41 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king,.... This he said, not as refusing and denying the request of Daniel; but as hesitating about it, divided in his own mind, between love and tenderness to Daniel, and fear of the king: it is as if he should say, I could freely out of respect to you grant you your request; were...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. What a reign of terror there is in a despotic country, where kings can do as they will! For...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then said Daniel to Melzar,.... The prince of the eunuchs, having put off Daniel with the above answer, seems to have left him; or, however, Daniel, finding he could not obtain of him what he sought for, applies to Melzar, a subordinate officer, whom he hoped to find more pliable; and it may be that Ashpenaz might suggest it to him to apply to...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then said Daniel to Melzar whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. I like it that the Holy Ghost uses their old names whenever it is proper that they should be used. May we never lose our old names! I...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, e.] Here Daniel manifestly includes his companions, and makes his request for himself and them desiring that they might be tried ten days with different sort of food and drink, and see whether any alteration would be made in them for the worse; which was a proper time for such a trial; for in that time...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee,.... And be thoroughly examined, whether any alteration is made therein for the worse: and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat; who were either Chaldean youths brought up in this manner; or rather young men of the Jews, who were not so scrupulous as Daniel...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then 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. “If we do fall off, and grow thin, and look pale and ill through this coarse food, as you think it, well then, alter it; and if, on the other hand, we should be as well as...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So he consented to them in all this matter,.... Or, "hearkened to them" (e); being convinced that it was a very reasonable request, and the matter was fairly put; and especially as he saw, if it succeeded to their wish, it would be to his profit; since the meat and drink of these four persons would be his perquisite, and fetch him money; pulse and...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. A round number, standing for a sufficient period to afford a fair test.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and fatter in flesh,.... At the time fixed for the trial of them, when they came to be examined, they appeared to be of a better complexion, and a more healthful look, and even plumper and fatter, with good solid flesh, and not swelled up as persons in a dropsy: than all the children...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And at the end of days their countenances appeared fairer — and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. I doubt not that the satisfaction of heart which they had in keeping themselves undefiled tended to give them a good digestion, and thus they were more likely to be well than were the others.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat,.... To himself, as the Syriac version adds; he took and carried it to his own family, and made use of it himself; and the portion of four such young gentlemen, maintained at the king's expense, and who had their provision from his table, must be, especially in the course of three years, of great...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: God can help us in our study. We may pray as much over what we have to learn as over what we have to do. I believe that, often, a difficult problem can...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom,.... As they prospered in their bodies, they succeeded in their studies, and improved in their minds, and became great proficients in all kind of lawful and useful knowledge; not owing so much to their own sagacity and diligence, and the goodness and ability...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now 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. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in,.... That is, at the end of three years; which was the time appointed for their education, and when they were to be brought before the king for his examination and approbation: then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar; even all the young men that...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the king communed with them,.... He asked them several questions upon the several articles of literature in which they had been educated, to try and see what proficiency they had made; he discoursed with them on various topics of learning, that he might be able to form a judgment of them, and of their capacities, and what employments under him...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them,.... At the time of their examination before him, when he put questions to them, which they gave a ready, pertinent, and solid answer to: and afterwards, when he had occasion to consult them on any affair, he found them ten times, or ten hands (g) better than all the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And 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. They communed with God, and that was better than being magicians or stargazers. Men of God are ten times better than all that lot put together.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Daniel continued,.... In Babylon, and at court there, and in the favour of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors: even unto the first year of King Cyrus: by whom Babylon was taken, and when the seventy years' captivity of the Jews were at an end; which time Daniel was there, for the sake of observing which this is mentioned: not that Daniel died...