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Daniel 1:10

in Daniel 1

but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths that are of your own age? so would ye endanger my head with the king.

KJV

And 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.

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This verse in Daniel 1

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king - He was apprehensive that if Daniel appeared less healthful, or cheerful, or beautiful, than it was supposed he would under the prescribed mode of life, it would be construed as disobedience of the commands of the king on his part, and that it would be inferred that the wan and emaciated appearance of Daniel was caused by the fact that the food which had been ordered had not been furnished, but had been embezzled by the officer who had it in charge.

This site's exposition

purposed in his heart

on Daniel 1:8-10

Daniel purposed in his heart before the request was even made, the text's own emphasis: the resolve comes first, and the negotiation with Ashpenaz follows as its outworking rather than its cause. The bench reads the king's food and wine as likely offered first to idols, so that eating it meant more than diet, a table shared with Babylon's gods; Wesley and Gill both note that a defiled conscience, once yielded on a small point, rarely holds on a large one. The prince of the eunuchs fears for his own head under a king he cannot resist, which sets up Daniel's proposal as a solution offered rather than a demand pressed.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

Commentary on Daniel 1.11.2-3 · Written before 235.

proposed

"And God gave Daniel mercy and favor before the chief eunuch. But the chief eunuch was saying to them, 'I myself fear my lord the king who has marked out your bread and your drink, lest he see that your face is sullen compared to the other youths at your assembly and you condemn my head to the king.'" [Daniel 1:9-10] And so what was spoken by Melgad was true. For he did not understand them because of their purposes, and was concerned that their appearance would seem sullen compared to the youths who were eating from the table of the king and that by this he, having been found culpable, would be put to death.

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 1:10 · Written before 458.

proposed

This pointless objection of the eunuch was cowardly. He [the eunuch] was a man whose spirit did not know grace but took pleasure in his own sensuality. Of this man and human morality, take heed as there is the opinion that sumptuous feeding on nutritious …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king,....

The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֜אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • שַׂ֤ר[the] chief of

    sarH8269 →421 times

  • הַסָּרִיסִים֙the officials

    hasarisimH5631 →42 times

  • לְדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אלto Daniel

    ledaniyelH1840 →24 times

  • יָרֵ֤א[am] fearing

    yare'H3373 →

  • אֲנִי֙I

    ʾaniH589 →874 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אֲדֹנִ֣יmaster my

    ʾadoniH113 →333 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • מִנָּ֔הhe has assigned

    minahH4487 →28 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • מַאֲכַלְכֶ֖םfood your

    maakhalkhemH3978 →

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מִשְׁתֵּיכֶ֑םdrink your

    mishteikhemH4960 →46 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֡רthat

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • לָמָּה֩<to> why?

    lamahH4100 →752 times

  • יִרְאֶ֨הwill he see

    yirehH7200 →1300 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • פְּנֵיכֶ֜םfaces your

    peneikhemH6440 →2123 times

  • זֹֽעֲפִ֗יםlooking thin

    zoafimH2196 →

  • מִן־more than

    min-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַיְלָדִים֙the youths

    hayladimH3206 →89 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • כְּגִֽילְכֶ֔ם[are] about age your

    kegilekhemH1524 →

  • וְחִיַּבְתֶּ֥םand you will endanger

    vechiyavtemH2325 →

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • רֹאשִׁ֖יhead my

    roshiH7218 →

  • לַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃to the king

    lamelekhH4428 →2525 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Proverbs 29:25

    The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 118:8

      It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

    • Luke 12:4

      I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

    • Proverbs 18:10

      The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

    • Psalms 91:14

      “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

    • Proverbs 16:20

      Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

Where this verse is studied

About Daniel

Daniel among the Exiles — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Daniel among the Exiles — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Daniel: the study guide →Read Daniel 1 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 1.11.2-3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 1:10.

Read on in Daniel 1 →