He sucks the poison ¹  of serpents; ²  the fangs ³  of a viper ⁴  kill him.

So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine ¹  from their diet ²  and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.

“Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

He was given daily provisions by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life until the day he died.

Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. ¹ 

You have given them tears as food; ¹  you have made them drink tears by the measure. ² 

I cannot eat, I weep day and night; ¹  all day long they say to me, ²  “Where is your God?”

Then compare our appearance ¹  with that of ²  the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; ³  deal with us ⁴  in light of what you see.”

John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ¹ 

Now food will not bring us close to God. We are no worse if we do not eat and no better if we do.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ¹  a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ²  and a snake’s food will be dirt. ³  They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain,” ⁴  says the Lord.

But Daniel made up his mind ¹  that he would not defile ²  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ³  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

For if your brother or sister ¹  is distressed because of what you eat, ²  you are no longer walking in love. ³  Do not destroy by your food someone for whom Christ died.

Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. ¹  For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, ²  which have never benefited those who participated in them.

But he ¹  responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ²  your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ³  If that happened, ⁴  you would endanger my life ⁵  with the king!”