Daniel 3
Legacy Standard Bible
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an (A)image of gold, the height of which was [a]sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the (B)province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the (C)satraps, 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. 3 Then 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. 4 Then the herald loudly called out: “To you it is said, (D)O peoples, nations, and men of every tongue, 5 that at the time you (E)hear the sound of the horn, flute, [b]lyre, [c]trigon, [d]psaltery, 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 [e]immediately be (F)cast into the midst of a (G)furnace of blazing fire.” 7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, [f]lyre, 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
8 For this reason at that time certain (H)Chaldeans came near and [g](I)brought charges against the Jews. 9 They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “(J)O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have (K)made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, [h]lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to (L)fall 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 (M)appointed 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.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in (N)rage and wrath said to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you are not serving (O)my gods and do not worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready, (P)at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, [i]lyre, 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 [j]immediately be (Q)cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and (R)what god is there who can save you out of my hands?”
16 (S)Shadrach, 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 [k]If it be so, our (T)God whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire; [l]and (U)He will save us out of your hand, O king. 18 (V)But if not, (W)let 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
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with (X)wrath, 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. 20 And he said to certain mighty men of valor who were in his military [m]host to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 Then these men were tied up in their [n](Y)trousers, their [o]coats, their caps, and their other clothes and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. 22 For this reason, because the king’s word was [p](Z)urgent 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. 23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, (AA)fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24 Then 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.” 25 He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and (AB)walking about in the midst of the fire [q]without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the (AC)gods!” 26 Then 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 (AD)Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (AE)came out of the midst of the fire. 27 Then the (AF)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the (AG)fire had no power over [r]the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their [s](AH)trousers [t]damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the (AI)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has (AJ)sent His angel and saved His servants who put their (AK)trust in Him, [u]violating the king’s word, and gave up their bodies so as (AL)not to serve and not to worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I (AM)make a decree that any people, nation, or tongue that says anything offensive against the God of (AN)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their (AO)houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is (AP)no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 30 Then the king (AQ)caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to succeed in the province of Babylon.
Footnotes
- Daniel 3:1 Approx. 90 ft. high and 9 ft. wide or 27 m and 2.7 m
- Daniel 3:5 Or zither
- Daniel 3:5 A triangular lyre
- Daniel 3:5 A type of harp
- Daniel 3:6 Or in the same hour
- Daniel 3:7 v 5, notes 1, 2, 3
- Daniel 3:8 Lit ate the pieces of
- Daniel 3:10 v 5, notes 1, 2, 3
- Daniel 3:15 v 5, notes 1, 2, 3
- Daniel 3:15 Or in the same hour
- Daniel 3:17 Or If our God...is able
- Daniel 3:17 Or then
- Daniel 3:20 Or force
- Daniel 3:21 Or leggings
- Daniel 3:21 Or cloaks
- Daniel 3:22 Or harsh
- Daniel 3:25 Lit there is no injury in them
- Daniel 3:27 Lit their
- Daniel 3:27 Or cloaks
- Daniel 3:27 Lit changed
- Daniel 3:28 Lit and changed the king’s word
Daniel 3
English Standard Version
Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits[a] and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on (A)the plain of Dura, in (B)the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather (C)the satraps, the prefects, and (D)the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then (E)the 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. 4 And the herald (F)proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O (G)peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the (H)sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you (I)are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately (J)be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all (K)the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain (L)Chaldeans (M)came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared[b] to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, (N)have made a decree, that every man who (O)hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, (P)shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship (Q)shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have (R)appointed over the affairs of (S)the province of Babylon: (T)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, (U)pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar (V)in furious rage commanded that (W)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar 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? 15 Now if you are ready when (X)you 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.[c] But if you do not worship, (Y)you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And (Z)who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 (AA)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, (AB)our 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.[d] 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.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was (AC)filled with fury, and the expression of his face (AD)was changed against (AE)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army (AF)to bind (AG)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were (AH)bound in their cloaks, their tunics,[e] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king's order was (AI)urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up (AJ)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell (AK)bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was (AL)astonished and rose up (AM)in haste. He declared to his (AN)counselors, “Did we not cast three men (AO)bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, (AP)walking in the midst of the fire, and they (AQ)are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like (AR)a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, (AS)“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the (AT)Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then (AU)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the (AV)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and (AW)the king's counselors gathered together and saw that (AX)the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their (AY)cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of (AZ)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who (BA)has sent his angel and (BB)delivered his servants, who (BC)trusted in him, and set aside[f] the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than (BD)serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore (BE)I make a decree: Any (BF)people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of (BG)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (BH)shall 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.” 30 Then the king promoted (BI)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in (BJ)the province of Babylon.
Footnotes
- Daniel 3:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Daniel 3:9 Aramaic answered and said; also verses 24, 26
- Daniel 3:15 Aramaic lacks well and good
- Daniel 3:17 Or If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and out of your hand, O king
- Daniel 3:21 The meaning of the Aramaic words rendered cloaks and tunics is uncertain; also verse 27
- Daniel 3:28 Aramaic and changed
Daniel 3
EasyEnglish Bible
The king's statue
3 King Nebuchadnezzar caused his workers to make a gold statue. It was 30 metres high and 3 metres wide. He built it on the flat land called Dura, in the Babylon region. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent a message to all his government officers. He told them to meet together in the place where the statue was. He wanted them to see that he had built a great statue. 3 So all the officers came. Those were the rulers, the judges, the wise people, and all the leaders in the different regions of the Babylon nation. They all came together to give honour to the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.
4 Then an officer shouted aloud, ‘Listen to me, you people from every country and nation, who speak different languages! The king makes this command: 5 Listen for the sound of music from trumpets, flutes, lyres, harps or any other kind of music. When you hear the music, you must bend down low towards the ground. You must worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has built. 6 The king will punish anyone who does not do that. His soldiers will throw them immediately into a very hot fire.’
7 So, when all the people heard the different kinds of music, they obeyed. The people from every country and nation, who spoke different languages all bent down low. They worshipped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.
8 Then some wise men went to the king. They told him bad things against the Jews. 9 They said to the king, ‘King, live for ever! 10 You made a rule. You said that everyone must listen for the sound of the special music. When they hear it, they must bend down and they must worship the gold statue. 11 You said that you would punish everyone who does not obey you. You said you would throw them into the middle of a very hot fire. 12 But there are some Jewish men who do not obey you. They are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. You gave them authority to take care of everything in Babylon region. Those men do not respect your authority. They do not give honour to your gods. They do not worship your gold statue.’
13 When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was very angry. He told his servants to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to him. So they brought those men to stand in front of the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not give honour to my gods? And you do not worship the gold statue that I have built? 15 Next time you hear the sound of the special music, you must obey my rule. You must bend down and you must worship the statue that I have built. If you do not worship the statue, my servants will throw you immediately into the middle of a very hot fire. There is no god who can save you from my power.’
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered the king, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to say anything to show you that we are not guilty. 17 We serve a great God. If you throw us into the very hot fire, he is able to keep us safe. Yes, sir, he will keep us safe from your power too. 18 But even if he does not save us, we still would not serve your gods. And we will not worship the gold statue that you have built. We want you to understand that very clearly, sir.’
The king punishes Daniel's three friends
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was even more angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. His face became red. He said to his servants, ‘Make the fire in the oven seven times hotter than usual.’ 20 He told the strongest men in his army, ‘Tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then throw them into the very hot fire!’
21 So the soldiers tied up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with ropes. They were still wearing their coats, their hats and their other clothes when the soldiers took hold of them. The soldiers threw them into the middle of the hot fire with all their clothes on. 22 The soldiers needed to obey the king in a hurry. The fire was very hot. As a result, flames from the fire killed the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. 23 So the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell into the middle of the hot fire. The ropes still held them very strongly.
24 What King Nebuchadnezzar saw next surprised him very much. He jumped up and he shouted to his officers, ‘We tied up three men and we threw them into the fire. Isn't that right?’ The officers answered the king, ‘Yes, sir, we certainly did that.’ 25 The king said, ‘But I see four men walking about in the fire! No ropes are holding them and the fire has not hurt them. The fourth man seems like a son of the gods.’
26 King Nebuchadnezzar went near to the door of the oven where the very hot fire was. He shouted aloud to the men inside, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I see that you are servants of the powerful God who rules over everything. Now come out here!’
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 Then the king's officers, his wise men and the government rulers and leaders came near to the three men. They saw that the fire had not hurt Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego. The fire had not even burnt their hair or their clothes. They did not even have any smell from the fire.
Nebuchadnezzar's new command
28 Then King Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise the God that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego serve! He sent his angel to keep his servants safe. They continued to trust in their God. So they did not obey the command that I had made as king. They would not agree to serve any other god except their own God. They would rather have died than worship any other god. 29 No other god can save people like their God has done for them. So I make a command for the people of every nation who speak any language. They must never say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If anyone does that, my soldiers will cut them into pieces. They will knock down those people's houses so that they become heaps of stones.’
30 Then the king gave more authority to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to rule in the region of Babylon.
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