< Daniel 3 >

1 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.
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his men to make a gold statue. It was (90 feet/27 meters) high and (9 feet/2.7 meters) wide. They set it up in the Dura plain in Babylon province.
2 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.
Then he sent messages to all the provincial governors, the district governors, the chief advisors, the counselors, the various judges, and all the other officials in the province. He told them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had set up.
3 They all came to the dedication of the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up and stood in front of it.
When they all arrived, they all stood in front of that statue.
4 Then a herald announced in a loud voice, “People of all nations and languages, pay attention to the king's command!
Then an announcer shouted, “You people who come from many countries and many people-groups and [who speak many] languages, listen to what the king has commanded!
5 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.
When you hear the sounds made by the trumpets, the flutes, the guitars, the harps, the wind instruments, and all the other musical instruments, bow down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.
6 Anyone who doesn't immediately fall down and worship will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”
Anyone who refuses to do that will be thrown into a blazing furnace!”
7 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.
So when all those people who had gathered heard the sounds made by the musical instruments, they all bowed down to worship the statue.
8 Right then some of the astrologers came forward and made accusations against the Jews.
But some of the men who studied the stars went to the king.
9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May Your Majesty the king live forever!
They reported to him, “We hope that you, O king, will live a long time!
10 Your Majesty has decreed that everyone who hears the sound of the musical instruments shall fall down and worship the gold statue,
You decreed that all the officials [whom you had gathered] should bow down and worship the gold statue when they heard the sounds made by the musical instruments.
11 and that anyone who does not shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.
You also decreed that those who refused to do that would be thrown into a blazing furnace.
12 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.”
Sir, there are some men from Judah whom you have appointed to be officials in Babylon province who have not obeyed your decree. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They have refused to worship your god and the gold statue that you have set up.”
13 This made Nebuchadnezzar absolutely furious. “Bring me Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!” he demanded. So they were brought before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar became very angry. He commanded [his soldiers] to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were brought to him,
14 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are you deliberately refusing to serve my gods and worship the gold statue I set up?” asked the king.
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true that you three men have refused to worship my gods or the gold statue that I have set up?
15 “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!”
[If that is true, ] I will give you one more chance. If you bow down to worship the statue that I have set up when you hear the sounds of the musical instruments, fine. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. Then (what god will be able to rescue you from my power?/no god will be able to rescue you from my power!)” [RHQ]
16 “King Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to defend ourselves before you over this,” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend our [actions] to you in this matter.
17 “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.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we worship is able to rescue us. Sir, he will rescue us from your power.
18 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.”
But [even] if he does not [rescue us], you need to know that we will never worship your gods or the gold statue that you have set up.”
19 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.
Nebuchadnezzar was extremely angry. [His being very angry even] showed on his face. He commanded that the furnace should be made seven times as hot as usual.
20 Then he commanded some of his strongest soldiers, “Tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire!”
[After that was done, ] he commanded some of the [very] strong men of his army to tie Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and [then] to throw them into the blazing furnace.
21 So they were tied up, fully dressed in their coats, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.
So [the soldiers] tied them up and threw them into the furnace, while they were wearing their clothes.
22 Because the king's command was so harsh in making the furnace so extremely hot, the flames killed the soldiers who threw them in.
Because the fire had been made very hot because the king had very strongly ordered them to do that, the flames [leaped out and] killed the soldiers as they were throwing the men into the fire!
23 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, still tied up, fell into the furnace of blazing fire.
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the roaring flames.
24 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.
But as Nebuchadnezzar was watching, he was amazed. He suddenly jumped up and shouted to his advisors, “Did we tie up three men and throw them into the flames, or not?” They replied, “Yes, O king, [we did].”
25 “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!”
Nebuchadnezzar shouted, “[Look]! I see four men in the fire! They have no ropes on them, they are walking around, and [the flames] are not hurting them! And the fourth man looks like a divine being!”
26 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.
Nebuchadnezzar came closer to the opening of the flaming furnace, and he shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you who worship the Supreme God, come out of there! Come here!” So they stepped out of the fire.
27 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!
Then all the king’s officials crowded around them. They saw that the flames had not harmed them. The flames had not [even] singed any of the hair on their heads or scorched any of their clothes! There was not [even] any smell of smoke on them!
28 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.
[Then] Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego [worship]! He sent one of his angels to rescue these [three] men who worship him and trust in him. They ignored my command; they insisted that they would worship only their God, and were willing to die instead of worshiping any other god.
29 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!”
Therefore, I am [now] making this decree: ‘If any people, from any country or people-group or any language group, criticize the God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego worship, they will be cut in pieces and their houses [will be torn down and] made into a pile of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue people like this!’”
30 Then Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, giving them even greater responsibilities in the province of Babylon.
Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in Babylon province than they had before.

< Daniel 3 >