Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on
1the plain of Dura, in
2the province of Babylon.
2
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather
3the satraps, the prefects, and
4the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3
Then
5the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4
And the herald
6proclaimed aloud, "You are commanded, O
7peoples, nations, and languages,
5
that when you hear the
8sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you
9are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
6
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately
10be cast into a burning fiery furnace."
7
Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all
11the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain
12Chaldeans
13came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
9
They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!
10
You, O king,
14have made a decree, that every man who
15hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music,
16shall fall down and worship the golden image.
11
And whoever does not fall down and worship
17shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
12
There are certain Jews whom you have
18appointed over the affairs of
19the province of Babylon:
20Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king,
21pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
13
Then Nebuchadnezzar
22in furious rage commanded that
23Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.
14
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15
Now if you are ready when
24you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship,
25you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And
26who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"
16
27Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17
If this be so,
28our 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 if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
19
Then Nebuchadnezzar was
29filled with fury, and the expression of his face
30was changed against
31Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.
20
And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army
32to bind
33Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21
Then these men were
34bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
22
Because the king's order was
35urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up
36Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell
37bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was
38astonished and rose up
39in haste. He declared to his
40counselors, "Did we not cast three men
41bound into the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
25
He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound,
42walking in the midst of the fire, and they
43are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like
44a son of the gods."
26
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared,
45"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the
46Most High God, come out, and come here!" Then
47Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
27
And the
48satraps, the prefects, the governors, and
49the king's counselors gathered together and saw that
50the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their
51cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
28
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of
52Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who
53has sent his angel and
54delivered his servants, who
55trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than
56serve and worship any god except their own God.
29
Therefore
57I make a decree: Any
58people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of
59Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
60shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way."
30
Then the king promoted
61Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in
62the province of Babylon.