Daniel 3
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king has made an image of gold, its height sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits; he has raised it up in the Valley 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 and Nebuchadnezzar the king has sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the province, to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised 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 Then are gathered the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the province, to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up: and they are standing before the image that Nebuchadnezzar has raised up.
When they all arrived, they all stood in front of that statue.
4 And a crier is calling mightily: “They are saying to you: O peoples, nations, and languages!
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 At the time that you hear the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, the symphony, and all kinds of music, you fall down and pay respect to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised 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 and whoever does not fall down and pay respect, in that hour he is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
Anyone who refuses to do that will be thrown into a blazing furnace!”
7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples are hearing the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, and all kinds of music, falling down are all the peoples, nations and languages, worshiping the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised 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 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans have drawn near, and accused the Jews;
But some of the men who studied the stars went to the king.
9 they have answered, indeed, they are saying to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for all ages!
They reported to him, “We hope that you, O king, will live a long time!
10 You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, falls down and pays respect to the golden image;
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 whoever does not fall down and pay respect, is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
You also decreed that those who refused to do that would be thrown into a blazing furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the work of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of you, O king, [any] regard; your gods they are not serving, and to the golden image you have raised up—are not making worship.”
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 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and fury, has said to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Then these men have been brought in 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 Nebuchadnezzar has answered and said to them, “Is [it] a laid plan, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—my gods you are not serving, and to the golden image that I have raised up you are not worshiping?
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 Now behold, you are ready, so that at the time that you hear the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, you fall down and pay respect to the image that I have made! But if you do not worship—in that hour you are cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; who is that God who delivers you out of my hands?”
[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 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have answered, indeed, they are saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need concerning this matter to answer you.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend our [actions] to you in this matter.
17 Behold, it is; our God whom we are serving, is able to deliver us from a burning fiery furnace; and from your hand, O king, He delivers.
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 And behold—not! Be it known to you, O king, that we are not serving your gods, and we do not worship the golden image you have raised 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 Then Nebuchadnezzar has been full of fury, and the expression of his face has been changed concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; he answered and said to heat the furnace seven times above that which it is seen to be heated;
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 and to certain mighty men who [are] in his force he has said to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the burning fiery furnace.
[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 Then these men have been bound in their coats, their tunics, and their turbans, and their clothing, and have been cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
So [the soldiers] tied them up and threw them into the furnace, while they were wearing their clothes.
22 Therefore, because that the word of the king is urgent, and the furnace heated exceedingly, those men who have taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—the spark of the fire has killed them.
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 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, have fallen down in the midst of the burning fiery furnace—bound.
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the roaring flames.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king has been astonished, and has risen in haste; he has answered and said to his counselors, “Have we not cast three men into the midst of the fire—bound?” They have answered and are saying to the king, “Certainly, O king.”
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 He answered and has said, “Behold, I am seeing four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth [is] like to a son of the gods.”
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 Then Nebuchadnezzar has drawn near to the gate of the burning fiery furnace; he has answered and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of God Most High come forth, indeed, come”; then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego come forth, from the midst 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 and gathered together, the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the counselors of the king, are seeing these men, that the fire has no power over their bodies, and the hair of their head has not been singed, and their coats have not changed, and the smell of fire has not passed on them.
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 Nebuchadnezzar has answered and has said, “Blessed [is] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who has sent His messenger, and has delivered His servants who trusted on Him.” And the word of the king changed, and gave up their bodies that they might not serve nor pay respect to any god except to their own 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 “And by me a decree is made, that any people, nation, and language, that speaks erroneously concerning the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, he is made pieces, and its house is made a dunghill, because that there is no other god who is able thus to deliver.”
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 the king has caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to prosper in the province of Babylon.
Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in Babylon province than they had before.
