The Prophet Daniel

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 3 -

Nebuchadnezzar the king has made an image of gold, its height sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits; he has raised it up in the Valley of Dura, in the province of Babylon;

and Nebuchadnezzar the king has sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the province, to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up.

Then are gathered the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the province, to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up: and they are standing before the image that Nebuchadnezzar has raised up.

And a crier is calling mightily: “They are saying to you: O peoples, nations, and languages!

At the time that you hear the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, the symphony, and all kinds of music, you fall down and pay respect to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up:

and whoever does not fall down and pay respect, in that hour he is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Therefore at that time, when all the peoples are hearing the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, and all kinds of music, falling down are all the peoples, nations and languages, worshiping the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Accused

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans have drawn near, and accused the Jews;

they have answered, indeed, they are saying to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for all ages!

You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, falls down and pays respect to the golden image;

and whoever does not fall down and pay respect, is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the work of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of you, O king, [any] regard; your gods they are not serving, and to the golden image you have raised up—are not making worship.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and fury, has said to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Then these men have been brought in before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar has answered and said to them, “Is [it] a laid plan, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—my gods you are not serving, and to the golden image that I have raised up you are not worshiping?

Now behold, you are ready, so that at the time that you hear the voice of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the stringed instrument, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, you fall down and pay respect to the image that I have made! But if you do not worship—in that hour you are cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; who is that God who delivers you out of my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have answered, indeed, they are saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need concerning this matter to answer you.

Behold, it is; our God whom we are serving, is able to deliver us from a burning fiery furnace; and from your hand, O king, He delivers.

And behold—not! Be it known to you, O king, that we are not serving your gods, and we do not worship the golden image you have raised up.”

The Fiery Furnace

Then Nebuchadnezzar has been full of fury, and the expression of his face has been changed concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; he answered and said to heat the furnace seven times above that which it is seen to be heated;

and to certain mighty men who [are] in his force he has said to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the burning fiery furnace.

Then these men have been bound in their coats, their tunics, and their turbans, and their clothing, and have been cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Therefore, because that the word of the king is urgent, and the furnace heated exceedingly, those men who have taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—the spark of the fire has killed them.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, have fallen down in the midst of the burning fiery furnace—bound.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king has been astonished, and has risen in haste; he has answered and said to his counselors, “Have we not cast three men into the midst of the fire—bound?” They have answered and are saying to the king, “Certainly, O king.”

He answered and has said, “Behold, I am seeing four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth [is] like to a son of the gods.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar has drawn near to the gate of the burning fiery furnace; he has answered and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of God Most High come forth, indeed, come”; then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego come forth, from the midst of the fire;

and gathered together, the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the counselors of the king, are seeing these men, that the fire has no power over their bodies, and the hair of their head has not been singed, and their coats have not changed, and the smell of fire has not passed on them.

Nebuchadnezzar has answered and has said, “Blessed [is] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who has sent His messenger, and has delivered His servants who trusted on Him.” And the word of the king changed, and gave up their bodies that they might not serve nor pay respect to any god except to their own God.

“And by me a decree is made, that any people, nation, and language, that speaks erroneously concerning the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, he is made pieces, and its house is made a dunghill, because that there is no other god who is able thus to deliver.”

Then the king has caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to prosper in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits(a) and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, 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.

Then the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, 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.

Then the herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,

that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.

Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour.”

Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Accused

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and brought accusation against the Jews.

They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for ever!

You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image;

and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace.

There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and you don’t worship the golden image which I have set up?

Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

If it happens, 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.

But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

The Fiery Furnace

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.

Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.”

He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.(b)”

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He 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 middle of the fire.

The local governors, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies. The hair of their head wasn’t singed. Their pants weren’t changed. The smell of fire wasn’t even on them.

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, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God.

Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak anything evil 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 is able to deliver like this.”

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Footnotes

(a)3:1 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.

(b)3:25 Or, the Son of God.