I ate no desirable bread, and neither flesh, nor wine entered into my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment: till the days of three weeks were accomplished.

I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were fulfilled.

desirable bread I have not eaten, and flesh and wine hath not come in unto my mouth, and I have not anointed myself at all, till the completion of three weeks of days.

I had no pleasing food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, and I put no oil on my body till three full weeks were ended.

I had no pleasing food, neither meat nor wine came into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

Panem deliciarum [127] non comedi: et caro et vinum non intravit in os meum: et unguendo non fui unctus donec impletae sunt tres hebdomades dierum.

I ate no pleasant bread - Margin, "bread of desires." So the Hebrew. The meaning is, that he abstained from ordinary food, and partook of that only which was coarse and disagreeable.
Neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth - That is, he lived on bread or vegetables. It is not to be inferred from this that Daniel ordinarily made use of wine, for it would seem from Daniel. 1: that that was not his custom. What would appear from this passage would be, that he practiced on this occasion the most rigid abstinence.
Neither did I anoint myself - The use of unguents was common in the East (see the notes at Matthew 6:17), and Daniel here says that he abstained during these three weeks from what he ordinarily observed as promoting his personal comfort. He gave himself up to a course of life which would be expressive of deep grief. Nature prompts to this when the mind is overwhelmed with sorrow. Not only do we become indifferent to our food, but it requires an effort not to be indifferent to our dress, and to our personal appearance.

I ate no pleasant bread - This fast was rather a general abstinence; living all the while on coarse and unsavory food; drinking nothing but water; not using the bath, and most probably wearing haircloth next the skin, during the whole of the time.

I ate no pleasant bread,.... Or, "bread of desires" (d); such as was made of the finest of the wheat, and was eaten in the courts of princes where Daniel was: according to some Jewish Rabbins in Ben Melech, hot bread is meant; but in general it means the best of bread, such as had good qualities to make it desirable; and this Daniel refrained from, while he was humbling and afflicting himself on this sorrowful occasion, but ate coarse bread, black and grainy:
neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth; not delicate meat, as of fish, fowl, deer, and the like, as Saadiah observes; but contented himself with meaner fare; nor did he drink generous wine, as he had used to do, living in a king's court, and which his old age made necessary for him, since he could come at it; but he abstained from it, and other lawful pleasures of nature, the more to give himself up to acts of devotion and contemplation:
neither did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled; which was wont to be frequently done by the Jews, especially at feasts; and by the Persians every day, among whom he now was; but this he refrained from, as was usual in times of fasting and humiliation; see Matthew 6:17.
(d) "panem desideriorum", Pagninus, Montanus; "desiderabilium", Junius & Tremellius; "desiderabilem", V. L. Vatablus, Piscator.

no pleasant bread--"unleavened bread, even the bread of affliction" (Deuteronomy 16:3).
anoint--The Persians largely used unguents.