Daniel 3
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, made an image of gold, the height thereof, sixty cubits, the breadth thereof, six cubits, —he set 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, sent to gather together the satraps, the nobles and the pashas, the chief judges, the treasurers, the judges, the lawyers, and all the rulers of the province, —to come to the dedication of the image, which Nebuchadnezzar the king, 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 Then were gathered together, the satraps, the nobles and the pashas, the chief judges, the treasurers, the judges, the lawyers, and all the rulers of the province, to the dedication of the image, which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, —and they stood before the image, which Nebuchadnezzar, had set up.
When they all arrived, they all stood in front of that statue.
4 And, the herald, proclaimed aloud, —To you, is given the word, O ye peoples, races, and tongues:
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 what time ye shall hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the lyre, the harp, the psaltery, the bagpipes, and all kinds of instruments of music, ye shall fall down and adore the image of gold, which Nebuchadnezzar the king hath 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 and, whosoever shall not fall down and adore, shall, instantly, be cast into the burning furnace of fire.
Anyone who refuses to do that will be thrown into a blazing furnace!”
7 Wherefore, at the same time—when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the pipe, the lyre, the harp, the psaltery, and all kinds of instruments of music, they were falling down—even all the peoples, the races, and the tongues, —adoring the image of gold, which Nebuchadnezzar the king, 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 Wherefore, at the same time, drew near certain Chaldeans, —and accused the Jews:
But some of the men who studied the stars went to the king.
9 they spake, and said, to Nebuchadnezzar the king: O king! for ages, live!
They reported to him, “We hope that you, O king, will live a long time!
10 Thou thyself, O king, hast made a decree, that, any man who shall hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the lyre, the harp, the psaltery and the bagpipes, and all kinds of instruments of music, shall fall down and adore the image of gold;
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, whosoever shall not fall down and adore, shall be cast into the burning furnace of fire.
You also decreed that those who refused to do that would be thrown into a blazing furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the business of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, —these men, have made thee, O king, of no account, thy god, they serve not, and, the image of gold which thou hast set up, do they not adore.
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—with anger and wrath, gave word to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, then, these men, brought they 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 spake and said unto them, Is it, with design, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, —that, my god, ye are not serving, and, the image which I have set up, are not adoring?
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, if ye be ready, at what time ye shall hear the sound of the cornet, the pipe, the lyre, the harp, the psaltery and the bagpipes, and all the instruments of music, ye shall fall down and adore the image which I have made, but, if ye shall not adore, instantly, shall ye be cast into the midst of the burning furnace of fire, —and who is the god that shall deliver 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 answered, and said to the king: O Nebuchadnezzar! we are not accounting it needful, concerning this, to answer thee.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend our [actions] to you in this matter.
17 If it is, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us, —out of the burning furnace of fire, and out of thy hand, O king, he will deliver.
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, if not, be it known to thee, O king, —that, thy god, will we not serve, and, the image of gold which thou hast set up, will we not adore.
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, was filled with wrath, and, the likeness of his countenance, was changed, against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, —he spake and gave word to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was ever seen 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 men, who were the mightiest men in his army, gave he word to bind fast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, —to cast them into the burning furnace of 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 Then bound they, these men, in their trousers, their tunics, and their cloaks, and their (other) clothing, —and cast into the midst of the burning furnace of fire.
So [the soldiers] tied them up and threw them into the furnace, while they were wearing their clothes.
22 Therefore, because the word of the king had raged forth, and the furnace was exceeding hot, those very men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, were slain by the flame of the fire;
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, fell down into the midst of the burning furnace of fire, fast bound.
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the roaring flames.
24 Then, Nebuchadnezzar the king, was amazed, and rose up in haste: he spake and said to his nearest friends—Were there not three men, we cast into the midst of the fire, fast bound? They answered and said to the king, Surely, 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 said, Lo! I, see four men, unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and, injury, there is not in them, 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 did Nebuchadnezzar, draw near, to the door of the burning furnace of fire, he spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, step forth and come hither. Then stepped forth Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, out of 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—being gathered together—the satraps, the nobles, and the pashas and near friends of the king, saw these men, over whose bodies the fire had, no power, nor was, a hair of their head, singed, neither were, their trousers, disfigured, —nor had, the smell of fire, come upon 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 spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his messenger, and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, —when, the word of the king, they transgressed, and delivered up their bodies, that they might not serve nor adore any god, saving 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 Therefore do I make a decree, that, whosoever of any people, race, or tongue it be that shall charge any error upon the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and, his house, into a dunghill, shall be changed; because there is no other God, who is able to deliver, 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, the king, advanced Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in Babylon province than they had before.
