Daniel 1:4

1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ¹  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ²  and having keen insight, ³  and who were capable ⁴  of entering the king’s royal service ⁵  – and to teach them the literature and language ⁶  of the Babylonians. ⁷ 

Daniel 1:10

1:10 But he ⁸  responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ⁹  your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ¹⁰  If that happened, ¹¹  you would endanger my life ¹²  with the king!”

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¹ tn Heb “good of appearance.”

² tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”

³ tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”

⁴ tn Heb “who had strength.”

⁵ tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.

⁶ sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.

⁷ tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.

⁸ tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.

¹¹ tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.