The King’s Golden Image

3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a ^(A)statue 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 Nebuchadnezzar the king also sent word to assemble the ^(C)satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ³ Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you ^[b]the command is given, you ^(D)peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[c]languages, ⁵ that at the moment you ^(E)hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^[d]lyre, ^[e]trigon, ^[f]psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. ⁶ But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be ^(F)thrown into the middle of a ^(G)furnace of blazing fire.” ⁷ Therefore as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, ^[g]lyre, trigon, psaltery, ^[h]bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[i]languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Worship of the Image Refused

⁸ For this reason at that time certain ^(H)Chaldeans came forward and ^[j](I)brought charges against the Jews. ⁹ They began to speak and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “^(J)O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have ^(K)made a decree that every person who hears the sound of the horn, flute, ^[k]lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, is to ^(L)fall down and worship the golden statue. ¹¹ But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the middle 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, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods, nor do they worship the golden statue which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^(N)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 ^(O)my gods, nor worship the golden statue that I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready, ^(P)at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^[l]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 ^[m]immediately be ^(Q)thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^(R)what god is there who can rescue you from my hands?”

^16 (S)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 ^(T)God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; ^[n]and ^(U)He will rescue us from your hand, O king. ^18 (V)But even if He does not, ^(W)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 ^(X)wrath, and his facial expression was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered ^[o]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 ^(Y)trousers, their ^[p]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 ^[q]command was ^(Z)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, ^(AA)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 ^(AB)walking about in the middle of the fire ^[r]unharmed, 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 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 middle of the fire. ²⁷ The ^(AF)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the ^(AG)fire had no ^[s]effect on ^[t]the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their ^[u](AH)trousers ^[v]damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the ^(AI)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^(AJ)sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their ^(AK)trust in Him, ^[w]violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies ^(AL)rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I ^(AM)make a decree that any people, nation, or population of any language that speaks anything offensive against the God of ^(AN)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their ^(AO)houses made a rubbish heap, because there is ^(AP)no other god who is able to save in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king ^(AQ)made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosperous in the province of Babylon.

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

3 Now when the seventh month came, and ^(A)the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one person to Jerusalem. ² Then ^(B)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and ^(C)Zerubbabel the son ^(D)of Shealtiel and his brothers, rose up and ^(E)built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, ^(F)as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. ³ So they set up the altar on its foundation, because ^[a](G)they were terrified of the peoples of the lands; and they ^(H)offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. ⁴ They also celebrated the ^(I)Feast of ^[b]Booths, ^(J)as it is written, and offered ^[c]the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, ^(K)according to the ordinance, ^[d]as each day required; ⁵ and afterward there was a ^(L)continual burnt offering, also ^(M)for the new moons and ^(N)for all the appointed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a ^[e]voluntary offering to the Lord. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. ⁷ Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and ^(O)food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians ^(P)to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at ^(Q)Joppa, according to the permission they had ^[f]from ^(R)Cyrus king of Persia.

Temple Restoration Begun

⁸ Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, ^(S)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and ^(T)appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. ⁹ Then ^(U)Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of ^[g]Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

¹⁰ Now when the builders had ^(V)laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, ^[h]the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord ^(W)according to the ^[i]directions of King David of Israel. ¹¹ And ^(X)they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “^(Y)For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, ^(Z)the old men who had seen the first ^[j]temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, ¹³ so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

¹⁹ “^(A)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves ^(B)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for ^(C)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “^(D)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is ^[a]clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if ^(E)your eye is ^[b]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴ “^(F)No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^[c](G)wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵ “^(H)For this reason I say to you, ^[d]do not be ^(I)worried about your ^[e]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? ^26 (J)Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? ²⁷ And which of you by ^(K)worrying can ^(L)add a single ^[f]day to his ^[g]life’s span? ²⁸ And why are you ^(M)worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even ^(N)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the ^(O)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? ^(P)You of little faith! ³¹ Do not ^(Q)worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for ^(R)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^[h]seek first ^[i]His kingdom and His righteousness, and ^(S)all these things will be ^[j]provided to you.

³⁴ “So do not ^(T)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will ^[k]worry about itself. ^[l]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

²⁶ For ^[a]consider your ^(A)calling, brothers and sisters, that there were ^(B)not many wise according to ^[b]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷ but ^(C)God has chosen the foolish things of ^(D)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of ^(E)the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the ^[c]insignificant things of ^(F)the world and the despised God has chosen, ^(G)the things that are not, so that He may ^(H)nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that ^(I)no ^[d]human may boast before God. ³⁰ But it is ^[e]due to Him that you are in ^(J)Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(K)wisdom from God, ^[f]and ^(L)righteousness and ^(M)sanctification, and ^(N)redemption, ³¹ so that, just as it is written: “^(O)Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

2 And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I ^(P)did not come as someone superior in ^[g]speaking ability or ^[h]wisdom, as I proclaimed to you ^(Q)the ^[i]testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except ^(R)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I also was with you in ^(S)weakness and ^(T)fear, and in great trembling, ⁴ and my ^[j]message and my preaching were ^(U)not in persuasive words of ^[k]wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(V)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not ^[l]rest on the ^[m]wisdom of mankind, but on ^(W)the power of God.

⁶ Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are ^(X)mature; a wisdom, however, not of ^(Y)this age nor of the rulers of ^(Z)this age, who are ^(AA)passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a ^(AB)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ^(AC)predestined before the ^(AD)ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom ^(AE)which none of the rulers of ^(AF)this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified ^(AG)the Lord of glory; ⁹ but just as it is written: