass euer Gesicht magerer ist als das der anderen Jünglinge eures Alters, so werdet ihr mein Haupt bei dem Könige in Schuld bringen.

Da sprach Daniel zu Malasar, den der Oberkämmerer über Daniel, Ananias, Misael und Azarias gesetzt hatte:

Versuche es doch mit deinen Knechten zehn Tage, dass man uns nur Gemüse zu essen gebe und Wasser zu trinken.

Alsdann prüfe unser Aussehen und das Aussehen der Jünglinge, welche von den Speisen des Königs genießen; und wie es dir gut dünkt, magst du dann mit deinen Knechten verfahren.

Er hörte auf diese Worte und versuchte es mit ihnen zehn Tage.

Nach Verlauf von zehn Tagen aber erschien ihr Aussehen besser und voller als das aller der Jünglinge, welche von den königlichen Speisen zu genießen pflegten.

Da nahm Malasar die für sie bestimmte Speise und den Trank und gab ihnen Gemüse.

Gott aber verlieh diesen Jünglingen Kenntnis und Einsicht in aller Schrift und Weisheit, dem Daniel aber die Gabe, alle Gesichte und Träume zu verstehen.

Als nun die Zeit um war, nach deren Ablauf sie auf des Königs Befehl vor diesen gebracht werden sollten, führte sie der Oberkämmerer vor Nabuchodonosor.

Und da der König mit ihnen redete, fanden sich unter allen keine wie Daniel, Ananias, Misael und Azarias; so wurden sie denn des Königs Diener.

Und in allen Fragen der Weisheit und Einsicht, welche der König ihnen vorlegte, fand er sie allen Wahrsagern und Weisen, die in seinem ganzen Reiche waren, zehnmal überlegen.

Daniel aber lebte dort bis zum ersten Jahre des Königs Cyrus.