Daniel 3

CHAPTER 3

Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an ^aimage of gold, the height of which was ¹sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the ^bprovince of Babylon.

²Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the ^asatraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

³Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they were standing before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁴Then the herald loudly called out: “To you it is said, ^aO peoples, nations, and men of every tongue,

⁵that at the time you ^ahear the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, ²trigon, ³psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.

⁶“But whoever does not fall down and worship shall ¹immediately be ^acast into the midst of a ^bfurnace of blazing fire.”

⁷Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

We Will Not Serve Your Gods

⁸For this reason at that time certain ^aChaldeans came near and ^1bbrought charges against the Jews.

⁹They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “^aO king, live forever!

¹⁰“You, O king, have ^amade a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to ^bfall down and worship the golden image.

¹¹“But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

¹²“There are certain Jews whom you have ^aappointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These men, O king, do not pay attention to you; they do not serve your gods and do not worship the golden image which you have set up.”

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^arage and wrath said to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.

¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you are not serving ^amy gods and do not worship the golden image that I have set up?

¹⁵“Now if you are ready, ^aat the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, then you shall fall down and worship the image that I have made. But if you do not worship, you will ²immediately be ^bcast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^cwhat god is there who can save you out of my hands?”

^16aShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to respond to you with an answer concerning this matter.

¹⁷“¹If it be so, our ^aGod whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire; ²and ^bHe will save us out of your hand, O king.

¹⁸“^aBut if not, ^blet it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Daniel’s Friends Delivered

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with ^awrath, and the image of his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered and said to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

²⁰And he said to certain mighty men of valor who were in his military ¹host to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.

²¹Then these men were tied up in their ^1atrousers, their ²coats, their caps, and their other clothes and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

²²For this reason, because the king’s word was ^1aurgent and the furnace had been heated to an extraordinary degree, the flame of the fire killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

²³But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^afell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and hurriedly stood up; he answered and said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast tied up into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.”

²⁵He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and ^awalking about in the midst of the fire ¹without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^bgods!”

²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he answered and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^aMost High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^bcame out of the midst of the fire.

²⁷Then the ^asatraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the ^bfire had no power over ¹the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their ^2ctrousers ³damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the ^aGod of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^bsent His angel and saved His servants who put their ^ctrust in Him, ¹violating the king’s word, and gave up their bodies so as ^dnot to serve and not to worship any god except their own God.

²⁹“Therefore I ^amake a decree that any people, nation, or tongue that says anything offensive against the God of ^bShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their ^chouses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is ^dno other god who is able to deliver in this way.”

³⁰Then the king ^acaused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to succeed in the province of Babylon.