Daniel 3:3–30

³Then ^wthe satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴And the herald ^yproclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O ^zpeoples, nations, and languages, ⁵that when you hear the ^asound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you ^bare to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately ^cbe cast into a burning fiery furnace.” ⁷Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all ^zthe peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The Fiery Furnace

⁸Therefore at that time certain ^dChaldeans ^ecame forward and maliciously accused the Jews. ⁹They declared² to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰You, O king, ^fhave made a decree, that every man who ^ghears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, ^gshall fall down and worship the golden image. ¹¹And whoever does not fall down and worship ^cshall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. ¹²There are certain Jews whom you have ^happointed over the affairs of ^vthe province of Babylon: ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, ^jpay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar ^kin furious rage commanded that ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? ¹⁵Now if you are ready when ^lyou hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.³ But if you do not worship, ^cyou shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And ^mwho is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

¹⁶ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If this be so, ⁿour God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.^{4 18}But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was ^ofilled with fury, and the expression of his face ^pwas changed against ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army ^qto bind ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹Then these men were ^qbound in their cloaks, their tunics,⁵ their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. ²²Because the king’s order was ^rurgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell ^qbound into the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was ^tastonished and rose up ^uin haste. He declared to his ^vcounselors, “Did we not cast three men ^wbound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, ^xwalking in the midst of the fire, and they ^yare not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like ^za son of the gods.”

²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, ^s“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the ^aMost High God, come out, and come here!” Then ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷And the ^bsatraps, the prefects, the governors, and ^vthe king’s counselors gathered together and saw that ^cthe fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their ^dcloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. ²⁸Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who ^ehas sent his angel and ^fdelivered his servants, who ^gtrusted in him, and set aside⁶ the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than ^hserve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹Therefore ⁱI make a decree: Any ^jpeople, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ^kshall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” ³⁰Then the king promoted ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in ^lthe province of Babylon.