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 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 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.
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 When they all arrived, they all stood in front of that statue.
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 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 loudly shouted, “You are commanded, peoples, 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 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 Anyone who refuses to do that will be thrown into a blazing furnace!”
Whoever does not fall down and worship, at that very moment, will be thrown into a blazing 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.
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 But some of the men who studied the stars went to the king.
Now at this time certain Chaldeans came and brought accusations against the Jews.
9 They reported to him, “We hope that you, O king, will live a long time!
They said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “King, live forever!
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.
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 You also decreed that those who refused to do that would be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Whoever does not fall down and worship must be thrown into a blazing 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.”
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 Nebuchadnezzar became very angry. He commanded [his soldiers] to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were brought to him,
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 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 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 [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 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 Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend our [actions] to you in this matter.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you 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.
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 [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, 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 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 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 [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.
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 So [the soldiers] tied them up and threw them into the furnace, while they were wearing their clothes.
They were tied up still wearing their robes, tunics, turbans, and other clothing, and they were thrown into the blazing 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!
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 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the roaring flames.
These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the blazing furnace while they were tied up.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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!
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 [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.
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, 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 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 gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in Babylon province than they had before.
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
