Daniel 3–4

Daniel’s Friends Are Thrown Into a Blazing Furnace

3King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue that was covered with gold. It was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. He set it up on the flatlands of Dura near the city of Babylon.

²Then the king sent for the royal rulers, high officials and governors. He sent for the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. And he sent for all of the other officials of Babylon. He asked them to come to a special gathering to honor the statue he had set up.

³So the royal rulers, high officials and governors came together. So did the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. All of the other officials joined them. They came to honor the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of it.

⁴Then a messenger called out loudly, “Listen, you people who come from every nation! Pay attention, you who speak other languages! Here is what the king commands you to do. ⁵You will soon hear the sound of horns and flutes. You will hear zithers, lyres, harps and pipes. In fact, you will hear all kinds of music. When you do, you must fall down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶If you don’t, you will be thrown into a blazing furnace right away.”

⁷All of the people heard the sound of the horns and flutes. They heard the zithers, lyres, harps and other musical instruments. As soon as they did, they fell down and worshiped Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. They had come from every nation and language.

⁸At that time some people who studied the heavens came forward. They spoke against the Jews. ⁹They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, may you live forever! ¹⁰You commanded everyone to fall down and worship the gold statue. You told them to do it when they heard the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments. ¹¹If they didn’t, they would be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹²But you have appointed some Jews to help Daniel govern Babylon and the towns around it. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They don’t pay any attention to you, King Nebuchadnezzar. They don’t serve your gods. And they refuse to worship the gold statue you have set up.”

¹³Nebuchadnezzar burned with anger. He sent for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they were brought to him.

¹⁴The king said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is what I heard about you true? Don’t you serve my gods? Don’t you worship the gold statue I set up? ¹⁵You will hear the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments. When you do, fall down and worship the statue I made. If you will, that’s very good. But if you won’t, you will be thrown at once into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to save you from my powerful hand?”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore. ¹⁷We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your powerful hand.

¹⁸“But we want you to know this. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.”

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar’s anger burned against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The look on his face changed. And he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. ²⁰He also gave some of the strongest soldiers in his army a command. He ordered them to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then he told his men to throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹So they were tied up. Then they were thrown into the furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, turbans and other clothes.

²²The king’s command was carried out quickly. The furnace was so hot that its flames killed the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. ²³So the three men were firmly tied up. And they fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. He was so amazed he asked his advisers, “Didn’t we tie three men up? Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”

“Yes, we did,” they replied.

²⁵The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They aren’t tied up. And the fire hasn’t even harmed them. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.”

²⁶Then the king approached the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! You who serve the Most High God, come here!”

So they came out of the fire. ²⁷The royal rulers, high officials, governors and advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire hadn’t harmed their bodies. Not one hair on their heads was burned. Their robes weren’t burned either. And they didn’t even smell like smoke.

²⁸Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent his angel and saved his servants. They trusted in him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God.

²⁹“No other god can save people that way. So I’m giving an order. No one from any nation or language can say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If they do, they’ll be cut to pieces. And their houses will be turned into piles of trash.”

³⁰Then the king honored Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He gave them higher positions in the city of Babylon and the towns around it.

Nebuchadnezzar Dreams About a Tree

4I, King Nebuchadnezzar, am writing this letter.

I am sending it to you people from every nation and language in the whole world.

May you have great success!

²I am pleased to tell you what has happened. The Most High God has done miraculous signs and wonders for me.

³His miraculous signs are great.

His wonders are mighty.

His kingdom will last forever.

His rule will never end.

⁴I was at home in my palace. I was content and very successful. ⁵But I had a dream that made me afraid. I was lying on my bed. Then dreams and visions passed through my mind. They terrified me.

⁶So I commanded that all of the wise men in Babylon be brought to me. I wanted them to tell me what my dream meant. ⁷Those who try to figure things out by using magic came. So did those who study the heavens. I told all of them what I had dreamed. But they couldn’t tell me what it meant.

⁸Finally, Daniel came to me. He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him my dream.

⁹I said, “Belteshazzar, you are chief of the magicians. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No mystery is too hard for you to figure out. Here is my dream. Tell me what it means.

¹⁰“Here are the visions I saw while I was lying on my bed. I looked up and saw a tree standing in the middle of the land. It was very tall. ¹¹It had grown to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen anywhere on earth. ¹²Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found shade. The birds of the air lived in its branches. Every creature was fed from that tree.

¹³“While I was still lying on my bed, I looked up. In my visions, I saw a holy messenger. He was coming down from heaven. ¹⁴He called out in a loud voice. He said, ‘Cut the tree down. Break off its branches. Strip its leaves off. Scatter its fruit. Let the animals that are under it run away. Let the birds that are in its branches fly off. ¹⁵But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put a band of iron and bronze around it.

“ ‘Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live like the animals among the plants of the earth. ¹⁶Let him no longer have the mind of a man. Instead, let him be given the mind of an animal. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.

¹⁷“ ‘The decision is announced by holy messengers. So all who are alive will know that the Most High God is King. He rules over all of the kingdoms of men. He gives them to anyone he wants. Sometimes he puts the least important men in charge of them.’

¹⁸“That’s the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, Belteshazzar. None of the wise men in my kingdom can explain it to me. But you can. After all, the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Explains Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁹Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar, was very bewildered for a while. His thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its meaning make you afraid.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies! I wish its meaning had to do with them! ²⁰You saw a tree. It grew to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen from anywhere on earth. ²¹Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found shade. The birds of the air lived in its branches.

²²“My king, you are that tree! You have become great and strong. Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky. Your rule has spread to all parts of the earth.

²³“My king, you saw a holy messenger. He came down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut the tree down. Destroy it. But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put a band of iron and bronze around it. Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live like the wild animals. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.’

²⁴“My king and master, here is what your dream means. The Most High God has given an order against you. ²⁵You will be driven away from people. You will live like the wild animals. You will eat grass just as cattle do. You will become wet with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognize that the Most High God rules over all of the kingdoms of men. He gives them to anyone he wants.

²⁶“But he gave a command to leave the stump of the tree…