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 made a gold statue that was sixty cubits tall and six cubits wide. He set it up in the Plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
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 Nebuchadnezzar sent messages out to gather together the provincial governors, regional governors, and local governors, together with the counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the high officials of the provinces 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.
Then the provincial governors, regional governors, and local governors, together with the counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the high officials of the provinces gathered together to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood before it.
4 And, the herald, proclaimed aloud, —To you, is given the word, O ye peoples, races, and tongues:
Then a herald loudly shouted, “You are commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,
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;
that at the time you hear the sound of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and prostrate yourselves to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
6 and, whosoever shall not fall down and adore, shall, instantly, be cast into the burning furnace of fire.
Whoever does not fall down and worship, at that very moment, 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 the peoples heard the sounds of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and prostrated themselves to the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore, at the same time, drew near certain Chaldeans, —and accused the Jews:
Now at this time certain Chaldeans came and brought accusations against the Jews.
9 they spake, and said, to Nebuchadnezzar the king: O king! for ages, live!
They said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “King, live forever!
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, king, have made a decree that every person who hears the sounds of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music, must fall down and prostrate himself to the golden statue.
11 and, whosoever shall not fall down and adore, shall be cast into the burning furnace of fire.
Whoever does not fall down and worship must 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.
Now there are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon; their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, king, pay no attention to you. They will not worship or serve your gods, or prostrate themselves before the golden statue 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.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, filled with anger and rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought to him. So they brought these men before the king.
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, “Have you made your minds up, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not worship my gods or prostrate yourselves to the golden 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?
Now if you are ready—when you hear the sounds of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music—to fall down and prostrate yourselves to the statue that I have made, all will be well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Who is the god who is able to rescue you out of my hands?”
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 answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer 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 there is an answer, it is that our God whom we serve is able to keep us safe from the blazing furnace, and he will rescue us out of your hand, king.
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 if not, let it be known to you, king, that we will not worship your gods, and we will not prostrate ourselves to the golden statue you 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;
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage; the look on his face changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was normally heated.
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.
Then he commanded some very strong men in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and 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.
They were tied up still wearing their robes, tunics, turbans, and other clothing, and they were thrown into the blazing furnace.
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 king's command was strictly followed and the furnace was very hot, the flames killed the men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 and, these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down into the midst of the burning furnace of fire, fast bound.
These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the blazing furnace while they were tied up.
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!
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was amazed and stood up quickly. He asked his advisors, “Did we not throw three men tied up into the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, king.”
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!
He said, “But I see four men who are not tied up walking around in the fire, and they are not hurt. The brilliance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
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.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near the door of the blazing furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of God Most High, come out! Come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came 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.
The provincial governors, regional governors, other governors, and the king's counselors who had gathered together saw these men. The fire had not hurt their bodies; the hair on their heads was not singed; their robes were not harmed; and there was no smell of fire 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.
Nebuchadnezzar said, “Let us praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his messenger and given his message to his servants. They trusted in him when they set aside my command, and they gave up their bodies rather than worship or prostrate themselves to any god except their 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 make a decree that any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must be torn apart, and that their houses must be made into rubbish heaps because there is no other god who is able to save like this.”
30 Then, the king, advanced Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
