¹⁴ King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them: “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up? ¹⁵ Now, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I made, whenever you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, dulcimer, harp, double-flute, and all the other musical instruments, then all will be well;^[a] if not, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?” ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If our God, whom we serve, can save us^[b] from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! ¹⁸ But even if he will not, you should know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up.”

¹⁹ Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual ²⁰ and had some of the strongest men in his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the white-hot furnace.

Deliverance from the Furnace. ⁹¹ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and rose in haste, asking his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” “Certainly, O king,” they answered. ⁹² “But,” he replied, “I see four men unbound and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.”

⁹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.