NET Bible
"The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent–"
— Daniel 1:3, NET Bible
“And 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;”
“And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in certain of the children of Israel, even of the seed royal and of the nobles; ”
“The king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in [certain] of the children of Israel, even of the seed royal and of the nobles;”
“And the king spoke to Asphenez, the master of the eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes,”
“And the king gave orders to Ashpenaz, the captain of his unsexed servants, to take in some of the children of Israel, certain of the king's family, and those of high birth;”
“And 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;”
¶ Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege.
Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Babylonia to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.
The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent–
young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king’s royal service– and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians.
So the king assigned them a daily ration from his royal delicacies and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service.
As it turned out, among these young men were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.