Daniel 1:12
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. | “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. | Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel had resolved not to defile himself with the king's food and wine (1:8). The official feared the king if the young men looked worse (1:10). So Daniel offered a humble ten-day test of plain vegetables and water, letting their faces be the proof (1:12-13). Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:10Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:13
Commonly taken out of context
How it’s often usedQuoted as a diet or health plan, as if the verse teaches that a vegetable-and-water menu is God's formula for a better body.
In contextThe issue in the chapter is not nutrition but refusing to be defiled with the king's portion (1:8). The good result is credited to God, who gave favour and wisdom (1:9, 1:17). The verse records a one-time test, not a command for all believers. Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:9Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:17
SpeakingDaniel, a young man of Judah's royal family and nobles taken to Babylon and renamed Belteshazzar. Daniel 1:6Daniel 1:7Daniel 1:11Daniel overview
ToMelzar, the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel and his three friends. Daniel 1:11
Also involvedDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, the "thy servants" and "us" of the request. Daniel 1:11Daniel 1:12
Daniel asks for a ten-day trial on pulse (sown vegetables) and water instead of the king's meat and wine. After ten days the four looked fairer and better fed than the rest, so Melzar kept giving them pulse (1:15-16). Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:14Daniel 1:15Daniel 1:16Strong's H2235A
In Babylon, in the land of Shinar, at Nebuchadnezzar's court, where the young men were trained to serve in the king's palace. Daniel 1:2Daniel 1:4Daniel overview
The eventsEarly in the three-year training the king set for the young captives (1:5). This followed Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim, about 605 BC. Daniel 1:1Daniel 1:5Daniel overview
WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold the traditional date. Daniel overview
HereThe request is Daniel's way to keep his resolve not to defile himself, while respecting the official's fear for his life. The text does not explain why the king's food would defile him; it only says Daniel purposed not to be defiled by it. Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:10Daniel 1:12
In the whole of ScriptureThe chapter credits God with the outcome. God gave Daniel favour with the official (1:9) and gave the four knowledge and wisdom (1:17), until the king found them ten times better than his wise men (1:20). This fits the book's theme of staying faithful to God under foreign rule. Daniel 1:9Daniel 1:17Daniel 1:20Daniel overview
For readersFaithfulness can be firm and still courteous: Daniel asked politely, offered a test, and let the steward judge by what he saw (1:13). As Deuteronomy 8:3 says, man lives not by bread only but by every word from the mouth of the LORD. Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:13Deuteronomy 8:3
- pulseזֵרֹעַ
The word means vegetables "as sown", that is, food grown from seed. This recalls the seed-bearing plants God gave for food in Genesis 1:29, in place of the king's meat (1:5). Strong's H2235AGenesis 1:29Daniel 1:5
- Proveנָסָה
It means to test or put to the proof. Daniel offers a trial with a visible result (1:13), and the steward "proved them ten days" (1:14). Strong's H5254GDaniel 1:13Daniel 1:14
This word means "please" and is used in entreaty. Daniel makes a polite request, not a demand, matching the tone of calling himself and his friends "thy servants". Strong's H4994Strong's H5650Daniel 1:12
Takeaway
Daniel 1:12 is a humble, testable request that let Daniel keep himself undefiled without endangering the official. The chapter gives the credit for the outcome to God, not to the menu. Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:17
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| put to [the] test | נַס־ | nas- | H5254G | to testנָסָה (na.sah) : test 1) to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test 1a) (Piel) 1a1) to test, try 1a2) to attempt, assay, try 1a3) to test, try, prove, tempt |
| please | נָ֥א | na' | H4994 | pleaseנָא (na) 1) I (we) pray, now, please 1a) used in entreaty or exhortation |
| servants your | עֲבָדֶ֖יךָ | 'a-va-DEI-kha | H5650 | servant/slaveעֲבַד (a.vad) servant, slave Aramaic of e.ved (עֶ֫בֶד "servant/slave" H5650) |
| days | יָמִ֣ים | ya-MIM | H3117G | dayיוֹם (yom) : day/when/time/period 1) day, time, year 1a) day (as opposed to night) 1b) day (24 hour period) 1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1 1b2) as a division of time 1b2a) a working day, a day's journey 1c) days, lifetime (pl.) 1d) time, period (general) 1e) year 1f) temporal references 1f1) today 1f2) yesterday 1f3) tomorrow |
| ten | עֲשָׂרָ֑ה | 'a-sa-RAH | H6235 | tenעֶשֶׂר (e.ser) 1) ten 1a) ten 1b) with other numbers Aramaic equivalent: a.sar (עֲשַׂר "ten" H6236) |
| so let people give | וְיִתְּנוּ־ | ve-yi-te-nu- | H5414G | to give: giveנָתַן (na.tan) : give/deliver/send/produce 1) to give, put, set 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to give, bestow, grant, permit, ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate, pay wages, sell, exchange, lend, commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, yield produce, occasion, produce, requite to, report, mention, utter, stretch out, extend 1a2) to put, set, put on, put upon, set, appoint, assign, designate 1a3) to make, constitute 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be given, be bestowed, be provided, be entrusted to, be granted to, be permitted, be issued, be published, be uttered, be assigned 1b2) to be set, be put, be made, be inflicted … |
| some of | מִן־ | min- | H4480A | fromמִן־ (min) prep 1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than 1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of 1b) out of 1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling) 1b2) (of material from which something is made) 1b3) (of source or origin) 1c) out of, some of, from (partitively) 1d) from, since, after (of time) 1e) than, more than (in comparison) 1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or 1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons) 1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive) conj 2) that … |
| the vegetables | הַזֵּרֹעִ֛ים | ha-ze-ro-'IM | H2235A | vegetableזֵרֹעַ (ze.ro.a) vegetables (as sown) Also means: zar.on (זֵֽרְעֹן "vegetable" H2235B) |
| so we may eat | וְנֹאכְלָ֖ה | ve-no-khe-LAH | H0398 | to eatאָכַל (a.khal) 1) to eat, devour, burn up, feed 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to eat (human subject) 1a2) to eat, devour (of beasts and birds) 1a3) to devour, consume (of fire) 1a4) to devour, slay (of sword) 1a5) to devour, consume, destroy (inanimate subjects - ie, pestilence, drought) 1a6) to devour (of oppression) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be eaten (by men) 1b2) to be devoured, consumed (of fire) 1b3) to be wasted, destroyed (of flesh) 1c) (Pual) 1c1) to cause to eat, feed with 1c2) to cause to devour 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to feed 1d2) to cause to eat 1e) (Piel) 1e1) consume Aramaic equivalent: a.khal (אֲכַל "to devour" H0399) |
| and water | וּמַ֥יִם | u-MA-yim | H4325G | waterמַי (ma.yim) 1) water, waters 1a) water 1b) water of the feet, urine 1c) of danger, violence, transitory things, refreshment (fig.) |
| so we may drink | וְנִשְׁתֶּֽה׃ | ve-nish-TEH | H8354 | to drinkשָׁתָה (sha.tah) 1) to drink 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to drink 1a1a) of drinking cup of God's wrath, of slaughter, of wicked deeds (fig) 1a2) to feast 1b) (Niphal) to be drunk Aramaic equivalent: she.tah (שְׁתָה "to drink" H8355) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.