Daniel 1

Daniel · Chapter 1

Daniel 1:21

1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.3And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes;4Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.5And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.6Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:7Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.8But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.9Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.10And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.11Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,12Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.13Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.14So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.15And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.16Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.17As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.18Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.19And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.20And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.21And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
21And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Chapter 1 tells how Daniel and his three friends were taken to Babylon, stayed faithful, and were found wiser than all the king's wise men. This closing verse looks far ahead: Daniel kept on right through to the first year of King Cyrus. That span runs through Babylon's fall to the Medes and Persians and into Persian rule. Daniel 1:1Daniel 1:6Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:19Daniel 1:20Daniel 1:21Daniel overview

SpeakingThe narrator of the book speaks here, telling of Daniel in the third person, as chapters 1-6 do. Traditionally the book is credited to Daniel himself, who speaks as "I Daniel" in chapters 7-12. Daniel overview

ToThe book was written for God's people in exile and after it, not as a letter to one group. Daniel overview

Also involvedDaniel, one of the young men of the king's seed and the princes of Judah, renamed Belteshazzar in Babylon. Also Cyrus, the king of Persia who conquered Babylon. Daniel 1:3Daniel 1:6Daniel 1:7Strong's H3566

The verse sums up how long Daniel lasted: from being carried off as a youth under Nebuchadnezzar, he continued until Cyrus's first year. It does not say he died then, since Daniel 10:1 shows him still receiving a vision in the third year of Cyrus. Daniel 6:28 agrees that he prospered in the reign of Darius and of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 1:21Daniel 1:1Daniel 10:1Daniel 6:28

Babylon, in the land of Shinar, where Daniel served under Babylonian and then Persian kings. Daniel 1:2Daniel overview

BABYLONIAMEDIABabylon 1SusaUlai

The eventsDaniel was taken in the third year of Jehoiakim, about 605 BC. The verse reaches to Cyrus's first year, two years before Cyrus's third year, which is about 536 BC. So the span runs close to seventy years. Daniel 1:1Daniel overviewDaniel 10:1

WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, under Antiochus IV, while others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview

HereChapter 1 shows Daniel refusing to defile himself and God giving him favor and wisdom. This verse shows that he kept on through the change of rulers. Kings rose and fell, but God's faithful servant remained. Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:9Daniel 1:17Daniel 1:21Daniel overview

In the whole of ScriptureThe book teaches that God rules over the kingdoms of men and sets up and removes kings. Daniel outlasting Babylon's rule into the reign of Cyrus, Babylon's conqueror, is a small picture of that. Cyrus was also the first ruler of Persia to decree that the Israelite exiles could return to Jerusalem. Daniel overviewStrong's H3566

For readersFaithfulness to God under foreign rulers is not cut short by those rulers. God can keep his people through long years and great changes, as Daniel continued from his youth in chapter 1 into the reign of Cyrus. Daniel 1:4Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel overview

  • continuedהָיָה
    Hebrew · ha.yah · H1961

    The word means "to be," and with a word of time it can mean "to abide, remain, continue." Here it speaks of Daniel remaining on until Cyrus's first year. It is not a note of his death, since Daniel 10:1 has him alive in Cyrus's third year. Strong's H1961Daniel 10:1

  • Cyrusכּ֫וֹרֶשׁ
    Hebrew · ko.resh · H3566

    Cyrus was king of Persia and conqueror of Babylon, and the first ruler of Persia to decree that the Israelite exiles could return to Jerusalem. Naming him shows Daniel lasting past Babylon's fall into Persian rule, as Daniel 6:28 also says. Strong's H3566Daniel 6:28

Takeaway

Daniel 1:21 shows that the young exile who stayed faithful to God outlasted Babylon's rule and continued into the reign of Cyrus. God rules over kings and keeps his servants through every change of power. Daniel 1:21Daniel 1:8Daniel 6:28Daniel overview

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

Behind this verse

Cyrus, king of persia
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

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
  1. 612 BC
    WarNineveh 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)

  2. 605 BC
    WarBattle 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)

  3. 597 BC
    WarJerusalem 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)

  4. 586 BC
    WarJerusalem 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

  5. c. 575 BC
    BuildingBabylon 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

  6. 562 BC
    RulersNebuchadnezzar dies

    His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34

  7. c. 553-543 BC
    RulersNabonidus 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

  8. 550 BC
    WarCyrus 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

  9. October 539 BC
    WarBabylon 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

  10. 538 BC
    God'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

  11. c. 536 BC
    God'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

  12. 334-331 BC
    WarAlexander 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

  13. 323-301 BC
    WarAlexander'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

  14. 167 BC
    WarAntiochus 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

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he wasוַֽיְהִי֙vay-HIH1961
to be

הָיָה (ha.yah) 1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) --- 1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass 1a1b) to come about, come to pass 1a2) to come into being, become 1a2a) to arise, appear, come 1a2b) to become 1a2b1) to become 1a2b2) to become like 1a2b3) to be instituted, be established 1a3) to be 1a3a) to exist, be in existence 1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) 1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality) 1a3d) to accompany, be with 1b) (Niphal) …

Danielדָּֽנִיֵּ֔אלda-ni-YELH1840G
Belteshazzar

בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (be.le.te.shats.tsar) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezk.14.14; also called Belteshazzar at Dan.1.7; 2.26; 4.8,9,18,19; 5.12; 10.1; Another name of da.niy.yel (דָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵל "Daniel" H1840G) § Belteshazzar = "lord of the straitened's treasure" …

untilעַד־'ad-H5704
till

עַד (ad) prep 1) as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as 1a) of space 1a1) as far as, up to, even to 1b) in combination 1b1) from...as far as, both...and (with 'min' -from) 1c) of time 1c1) even to, until, unto, till, during, end 1d) of degree 1d1) even to, to the degree of, even like conj 2) until, while, to the point that, so that even Aramaic equivalent: ad (עַד "till" H5705)

yearשְׁנַ֥תshe-NATH8141
year

שְׁנָה (she.nah) year Aramaic of sha.neh (שָׁנָה "year" H8141)

oneאַחַ֖ת'a-CHATH0259
one

אֶחָד (e.chad) 1) one (number) 1a) one (number) 1b) each, every 1c) a certain 1d) an (indefinite article) 1e) only, once, once for all 1f) one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one 1g) first 1h) eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal)

of Cyrusלְכ֥וֹרֶשׁle-KHO-reshH3566
Cyrus

כּ֫וֹרֶשׁ (ko.resh) A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Ch.36.22; son of: Gedaliah (H1436H) Also named: ko.resh (כּ֫וֹרֶשׁ "Cyrus" H3567) § Cyrus = "posses thou the furnace" the king of Persia and conqueror of Babylon; first ruler of Persia to make a decree allowing the Israelite exiles to return to Jerusalem

the kingהַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ פha-ME-lekhH4428G
king

מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) 1) king Aramaic equivalent: me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4430)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.