Daniel 1:8
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | But 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. | But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself. | But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel and other young captives from Judah were taken to Babylon to be trained for the king's service and fed from the king's table. Daniel resolved not to defile himself with that food and wine. Instead of defying his overseers, he asked permission, and God gave him favor and later wisdom. Daniel 1:3Daniel 1:5Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:9Daniel 1:17
Commonly taken out of context
How it’s often usedOften quoted as the basis for a "Daniel diet" or "Daniel fast," a plan of vegetables and water meant to improve health.
In contextThe verse is about Daniel not defiling himself, which is a matter of holiness before God, not a health program. The chapter credits God with giving Daniel favor with the official and giving the four young men knowledge and skill. Daniel 1:8Strong's H1351Leviticus 11:45Daniel 1:9Daniel 1:17
SpeakingThe narrator tells this part of Daniel's story in the third person. 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. Daniel overview
Also involvedDaniel, a young man of Judah's royal or noble families, renamed Belteshazzar. Also the prince of the eunuchs, the court official in charge of the captives, who feared the king's anger. Daniel 1:3Daniel 1:6Daniel 1:7Daniel 1:10
Daniel firmly decided he would not make himself unclean by eating the king's assigned food or drinking his wine. He asked the chief official for permission to avoid them. He then proposed a ten-day test of pulse (plant food) and water, and he and his friends came out looking healthier than the others. Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:15Daniel 1:16
Babylon, in the land of Shinar, where the captives were trained to serve in the king's palace. Daniel 1:2Daniel 1:4Daniel overview
The eventsThis happened soon after Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim, about 605 BC, at the start of a three-year training program. 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 to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse shows a young exile staying faithful to God under a foreign ruler. He makes up his mind before the test comes and acts on it respectfully. Daniel overviewDaniel 1:8Daniel 1:12
In the whole of ScriptureThis is the first of several stories in Daniel about faithfulness under pressure, later followed by the golden image and the fiery furnace (chapter 3) and Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6). It also shows God ruling over kings, since God gave Daniel favor and wisdom in a pagan court. Daniel overviewDaniel 1:9Daniel 1:17Daniel 1:20
For readersGod's law called Israel to be holy and to separate clean from unclean. Ezekiel foretold that Israel would eat defiled bread among the Gentiles, but Daniel refused to be defiled, showing readers how to keep loyalty to God in a foreign setting by settled resolve and humble requests. Leviticus 11:45Leviticus 11:47Ezekiel 4:13Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:12
Christians read this differently
The verse does not say why the king's food would defile Daniel, and no cited Scripture settles it. Some readers point to foods unclean under the Law of Moses (Leviticus 11:47; Ezekiel 4:14). Others point to food and drink tied to the worship of Babylon's gods, since the king served "his god" (Daniel 1:2; compare 1 Corinthians 10:21). Daniel 1:2Leviticus 11:47Ezekiel 4:141 Corinthians 10:21
- purposed (set)שׂוּם
The word means to set, fix or determine. Daniel "set" the matter on his heart, a settled decision. Paul uses similar language of one who "hath so decreed in his heart" (1 Corinthians 7:37). Strong's H7760AStrong's H3820A1 Corinthians 7:37
- defile himselfגָּאַל
The word means to defile, pollute or desecrate, and this form means to defile oneself. The concern is uncleanness before God, which ties to the call to holiness in Leviticus 11:45. Strong's H1351Leviticus 11:45
- portion of the king's meatפַּת־בָּג
The word means a portion of food for the king, or delicacies. Compare the prayer "let me not eat of their dainties" (Psalm 141:4). Strong's H6598Psalms 141:4
- requestedבָּקַשׁ
The word means to seek, desire or request. Daniel asked permission rather than simply refusing, and he followed it with a respectful offer of a test. Strong's H1245Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:12Daniel 1:13
Takeaway
Daniel decided ahead of time to stay clean before God, then pursued that decision with courtesy and wisdom. God gave him favor with the official and gave him knowledge and understanding. Daniel 1:8Daniel 1:9Daniel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and he set | וַיָּ֤שֶׂם | vai-YA-sem | H7760A | to set: makeשׂוּם (sum) : make/establish 1) to put, place, set, appoint, make 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to put, set, lay, put or lay upon, lay (violent) hands on 1a2) to set, direct, direct toward 1a2a) to extend (compassion) (fig) 1a3) to set, ordain, establish, found, appoint, constitute, make, determine, fix 1a4) to set, station, put, set in place, plant, fix 1a5) to make, make for, transform into, constitute, fashion, work, bring to pass, appoint, give 1b) (Hiphil) to set or make for a sign 1c) (Hophal) to be set |
| Daniel | דָּנִיֵּאל֙ | da-ni-yeL | H1840G | Belteshazzarבֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (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" … |
| on | עַל־ | 'al- | H5921A | uponעַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) … |
| heart his | לִבּ֔וֹ | li-BO | H3820A | mindבָּל (bal) mind, heart Aramaic of lev (לֵב "heart" H3820A) |
| that | אֲשֶׁ֧ר | 'a-SHER | H0834A | whichאֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when |
| not | לֹֽא־ | lo'- | H3808 | notלֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809) |
| he defiled himself | יִתְגָּאַ֛ל | yit-ga-'AL | H1351 | to defileגָּאַל (ga.al) 1) to defile, pollute, desecrate 1a) (Niphal) to be defiled, be polluted 1b) (Piel) to pollute, desecrate 1c)(Pual) to be desecrated (of removal from priesthood) 1d) (Hiphil) to pollute, stain 1e) (Hithpael) to defile oneself |
| with [the] delicaci[es] of | בְּפַתְבַּ֥ג | be-fat-BAG | H6598 | choiceפַּת־בָּג (pat.bag) portion of food for king, delicacies |
| the king | הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | ha-ME-lekh | H4428G | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) 1) king Aramaic equivalent: me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4430) |
| and with [the] wine of | וּבְיֵ֣ין | u-ve-YEIN | H3196 | wineיַ֫יִן (ya.yin) wine |
| drink his | מִשְׁתָּ֑יו | mish-TAV | H4960 | feastמִשְׁתֶּה (mish.teh) 1) feast, drink, banquet 1a) feast, banquet 1b) drink Aramaic equivalent: mish.teh (מִשְׁתֶּה "feast" H4961) |
| and he requested | וַיְבַקֵּשׁ֙ | vay-va-KESH | H1245 | to seekבָּקַשׁ (ba.qash) 1) to seek, require, desire, exact, request 1a) (Piel) 1a1) to seek to find 1a2) to seek to secure 1a3) to seek the face 1a4) to desire, demand 1a5) to require, exact 1a6) to ask, request 1b) (Pual) to be sought |
| from [the] chief of | מִשַּׂ֣ר | mi-SAR | H8269 | rulerשַׂר (sar) 1) prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain 1a) chieftain, leader 1b) vassal, noble, official (under king) 1c) captain, general, commander (military) 1d) chief, head, overseer (of other official classes) 1e) heads, princes (of religious office) 1f) elders (of representative leaders of people) 1g) merchant-princes (of rank and dignity) 1h) patron-angel 1i) Ruler of rulers (of God) 1j) warden |
| the officials | הַסָּרִיסִ֔ים | ha-sa-ri-SIM | H5631 | eunuchסָרִיס (sa.ris) official, eunuch |
| that | אֲשֶׁ֖ר | 'a-SHER | H0834A | whichאֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when |
| not | לֹ֥א | lo' | H3808 | notלֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809) |
| he will defile himself | יִתְגָּאָֽל׃ | yit-ga-'AL | H1351 | to defileגָּאַל (ga.al) 1) to defile, pollute, desecrate 1a) (Niphal) to be defiled, be polluted 1b) (Piel) to pollute, desecrate 1c)(Pual) to be desecrated (of removal from priesthood) 1d) (Hiphil) to pollute, stain 1e) (Hithpael) to defile oneself |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.