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 that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem. His army was all around the city.

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 let him take King Jehoiakim of Judah, with some of the objects of the house of God. He brought them to the house of his god in the land of Shinar, and put the objects into the store-room 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 told Ashpenaz, his head ruler, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, both those of the king’s family and of the important leaders.

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.

They were to be young men, perfect in body, good-looking, with wisdom, understanding, much learning, and able to serve in the king’s house. The king told Ashpenaz to teach them the writings and language of the Babylonians.

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.

And the king gave them a share of his best food and wine every day. They were to be taught for three years, and after that they were to serve the king.

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

Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the sons of Judah.

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.

The king’s head ruler gave them new names. To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar. To Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach. To Mishael he gave the name Meshach. And to Azariah he gave the name Abed-nego.

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 make himself unclean with the king’s best food and wine. So he asked the head ruler to allow him not to make himself unclean.

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

Now God gave Daniel favor and pity in the eyes of the head ruler.

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.

The head ruler said to him, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has said you were to have so much and he would see that you were not looking as good as the other young men who are as old as you. The king would cut off my head because of you.”

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

Then Daniel said to the man whom the head ruler had chosen to watch 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.

“Test your servants for ten days. Give us only 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 compare how we look with the young men who are eating the king’s best food. And do with us what you think is best by what you see.”

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

So he listened to them, 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 they looked even better. They were fatter than all the young men who had been eating the king’s best food.

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

So the man who watched over them took away the best 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.

God gave these four young men much learning and understanding in all kinds of writings and wisdom. Daniel even had understanding in all kinds of special 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.

At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the head ruler brought them to 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 found no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they became the king’s own helpers.

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.

Every time the king asked them questions that needed wise and understanding answers, he found that they knew ten times more than all the wonder-workers under his rule who used their secret ways.

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

And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.