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Daniel 1:1. In the summer of the third kingdom of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and fought. First of all, out of necessity, he mentioned the then king, and indicated the year for us, so that we could clearly know the time of the first captivity. For in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, who was called Eliakim, who reigned after Johaz, and was the father of that Joahaz, 2 who was called both Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, Jerusalem was taken for the first time. This same thing - to mention modern kings and years, shows the distinctive feature of the Prophets; for other Prophets may be found doing the same. It is said: “the vision that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw,” in the days of “Uzziah, and Jotham, and Ahaz,” and “Hezekiah, who reigned in Judah” (Is. 1: 1). And: “the word of God came to Jeremiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amos king of Judah in the third year of his kingdom” (Jer. 1:2). Ezekiel and each of the other Prophets very often also initiated prophecies. Therefore, this is enough to expose the iniquity of the Jews and show that this Prophet is truly a Prophet. Daniel 1:2. And the Lord gave in his hand Joachim the king of Judah, and part of the vessels of the church of God. And this shows spiritual grace in the Prophet; for it is not given to everyone to know God’s economy. Daniel, having been granted the Spirit of God, clearly understood, and teaches others, that, with the permission of the God of all, for the iniquities of the people and the king and for great wickedness, the city was taken, and some of the sacred vessels fell into the hands of the enemies. And it was extremely necessary for the Prophet to express himself this way: “and the Lord gave in his hand Joachim king of Judah” - so that no one would think that Nebuchadnezzar, by his own strength, became the owner of a city dedicated to God. Let everyone know exactly that when God betrayed and took away the grace that had protected the city from ancient times; then he fell to the power of his enemies. Clearly demonstrating this through the Prophet Isaias, the God of all things Himself says this: “will food be glorified by the ax without the one cutting it? or will the saw ascend without the enticing one” (Is. 10:15)? And this teaches that He Himself imposes punishments on people, and uses those suitable for this as instruments. And I will bring, says the Prophet: into the land of Shinar into the house of your god, and the vessels you will bring into the house of treasure of your god. Another may say: why, when people sinned, the holy vessels, brought as a gift to God, were handed over to evil people? But those who do not know the purpose of Divine dispensations say this; for “a spiritual man does not accept even the Spirit of God, for he has foolishness: but a spiritual man strives for everything,” according to the words of the divine Apostle (1 Cor. 2:14.15), and just as he is confident that by divine Providence nothing is arranged in vain, so enlightened by the Spirit of God, he also recognizes the reasons. So this, which is now the question, can be found out by those who wish to understand spiritually; because this was of great benefit not only to the Jews, but also to the barbarians. Firstly, the Jews were taught that the nature of God needs nothing; because, not because He has a need, God accepts all kinds of things brought by people, but He teaches them gratitude, He gives them opportunities to please and give thanks to Him. For how else could we, if possible, reward the benefactor God for the benefits shown to us, if He did not accept these small and insignificant gifts from those who bring them? Therefore, wanting to convince the Jews that, not satisfying his own needs, but condescending to their weakness, he accepted the sacrifices they made from them; when he turned away from them and gave them over to captivity, then he justly gave them into captivity the vessels they had brought as gifts, with which they thought they would please Him. For, having punished those gifted with reason, why would he spare inanimate things? God teaches the Jews by the very events that they are no different from the Babylonians, the wicked and barbarians, because like them they themselves are wicked. Those, not having accepted the law, not using the guidance of the Prophets, remained in ignorance: they, enlightened by many ancient and new Prophets, and having witnessed countless miracles, neglected the God of all, and continued to serve inanimate idols. Therefore, he handed over the vessels to the barbarians, as if saying so in the events themselves: you are no different from the barbarians, because, like barbarians, you defile the vessels with iniquities, and it is completely the same whether you have them or the Babylonians. Both you and them are possessed by wickedness. And this was enough to convict and admonish the Jews, and bring them no small benefit. The Babylonians, in their opinion, while they honored the vessels, leaving them out of human use, and dedicating them to the gods they worshiped, did not experience any sorrows until then. And when King Belshazzar dared to use them at a feast, he was immediately punished, and punished with dignity, and with punishment he showed everyone the power of these vessels, showed that God was not deprived of His vessels against His will, but voluntarily handed them over to the great iniquity of the people. This is what He did in ancient times with the ark. When Ofin and Phinehas, the lawless and vile sons of the priest Eli, took the ark and went to help their fellow tribesmen: then God denounces their wickedness, not deigning even the slightest thought, but giving them over to a just beating, and the ark to the foreigners, admonishing and teaching the Israelites again that He did not need the ark, but for them it was built by God, however, for their needs it became unnecessary, because they fearlessly transgress God’s law and prefer to live in wickedness. But so that the foreigners would not dream of themselves that they had overcome God (because they recognized the ark as the God of the Jews, concluding this according to the construction of their own idols), and so that they would not thereby bring great harm, like those who took captive the God of the Jews himself, and brought them as a gift to their gods in the form of a victorious monument, God arranges that Dagon, the idol to which they worshiped, falls and he laments before the ark, and thereby shows an appearance of worship, by the very deed he admits himself to be defeated, and allows one to see the slavery of the demon living in him; He does this not once, but twice and even repeatedly. God inflicts various plagues on the foreigners themselves, until they returned the ark and added gifts, signifying the punishment that befell them. Therefore, both then and under Nebuchadnezzar, a double benefit occurred: not only the Jews, but also the barbarians benefited from this short-term permission of God. Dan.1:3. And the king spoke to Asphanez the elder to bring in his eunuchs from the sons of captivity of the children of Israel, and from the king's tribe, and from the Forthommin 3: Dan.1:4. Young men, who have no blemish, and are good in appearance, and understanding in all wisdom, and knowledgeable in skill and wisdom, and meditative in understanding, and who have strength in them, should stand in the house before the king, and teach the books and the language of the Chaldean. So God “chooses the weak and the lowly of all things, that he may confound the wise and the mighty” (1 Cor. 1:27); and people are looking for physical beauty, and growth, and strength, and wisdom, which does not know the divine, but attracts with good speech. Therefore, from this one can find out what the distance is between the Divine and the human. It shows the arrogance of the king that he wanted to take into his service not just prisoners, but those descended from the royal family. And at the same time, in this, the prophecy of Isaiah, pronounced to King Hezekiah, is fulfilled: “Listen to the word of the Lord of hosts, who said to me: These days are coming, and they will take away everything that is in your house, and even though your fathers have gathered together even to this day, they will pass away to Babylon, and will leave nothing: the Lord said: For also of your children he begat thou shalt understand, and they will make war in the house of the king of Babylon” (Isa. 30:5-7). Blessed Daniel reminded us of this prophecy, saying that the king ordered the children of Israel to be brought in “from captivity,” and “from the king’s tribe,” and from forfommin. And the word forfommin in the Hebrew language called virgins; Symmachus translated the word: porthmin: the elect. Dan.1:5. And the king commanded them to feed them all the days from the king's meal and from his wine, and to feed them for three years, and then to place them before the king, Dan.1:6. And among them were of the sons of Judah Daniel, and Hananiah, and Azariah, and Mishael.” In this the Prophet shows us the generosity of the king, because he did not supply them with low-value and slave food, like captives, but commanded them to use the royal meal. Soon after this he shows himself and his comrades abstinence and wisdom, not driven by curiosity, but offering useful teaching to those who wish to use it. One can also see in this the modest way of thinking in the Prophet: having said above that the king ordered the selection of young men from the “king’s tribe” who were distinguished by beauty and stature, and having listed the names of those chosen, he simply mentioned the tribe of Judah, but concealed the relationship with the royal house. Dan.1:7. And the elder of the eunuchs gave them the names of Daniel Belshazzar, and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah and Abednego. And this is considered by them to be the right of dominion; When buying slaves, they change their names, so that by changing the names they make it known about their slavery. So here the elder of the eunuchs did the same, and taking away the Jewish names, he gave them Chaldean names; because the king ordered the young men to be taught the Chaldean language. Dan.1:8. And Daniel set it upon his hearts that he should not become defiled by the king’s meal or by his wine; and pray to the elder of the eunuchs that he not become defiled. God-lovers do not seek the God who exists above all in one place, but wherever they go, they perform the same service to Him, and, being in cramped circumstances, they also worship their Creator. But one can find something extremely surprising in this; youths raised by the Jews, who learned to serve God in a certain place, then settled on a foreign side, being forced to slave at a very young age, brought to the point of having to live under different laws, try to preserve their fatherly piety. And because they saw that the Babylonians desecrated food by invoking idols, and wine by drink offerings; then, neglecting visible health, disgusted with enjoying the royal meal, they beg the elder of the eunuchs to allow them to eat food that is not royal. Dan.1:9. And henceforth God showed Daniel mercy and mercy before the elder of the eunuchs. God's care for us is consistent with our will. As soon as these youths chose the Divine “for” themselves, they experienced God’s help. This, as we find, happened with Joseph; for it is said: “And the Lord was with Joseph, and the man was prosperous, and mercy and grace were poured out on him before the chief jailer” (Gen. 39: 2, 21). Therefore, we learn from this that God is not one of those who believed in He never leaves him without His care for him. Therefore, another Prophet cries out: ask the ancient generations that were before you: “Who is the faith of the Lord and is ashamed” (Sir. 2:10)? Daniel 1:10. And the elder of the eunuchs said to Daniel: I fear my lord the king, who commanded your food and your drink, lest you see your faces saddened, more than the youths of your age, and condemn my head to the king. The fear of the elder eunuchs was not without reason; because he was a man who had not tasted spiritual grace, and looking at human affairs from a human perspective, thinking that the body could be nourished and blossomed only from luxurious foods, he was afraid that if others ate luxuriously, and they lived abstinently, then some difference would be visible in their faces, and he would suffer extreme punishment for having acted contrary to the royal command. But when blessed Daniel saw that he was afraid, he turned with a request to Amelsar, whom the elder of the eunuchs appointed as guardian to him and to Ananias, Azariah and Misail, and said: Daniel 1:12. Tempt your youths until ten days, and let them give us some of the seeds so that we can eat and drink water, Dan.1:13. And let our faces appear before you, and the faces of the youths eating from the king's table, and as you see, do with your youths. The strongest thing is faith in God; this can be seen from many other places, but no less from the words of the godly Daniel. For to believe in this way and firmly hope that you will be worthy of God’s help, and without taking food, you will turn out to be more handsome, beautiful and tall than those who will eat, enjoy, and enjoy royal luxury - isn’t this the highest degree of piety? But the Prophet perfectly added persuasiveness to his request. For he says: “Test your servants until ten days, and let them give us some of the seeds so that we can eat and drink water,” and then judge by our faces. If you find that there will be any harm to our bodies from such food, order whatever you please, we will not contradict you. This divine man had so much from his childhood, both concern for God’s laws and faith in the Lawmaker. Thus spoke Daniel, and Hamelsar accepted the request; for it is said: Daniel 1:14. And I listened to them according to this verb, and tested them until ten days. Daniel 1:15. At the end of the ten days, their good faces appeared, and they themselves were stronger in flesh than the youths who ate from the king’s table. That is what happened, what this divine Prophet desired; to whom the care of them was entrusted, he proved that his promises were true, because, having been granted God’s grace, these youths turned out to be much better than those who enjoyed the royal meal. Daniel 1:16. And Amelsar took away their food, and their drink, and gave them seed. The benefit for him was twofold: firstly, he learned that those who fast can acquire bodily strength and beauty, and moreover, by receiving the food sent to them, the more willingly they could deliver the seeds they wanted. After this, the Prophet, speaking only about himself, out of necessity calls on Wednesday his accomplices in piety, and says: Daniel 1:17. And to these four youths God gave them meaning and wisdom in all book wisdom. It was not the Chaldean training, says the Prophet, that made them wise and filled them with all wisdom, but, by God’s grace, having been granted meaning and wisdom and all knowledge, they turned out to be the best of all. And Daniel was wise in every vision and dream; because from childhood I saw Divine revelations, not only in dreams, but also in the waking state, I could even interpret revelations that were to others; This is what the words mean: “to be wise.” We learn from this that God does not distinguish between ages, but seeks only piety and love of God. If he finds this in his youth, he prefers it to many elders. This is exactly what we find that He did with both Joseph and the Prophet Samuel; because when Samuel was a very young boy, he appeared to him and commanded him to predict the punishments of the old man, as a reproof for the old man, and as proof of the grace abounding in the youths. Daniel 1:18. And at the end of those days, when I spoke to the king to bring him, I brought the elder of the eunuchs before Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 1:19. And the king talked with them, and did not find from all of them the likeness of Daniel, and Ananias, and Azariah, and Mishael, and stood before the king. Daniel 1:20. And in every word of wisdom and skill, the king asked about them from them, and I found ten times more than all the charmers and magicians who existed in his whole kingdom. Amelsar knew the variety of foods, and without a doubt he knew the power of God's grace; but perhaps the king did not know any of this. And how was he supposed to know when the food distributed to everyone was destroyed by Amelsar? However, he also received no small benefit, having found that all the chosen ones from other nations were superior to the Jewish youths in beauty and stature of the body, wisdom and understanding of the soul, harmony of speech and all rational knowledge. The king did not just make comparisons, but by asking some questions, he wanted to find out the truth through testing, and found that they were not only superior to others, but also ten times greater than them, and this time he found out that the Jews were wiser than all other nations. Having said this, the Prophet added: Daniel 1:21. And Daniel was even before the first year of Cyrus the king. He didn’t just add this, but wanting to make known the time of the entire prophecy. For this reason, he showed us the beginning of the prophecy and indicated the end, so that, by calculating the years of the kings who were in the meantime, we would know the entire time of the prophecy. Moreover, the Prophet shows us that he saw Cyrus, to whom the captives were released, and in this life he enjoyed this consolation, seeing the release of his fellow tribesmen; because in the very first year of his reign, Cyrus commanded the Jews, whoever wanted, to return to Judea, and he restored the church of God, having learned from the blessed Daniel himself the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah. For Isaiah clearly proclaimed: “Say to Jerusalem: “Be rewarded, and inhabit the city of Judah.” “Tell Cyrus to understand and do all my wills” (Is. 44:26.28). “The Lord says to my anointed Cyrus, I will hold him” by his hand, “bow down the tongues before him, and the cities will not be closed. For I will go before your face, and I will break the mountains, the gates of brass, and the chains of iron, and I will open to you the dark hidden treasures that are unseen” (Isaiah 45:1.2). Having learned this, Cyrus granted everyone who wanted from the Jews the right to return to their fatherland. And the book of Chronicles shows us the year; for he says: “in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, when the mouth of Jeremiah was filled with the words of the Lord, the Lord raised up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, and Cyrus commanded to preach throughout his kingdom” the words of the scriptures, “the verb: This says Cyrus the king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of heaven, and He will make me a commandment.” Your home is in Jerusalem, which was in Judea.” Who is it in you of all His people? may his God be with him, and may he ascend” (2 Chronicles 36:22.23). For this reason, blessed Daniel, showing the time of the prophecy, included this in the writings of the Jews, “and Daniel came to be even until the first year of Cyrus the king.” And we, listeners, stopping at this, glorify the good Lord, who strikes and heals, inflicts wounds and heals, punishes and reveals His love for mankind. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. It seems that Eliakim should be read here instead of Jochaz, as can be seen from what was said in the preface. According to the Slavic translation: “and from the princes.”