3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^ehis chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family¹ and of ^fthe nobility, 4 youths without ^gblemish, of good appearance and ^hskillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to ⁱteach them the literature and language of the ^jChaldeans.