Daniel 3:8-23

English Standard Version

The Fiery Furnace

⁸ Therefore at that time certain ^(A)Chaldeans ^(B)came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. ⁹ They declared^[a] to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, ^(C)have made a decree, that every man who ^(D)hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, ^(E)shall fall down and worship the golden image. ¹¹ And whoever does not fall down and worship ^(F)shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have ^(G)appointed over the affairs of ^(H)the province of Babylon: ^(I)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, ^(J)pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar ^(K)in furious rage commanded that ^(L)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 ^(M)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.^[b] But if you do not worship, ^(N)you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And ^(O)who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

^16 (P)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, ^(Q)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.^{[c] 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 ^(R)filled with fury, and the expression of his face ^(S)was changed against ^(T)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 ^(U)to bind ^(V)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were ^(W)bound in their cloaks, their tunics,^[d] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. ²² Because the king's order was ^(X)urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up ^(Y)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell ^(Z)bound into the burning fiery furnace.