¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^(A)rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar began speaking and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve ^(B)my gods, nor worship the golden statue that I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready, ^(C)at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^[a]lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will ^[b]immediately be ^(D)thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^(E)what god is there who can rescue you from my hands?”

^16 (F)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. ¹⁷ If it be so, our ^(G)God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; ^[c]and ^(H)He will rescue us from your hand, O king. ^18 (I)But even if He does not, ^(J)let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Daniel’s Friends Protected

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with ^(K)wrath, and his facial expression was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered ^[d]by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he ordered certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹ Then these men were tied up in their ^(L)trousers, their ^[e]coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire. ²² For this reason, because the king’s ^[f]command was ^(M)harsh and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. ²³ But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^(N)fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up quickly; he said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the middle of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Absolutely, O king.” ²⁵ He responded, “Look! I see four men untied and ^(O)walking about in the middle of the fire ^[g]unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^(P)gods!” ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^(Q)Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^(R)came out of the middle of the fire. ²⁷ The ^(S)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the ^(T)fire had no ^[h]effect on ^[i]the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their ^[j](U)trousers ^[k]damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the ^(V)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^(W)sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their ^(X)trust in Him, ^[l]violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies ^(Y)rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.