Daniel 3
1 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.
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits, and the breadth of which was six cubits: he set it up in the valley of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 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.
And king Nebuchadnezzar sent to assemble [his] lieutenants, the superintendents, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, those learned in the law, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3 When they all arrived, they all stood in front of that statue.
Thereupon were assembled the lieutenants, the superintendents, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, those learned in the law, and all the rulers of the provinces unto the dedication of the image that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood opposite to the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 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!
Then a herald called out with a loud voice, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 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.
That at the time when ye do hear the sound of the cornet, flute, guitar, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, ye shall fall down and bow yourselves to the golden image which king Nebuchadnezzar hath set up:
6 Anyone who refuses to do that will be thrown into a blazing furnace!”
And whoso doth not fall down and bow himself shall in the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7 So when all those people who had gathered heard the sounds made by the musical instruments, they all bowed down to worship the statue.
Therefore at the same time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, guitar, harp, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down bowing themselves to the golden image which king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 But some of the men who studied the stars went to the king.
Therefore at the same time certain Chaldean men came near, and accused the Jews treacherously.
9 They reported to him, “We hope that you, O king, will live a long time!
They commenced and said to king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
10 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.
Thou, O king, hadst made a decree, that every man that should hear the sound of the cornet, flute, guitar, harp, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, should fall down and bow himself to the golden image;
11 You also decreed that those who refused to do that would be thrown into a blazing furnace.
And that whoso should not fall down and bow himself should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 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.”
There are certain Jewish men whom thou hast appointed over the public service of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego: these men, O king, have not paid any regard to thee; thy god they do not worship, and to the golden image which thou hast set up they do not bow themselves.
13 Nebuchadnezzar became very angry. He commanded [his soldiers] to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were brought to him,
Then ordered Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego. Then were these men brought before the king.
14 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?
Nebuchadnezzar commenced and said unto them, Is it out of disrespect, O Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego? My god ye do not worship, and to the golden image which I have set up ye do not bow yourselves?
15 [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]
Now then if ye be ready at the time when ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, guitar, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and bow yourselves to the image which I have made, [well]; but if ye bow yourselves not, ye shall be cast in the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace: and who is the God that can deliver you out of my hand?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend our [actions] to you in this matter.
Then answered Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee a word in this matter.
17 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.
Behold, there is our God whom we worship, he is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace: and out of thy hand, O king, will he deliver us.
18 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.”
But if not, then be it known unto thee, O king, that thy god will we not worship, and to the golden image which; thou hast set up will we not bow ourselves.
19 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.
Then was Nebuchadnezzar filled with fury, and the form of his countenance was changed because of Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego; [and] he commenced and ordered that they should heat the furnace thoroughly seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 [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.
And he ordered the mightiest men in strength that were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 So [the soldiers] tied them up and threw them into the furnace, while they were wearing their clothes.
Then were these men bound in their mantles, their under-garments, and their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 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!
Now, because the king's command was so urgent, and the furnace exceedingly heated, the flame of the fire slew those men that carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego.
23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the roaring flames.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 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].”
Then was king Nebuchadnezzar astonished, and he rose up in haste, [and] commenced, and said unto his counsellors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, Certainly, O king.
25 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!”
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no injury on them; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
26 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.
Then came Nebuchadnezzar near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, commenced, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, step forth, and come hither. Then stepped Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego forth out of the midst of the fire.
27 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!
And the lieutenants, superintendents, and governors, and the king's counsellors, being assembled together, saw these men, over whose bodies the fire had had no power, and the hair of whose head was not singed, whose mantles were not changed, and on whom there was not come the smell of fire.
28 [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.
Then commenced Nebuchadnezzar, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that had trusted in him, and had transgressed the king's word, and yielded up their bodies, that they might not worship no bow themselves to any god, except their own God.
29 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!’”
Therefore do I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, that may speak any thing disrespectful against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be changed into a dunghill; because there is no other God that can deliver like this one.
30 Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in Babylon province than they had before.
Then did the king promote Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
