Daniel 1:1-3

Good News Translation

THE STORY OF DANIEL AND HIS FRIENDS (1.1—6.28)

The Young Men at Nebuchadnezzar's Court

1 ^(A)In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia attacked Jerusalem and surrounded the city. ^2 (B)The Lord let him capture King Jehoiakim and seize some of the Temple treasures. He took some prisoners back with him to the temple of his gods in Babylon, and put the captured treasures in the temple storerooms.

³ The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief official, to select from among the Israelite exiles some young men of the royal family and of the noble families.