3. Then the king told Ashpenaz the chief of his officials to bring in some of the sons of Israel from royal descent and nobility—
4. youths without any defect, handsome, proficient in all wisdom, knowledgeable, intelligent and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
5. The king allotted them a daily portion from the king’s delicacies and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end they were to stand before the king.
6. Now among them were some from the sons of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
7. The chief officer gave them new names: to Daniel, Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-nego.
8. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s delicacies or with the wine he was drinking, so he entreated the chief official for permission not to defile himself.