Old/New Testament
The Image of Gold
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits.[a] He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the officials, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the officials, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you should fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever. 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music should fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded you. They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that god who can deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer in this matter. 17 If it be so, 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. 18 But even if He does not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Protection in the Fiery Furnace
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded the most mighty men in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their trousers, their coats, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 He answered and said, “But I see four men loose and walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!”
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!”
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire. 27 The officials, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They have defied the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other God who can deliver in this way.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream
4 Nebuchadnezzar the king,
to all peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you.
2 I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
3 How great are His signs,
and how mighty are His wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and His dominion is from generation to generation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace. 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6 Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar according to the name of my god and in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God, and before him I told the dream, saying, 9 “Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. 10 Now these were the visions of my mind while on my bed: I saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its height reached heaven, and it was visible to the end of all the earth. 12 Its leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all. The animals of the field had shadow under it, and the fowl of the heavens lived in its boughs, and all flesh was fed of it.
13 “I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and there was a holy watcher coming down from heaven. 14 He cried aloud and said thus: ‘Hew down the tree and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get away from under it, and the fowl from its branches. 15 Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field.
“ ‘And let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth. 16 Let its heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of an animal. And let seven periods of time pass over it.
17 “ ‘This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills and sets up over it the basest of men.’
18 “This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell its interpretation to me, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation. But you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream, or its interpretation, trouble you.”
Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, if only the dream was for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens, and was visible to all the earth, 21 and whose leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all, under which the animals of the field lived, and upon whose branches the fowl of the heavens had their habitation: 22 It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.
23 “Whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut the tree down and destroy it, yet leave the stump of its roots in the ground, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. And let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the animals of the field until seven periods of time pass over it’—
24 “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 You shall be driven away from men, and your dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be given grass to eat like oxen, and wet with the dew of heaven. And seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses. 26 Inasmuch as they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, your kingdom shall be assured to you after you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
The Dream Is Fulfilled
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he walked on the roof of the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I myself have built as a royal residence by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven: “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you! 32 And you shall be driven away from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be given grass to eat as oxen, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.”
33 Immediately the thing was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar. And he was driven from men and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
34 But at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and whose kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing;
and He does according to His will
in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And no one can stay His hand or say to Him,
“What have You done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me. And for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. And my counselors and my lords sought me out. Then I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and those who walk in pride He is able to abase.
Overcoming the World
5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the one born of the Father. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
The Witness Concerning the Son
6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. It is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three who testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and the three are one. 8 There are three that testify on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are toward the one.[a] 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God which He has given concerning His Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he does not believe the testimony that God gave about His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Purpose of Writing
13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 14 This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 So if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have whatever we asked of Him.
16 If anyone sees his brother commit a sin which does not lead to death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life. This is for those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I do not say that he should pray for it. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not keep on sinning. But whoever has been born of God guards himself, and the wicked one cannot touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true—His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.