Daniel 1:5

1:5 So the king assigned them a daily ration ¹  from his royal delicacies ²  and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained ³  for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service. ⁴ 

Daniel 1:8

1:8 But Daniel made up his mind ⁵  that he would not defile ⁶  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ⁷  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:16

1:16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine ⁸  from their diet ⁹  and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.

[1:5]  ¹ tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “stand before the king.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “placed on his heart.”

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”

[1:8]  sn Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it had to do with such food having been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”

[1:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “the wine of their drinking.”

[1:16]  ⁹ tn The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.