Daniel 1:13

Dan 1:13 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.

Ver. 13. Then let our countenances be looked upon.] {See Trapp on "Dan 1:12"}

And as thou seest, deal with thy servants.] Thus humbly they bespeak the butler, or purveyor, though themselves were nobly descended. God had made them captives, and they now carry their sails accordingly.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:13-14 make your decision: Daniel’s exemplary wisdom, prudence, and courtesy are seen in his respectful stance toward his attendant, who responded favorably.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

[Daniel 1:13] Ve-yera’u (וְיֵרָא֤וּ - And let [our appearance] be seen): [Meaning:] At the end of the ten [days, let] our appearance [be seen and compared]. And he [Daniel] mentioned “the king’s pat-bag [food]” and adopted a concise manner of speaking (derech ketzarah - דֶּרֶךְ קְצָרָה) in that he did not mention the wine [even though they were also abstaining from it].

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Illustrating Deu 8:3, "Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

13. of the youths that eat the king’s delicacies] as Dan_1:5; Dan_1:8.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 and his companions, and made no objection to eating the king's food; let their countenances and ours be compared together:

and as thou seest deal with thy servants: if there is no difference, or we are not the worse for abstaining from the king's meat, then grant us our request, and continue to indulge us in this manner; but, if otherwise, do as thou wilt. Daniel, no doubt, in putting the matter on this issue, as it should turn out at the end of ten days, had a revelation or assurance from God how it would be, or he would never have ventured to put it to such a trial.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Then let our countenances be looked upon - One of the “objects” to be secured by this whole trial was to promote their personal beauty, and their healthful appearance Dan 1:4-5, and Daniel was willing that the trial should be made with reference to that, and that a judgment should be formed from the observed effect of their temperate mode of life. The Hebrew word rendered countenance (מראה mar'eh) is not limited to the “face,” as the word countenance is with us. It refers to the whole appearance, the form, the “looks;” and the expression here is equivalent to, “Then look on us, and see what the result has been, and deal with us accordingly” The Greek is, αἱ ἰδέαι ἡμῶν hai ideai hēmōn - our appearance.

Of the children - Youths; young men. Notes, Dan 1:4. The reference is, probably, to the Chaldean youths who were trained up amidst the luxuries of the court. It is possible, however, that the reference is to Hebrew youths who were less scrupulous than Daniel and his companions.

And as thou seest, deal with thy servants - As the result shall be. That is, let us be presented at court, and promoted or not, as the result of our mode of living shall be. What the effect would have been if there had been a failure, we are not informed. Whether it would have endangered their lives, or whether it would have been merely a forfeiture of the proffered honors and advantages, we have no means of determining. It is evident that Daniel had no apprehension as to the issue.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

By these words Daniel secures Melzar against fear and danger, only by ten days’ trial; which was a fair and reasonable proffer. Thus the servants of God must carefully do, when they have good offices done them by the servants of princes, as Elijah was careful of good Obadiah, 1Ki 18:11,12, to secure him from death.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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. The Septuagint Version here differs considerably from the Massoretic text; it is as follows: "And should our countenance appear more downcast than (diatetrammenh para) those other youths who eat of the royal feast, according as thou seest good (qelhv), so deal with thy servants." In the text before the Septuagint translator (l"phaneka), "before thee," is omitted, and instead of haerm (mareh)," appearance," is read (zoaphim), and after is inserted mi (min), "from," the sign of the comparative, equivalent to than. " Theodotion, Jerome, and the Peshitta represent accurately the Massoretic text. Against the Septuagint reading is the fact that in the Massoretic, marayeeaen is construed a singular, but in Eze 15 it is plural. The vocalization of tirayh, "thou shalt see," is Aramaean, and therefore confirms the idea that this chapter is a translation in which the original shines through. The reading of the Septuagint implies that a different meaning must be put on the last clause from that in the English Version. It means that, should the experiment prove a failure, they were willing to suffer any punishment that the official in question saw good. Such an interference with the arrangements of.the king would be a crime to be punished with stripes. Although a perfectly consistent sense can be brought from the text behind the Septuagint, yet, from the fact that the phrase, (zo"apheem min- hay"ladeem), occurs in the tenth verse, and therefore may be repeated here by accident, we would not definitely prefer it. Further, the Massoretic text follows more naturally from the context. Let the steward see the result of the experiment after ten days, and, as he sees, so let him judge and act. Daniel and his companions leave the matter thus really in the hands of Providence.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

and as you will see According to what you see, do.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.