Daniel 3:13-30
Christian Standard Bible
13 Then in a furious rage(A) Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue(B) I have set up? 15 Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire—and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?” (C)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists,(D) then he can rescue(E) us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can[a] rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us,[b] we want you as king to know that we will not serve(F) your gods(G) or worship the gold statue you set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage,(H) and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, 20 and he commanded some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings,[c] and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Since the king’s command was so urgent[d](I) and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames[e] killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Delivered from the Fire
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm.(J) He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king.
25 He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed;(K) and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”[f](L)
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.(M) 27 When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect(N) on[g] the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.(O) 28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel[h](P) and rescued his servants who trusted in him.(Q) They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.(R) 29 Therefore I issue a decree(S) that anyone of any people, nation, or language(T) who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump.(U) For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30 Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.(V)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3:17 Or If the God whom we serve is willing to save us from the furnace of blazing fire, then he will
- 3:18 Lit But if not
- 3:21 The identity of these articles of clothing is uncertain.
- 3:22 Or harsh
- 3:22 Lit the flame of the fire
- 3:25 Or of a divine being
- 3:27 Lit fire had not overcome
- 3:28 Or messenger
Daniel 4:1-18
Christian Standard Bible
Nebuchadnezzar’s Proclamation
4 King Nebuchadnezzar,
To those of every people, nation, and language, who live on the whole earth:(A)
May your prosperity increase.(B) 2 I am pleased to tell you about the miracles and wonders(C) the Most High God has done for me.
3 How great are his miracles,
and how mighty his wonders!(D)
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom,(E)
and his dominion is from generation to generation.(F)
The Dream
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.(G) 5 I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.(H) 6 So I issued a decree(I) to bring all the wise men of Babylon to me in order that they might make the dream’s interpretation known to me.(J) 7 When the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.(K)
8 Finally Daniel, named Belteshazzar(L) after the name of my god—and a spirit of the holy gods is in him(M)—came before me. I told him the dream: 9 “Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, because I know that you have the spirit of the holy gods(N) and that no mystery puzzles you,(O) explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation. 10 In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:
There was a tree in the middle of the earth,
and it was very tall.
11 The tree grew large and strong;
its top reached to the sky,(P)
and it was visible to the ends of the[a] earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,
and on it was food for all.(Q)
Wild animals found shelter under it,
the birds of the sky(R) lived in its branches,
and every creature was fed from it.(S)
13 “As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one,[b](T) coming down from heaven.(U) 14 He called out loudly:
Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the animals flee from under it,
and the birds from its branches.(V)
15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground(W)
and with a band of iron and bronze around it
in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be drenched with dew from the sky
and share the plants of the earth(X)
with the animals.
16 Let his mind be changed from that of a human,
and let him be given the mind of an animal
for seven periods of time.[c][d](Y)
17 This word is by decree of the watchers,
and the decision is by command from the holy ones.
This is so that the living will know
that the Most High is ruler
over human kingdoms.
He gives them to anyone he wants
and sets the lowliest of people over them.(Z)
18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can make the interpretation known to me.(AA) But you can, because you have a spirit of the holy gods.”
Read full chapterThe Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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