Daniel 3
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it six cubits: he set it up in the plain 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 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, 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 the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
When they all arrived, they all stood in front of that statue.
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, 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 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that 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 whoever falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be 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 people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that 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 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
But some of the men who studied the stars went to the king.
9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
They reported to him, “We hope that you, O king, will live a long time!
10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship 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 falleth not down and worshippeth, that he shall be 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 thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
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 his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men 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 spoke and said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do ye not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
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 that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that 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 Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend our [actions] to you in this matter.
17 If it is so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king.
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 we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set 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 was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was heated before.
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 he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them 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 were bound in their coats, their trousers, and their turbans, and their other garments, and were 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 the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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 Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the roaring flames.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said to his counsellors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, 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 loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
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 came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came 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 the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire passed 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 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except 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 I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a refuse heap: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
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 promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.
Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in Babylon province than they had before.
