Daniel 1:11

THE MESSAGE

But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: "Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Hebrew Names Version
Then said Daniyel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniyel, Hananyah, Misha'el, and `Azaryah:

King James Version
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

English Standard Version
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

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

New Century Version
Ashpenaz had ordered a guard to watch Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

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

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then sayd Daniel to Melzar, whome the chiefe of the Eunuches had set ouer Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,

Berean Standard Bible
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief official had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Contemporary English Version
The king's official had put a guard in charge of Daniel and his three friends. So Daniel said to the guard,

Complete Jewish Bible
Then Dani'el said to the guard whom the chief officer had put in charge of Dani'el, Hananyah, Misha'el and ‘Azaryah,

Darby Translation
And Daniel said to the steward, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Daniel talked to the guard who had been put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by Ashpenaz.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Daniel said to Menezar, whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Good News Translation
So Daniel went to the guard whom Ashpenaz had placed in charge of him and his three friends.

Lexham English Bible
Then Daniel asked the guard whom the commander of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Literal Translation
And Daniel said to Melzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then Daniel answered Melassar, whom the chefe chamberlayne had set ouer Daniel, Ananias, Misael and Asarias, and sayde:

American Standard Version
Then said Daniel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Bible in Basic English
Then Daniel said to the keeper in whose care the captain of the unsexed servants had put Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said Daniel to the steward, whom the chief of the officers had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

King James Version (1611)
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the Prince of the Eunuches had set ouer Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then Daniel sayde vnto Melassar, whom the chiefe chamberlayne had set ouer Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Daniel said to Amelsad, whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias.

English Revised Version
Then said Daniel to the steward, whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

World English Bible
Then said Daniel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Danyel seide to Malazar, whom the prince of onest seruauntis and chast hadde ordeynede on Danyel, Ananye, Mysael, and Asarie,

Update Bible Version
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

New English Translation
Daniel then spoke to the warden whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

New King James Version
So Daniel said to the steward Daniel 1:16">[fn] whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

New Living Translation
Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

New Life Bible
Then Daniel said to the man whom the head ruler had chosen to watch over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

New Revised Standard
Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Daniel, unto the overseer whom the ruler of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias:

Revised Standard Version
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hanani'ah, Mish'a-el, and Azari'ah;

Young's Literal Translation
And Daniel saith unto the Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs hath appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Contextual Overview

⁸But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. The head of the palace staff, by God's grace, liked Daniel, but he warned him, "I'm afraid of what my master the king will do. He is the one who assigned this diet and if he sees that you are not as healthy as the rest, he'll have my head!" ¹¹But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: "Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see." ¹⁴The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Melzar: or, the steward, Daniel 1:16

Reciprocal: Daniel 1:7 - the prince Daniel 2:17 - Hananiah

Cross-References

Genesis 1:9
God spoke: "Separate! Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place; Land, appear!" And there it was. God named the land Earth. He named the pooled water Ocean. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14
God spoke: "Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth." And there it was.

Genesis 1:16
God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day, The smaller to be in charge of Night; and he made the stars. God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up Earth And oversee Day and Night, to separate light and dark. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Four.

Genesis 1:20
God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!" God created the huge whales, all the swarm of life in the waters, And every kind and species of flying birds. God saw that it was good. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean! Birds, reproduce on Earth!" It was evening, it was morning— Day Five.

Genesis 1:29
Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was.

Genesis 2:5
At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground— God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)— God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

Genesis 2:16
God commanded the Man, "You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead."

Matthew 6:30
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

James 3:12
When You Open Your Mouth Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said Daniel to Melzar,.... The prince of the eunuchs, having put off Daniel with the above answer, seems to have left him; or, however, Daniel, finding he could not obtain of him what he sought for, applies to Melzar, a subordinate officer, whom he hoped to find more pliable; and it may be that Ashpenaz might suggest it to him to apply to this person, and signify that if he could prevail upon him to give him other food instead of the king's; who might be under a temptation from profit, being a meaner officer; he for his part would wink at it, so be it he came not into any danger himself; however, be it as it will, Daniel did apply to this man, whose name was Melzar, for so most take it to be the proper name of a man; which, according to Hillerus b, signifies one "in full splendour". Josephus calls c him Aschanes; though some think it is the name of an office, as a steward, or the like; but whether it is expressive of his name, or his office, he is described as one

whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; to give them their food at proper time.

b Onomast. Sacr. p. 600. c Antiqu. l. 10. c. 10. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel ... - Margin, or, the “steward.” It is not easy to determine whether the word here used (מלצר meltsâr) is to be regarded as a proper name, or the name of an office. It occurs nowhere else, except in Daniel 1:16, applied to the same person. Gesenius regards it as denoting the name of an office in the Babylonian court - master of the wine, chief butler. Others regard it as meaning a treasurer. The word is still in use in Persia. The Vulgate renders it as a proper name - Malasar; and so the Syriac - Meshitzar; and so the Greek - Ἀμελσὰδ Amelsad. The use of the article in the word (המלצר hameltsâr) would seem to imply that it denoted the name of an “office,” and nothing would be more probable than that the actual furnishing of the daily portion of food would be entrusted to a steward, or to some incumbent of an office inferior to that sustained by Ashpenaz, Daniel 1:3.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Daniel 1:11. Then said Daniel to Melzar — Melzar was an officer under Ashpenaz, whose office it was to attend to the food, clothing, &c., of these royal captives. Others think מלצר meltsar, master of the inn or hotel, the name of an office.