Daniel 3
1 King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high, and six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura of the province of Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made that was sixty cubits tall and six cubits wide. He had it set up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nabuchodonosor the king sent to call together the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains, the rulers, and governors, and all the chief men of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.
Then he summoned the provincial governors, prefects, local governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.
3 Then the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains, and rulers, and the great men that were placed in authority, and all the princes of the provinces, were gathered together to come to the dedication of the statue, which king Nabuchodonosor had set up. And they stood before the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.
They all came to the dedication of the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up and stood in front of it.
4 Then a herald cried with a strong voice: To you it is commanded, O nations, tribes, and languages:
Then a herald announced in a loud voice, “People of all nations and languages, pay attention to the king's command!
5 That in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and of the flute, and of the harp, of the sackbut, and of the psaltery, and of the symphony, and of all kind of music; ye fall down and adore the golden statue which king Nabuchodonosor hath set up.
As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of musical instruments, you must fall to the ground and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
6 But if any man shall not fall down and adore, he shall the same hour be cast into a furnace of burning fire.
Anyone who doesn't immediately fall down and worship will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”
7 Upon this therefore, at the time when all the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music: all the nations, tribes, and languages fell down and adored the golden statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.
So when all the people heard the sound of the musical instruments they all fell down—the people of all nations and languages worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 And presently at that very time some Chaldeans came and accused the Jews,
Right then some of the astrologers came forward and made accusations against the Jews.
9 And said to king Nabuchodonosor: O king, live for ever:
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May Your Majesty the king live forever!
10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man that shall bear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, shall prostrate himself, and adore the golden statue:
Your Majesty has decreed that everyone who hears the sound of the musical instruments shall fall down and worship the gold statue,
11 And that if any man shall not fall down and adore, he should be cast into a furnace of burning fire.
and that anyone who does not shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.
12 Now there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the works of the province of Babylon, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago: these men, O king, have slighted thy decree: they worship not thy gods, nor do they adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.
But there are some Jews that you placed in charge of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who pay no attention to Your Majesty's decree. They do not serve your gods and will not worship the gold statue you set up.”
13 Then Nabuchodonosor in fury, and in wrath, commanded that Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago should be brought: who immediately were brought before the king.
This made Nebuchadnezzar absolutely furious. “Bring me Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!” he demanded. So they were brought before the king.
14 And Nabuchodonosor the king spoke to them, and said: Is it true, O Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, that you do not worship my gods, nor adore the golden statue that I have set up?
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are you deliberately refusing to serve my gods and worship the gold statue I set up?” asked the king.
15 Now therefore if you be ready at what hour soever you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, harp, sackbut, and psaltery, and symphony, and of all kind of music, prostrate yourselves, and adore the statue which I have made: but if you do not adore, you shall be cast the same hour into the furnace of burning fire: and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hand?
“Are you ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments? If you don't, you will be immediately thrown into the furnace of blazing fire, and there's no god who can save you from my power!”
16 Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago answered and said to king Nabuchodonosor: We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this matter.
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to defend ourselves before you over this,” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied.
17 For behold our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the furnace of burning fire, and to deliver us out of thy hands, O king.
“If our God whom we serve so wishes, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. He will save us from your power, Your Majesty.
18 But if he will not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not worship thy gods, nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.
But even if he does not, Your Majesty needs to know that we would never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
19 Then was Nabuchodonosor filled with fury: and the countenance of his face was changed against Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times more than it had been accustomed to be heated.
This made Nebuchadnezzar so angry with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face twisted in rage. “Make the furnace seven times hotter than normal!” he ordered.
20 And he commanded the strongest men that were in his army, to bind the feet of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and to cast them into the furnace of burning fire.
Then he commanded some of his strongest soldiers, “Tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire!”
21 And immediately these men were bound and were cast into the furnace of burning fire, with their coats, and their caps, and their shoes, and their garments.
So they were tied up, fully dressed in their coats, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.
22 For the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace was heated exceedingly. And the flame of the fire slew those men that had cast in Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago.
Because the king's command was so harsh in making the furnace so extremely hot, the flames killed the soldiers who threw them in.
23 But these three men, that is, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, fell down bound in the midst of the furnace of burning fire.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, still tied up, fell into the furnace of blazing fire.
24 Then Nabuchodonosor the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and said to his nobles: Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered the king, and said: True, O king.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar suddenly jumped up in amazement. “Didn't we throw three men tied up into the furnace?” he asked his advisors. “Yes, that's right, Your Majesty,” they replied.
25 He answered, and said: Behold I see four men loose, and walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt in them, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
“Look!” he cried out. “How is it that I can see four men, not tied up, walking around in the fire and not being burned? And the fourth one looks like a god!”
26 Then Nabuchodonosor came to the door of the burning fiery furnace, and said: Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high God, go ye forth, and come. And immediately Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago went out from the midst of the fire.
Nebuchadnezzar went towards the door of the furnace of blazing fire. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” he shouted. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
27 And the nobles, and the magistrates, and the judges, and the great men of the king being gathered together, considered these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, and that not a hair of their head had been singed, nor their garments altered, nor the smell of the fire had passed on them.
The provincial governors, prefects, local governors, and the king's advisors gathered around them and saw that the fire had not harmed them. Their hair wasn't singed, their clothes weren't scorched—there wasn't even the smell of smoke!
28 Then Nabuchodonosor breaking forth, said: Blessed be the God of them, to wit, of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that believed in him: and they changed the king’s word, and delivered up their bodies that they might not serve, nor adore any god, except their own God.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and he rescued his servants who trusted in him! They disobeyed my royal command, putting their lives on the line, and refused to worship any other gods except their God.
29 By me therefore this decree is made, that every people, tribe, and tongue, which shall speak blasphemy against the God of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, shall be destroyed, and their houses laid waste: for there is no other God that can save in this manner.
Consequently I am issuing a decree that if anyone of any nation or language speaks disrespectfully about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego they will be torn to pieces and their houses will be destroyed. There is no other God who is able to save like this!”
30 Then the king promoted Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, in the province of Babylon.
Then Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, giving them even greater responsibilities in the province of Babylon.
