Daniel 1:11–20

¹¹Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹²“Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then compare our appearances with those of the young men who are eating the royal food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

¹⁴So he consented to this and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵And at the end of ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. ¹⁶So the steward continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and he gave them vegetables instead.

¹⁷To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

¹⁸Now at the end of the time specified by the king, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.

²⁰In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.