Four of the young men selected were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men determined before the Lord that they wouldn’t defile themselves by eating and drinking things that were against God’s Law. Daniel asked the overseer to leave those things out of their daily diet.

“Oh no. I couldn’t let you do that! A day is coming when you’ll stand before the king. He’ll see that you’re scrawnier than the others, and then he’ll have me killed!”

At this point, Daniel chose his words carefully. “Please, before you decide, do a test. Allow the four of us to eat vegetables and drink water for ten days. Then see how we look in comparison to the others.”

The overseer highly respected Daniel, so he agreed to this test. At the end of ten days, Daniel and his friends looked better and healthier than all those who had been eating the king’s food and wine. So the overseer allowed the four of them to continue eating only vegetables and drinking water.

God was with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave them knowledge, and allowed them to understand wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams.

At the end of three years, Nebuchadnezzar interviewed all of the young men who had gone through his training program. None of the others ranked as high as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So they began serving in the king’s court. He consulted them in every matter concerning wisdom and understanding.

In time, the king valued their counsel ten times higher than his other counselors. Daniel continued to serve in the court through the reign of many kings.