1 N o ano terceiro do reinado de Jeoiaquim, rei de Judá, veio Nabucodonozor, rei de Babilônia, a Jerusalém, e a sitiou.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

2 E o Senhor lhe entregou nas mãos a Jeoiaquim, rei de Judá, e uma parte dos vasos da casa de Deus; e ele os levou para a terra de Sinar, para a casa do seu deus; e os pôs na casa do tesouro do seu deus.

The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god.

3 E ntão disse o rei a Aspenaz, chefe dos seus eunucos que trouxesse alguns dos filhos de Israel, dentre a linhagem real e dos nobres,

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles,

4 j ovens em quem não houvesse defeito algum, de bela aparência, dotados de sabedoria, inteligência e instrução, e que tivessem capacidade para assistirem no palácio do rei; e que lhes ensinasse as letras e a língua dos caldeus.

youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

5 E o rei lhes determinou a porção diária das iguarias do rei, e do vinho que ele bebia, e que assim fossem alimentados por três anos; para que no fim destes pudessem estar diante do rei.

The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.

6 O ra, entre eles se achavam, dos filhos de Judá, Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias.

Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

7 M as o chefe dos eunucos lhes pôs outros nomes, a saber: a Daniel, o de Beltessazar; a Hananias, o de Sadraque; a Misael, o de Mesaque; e a Azarias, o de Abednego.

Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego. Daniel’s Resolve

8 D aniel, porém, propôs no seu coração não se contaminar com a porção das iguarias do rei, nem com o vinho que ele bebia; portanto pediu ao chefe dos eunucos que lhe concedesse não se contaminar.

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.

9 O ra, Deus fez com que Daniel achasse graça e misericórdia diante do chefe dos eunucos.

Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,

10 E disse o chefe dos eunucos a Daniel: Tenho medo do meu senhor, o rei, que determinou a vossa comida e a vossa bebida; pois veria ele os vossos rostos mais abatidos do que os dos outros jovens da vossa idade? Assim poríeis em perigo a minha cabeça para com o rei.

and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.”

11 E ntão disse Daniel ao despenseiro a quem o chefe dos eunucos havia posto sobre Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias:

But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,

12 E xperimenta, peço-te, os teus servos dez dias; e que se nos dêem legumes a comer e água a beber.

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

13 E ntão se examine na tua presença o nosso semblante e o dos jovens que comem das iguarias reais; e conforme vires procederás para com os teus servos.

Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

14 A ssim ele lhes atendeu o pedido, e os experimentou dez dias.

So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

15 E , ao fim dos dez dias, apareceram os seus semblantes melhores, e eles estavam mais gordos do que todos os jovens que comiam das iguarias reais.

At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food.

16 P elo que o despenseiro lhes tirou as iguarias e o vinho que deviam beber, e lhes dava legumes.

So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.

17 O ra, quanto a estes quatro jovens, Deus lhes deu o conhecimento e a inteligência em todas as letras e em toda a sabedoria; e Daniel era entendido em todas as visões e todos os sonhos.

As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.

18 E ao fim dos dias, depois dos quais o rei tinha ordenado que fossem apresentados, o chefe dos eunucos os apresentou diante de Nabucodonozor.

Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.

19 E ntão o rei conversou com eles; e entre todos eles não foram achados outros tais como Daniel, Hananias, Misael e Azarias; por isso ficaram assistindo diante do rei.

The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service.

20 E em toda matéria de sabedoria e discernimento, a respeito da qual lhes perguntou o rei, este os achou dez vezes mais doutos do que todos os magos e encantadores que havia em todo o seu reino.

As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.

21 A ssim Daniel continuou até o primeiro ano do rei Ciro.

And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.