Daniel 3:8-30

The Fiery Furnace

8 Therefore at that time certain 1Chaldeans 2came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
9 They declared[a] to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!
10 You, O king, 3have made a decree, that every man who 4hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, 5shall fall down and worship the golden image.
11 And whoever does not fall down and worship 6shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom you have 7appointed over the affairs of 8the province of Babylon: 9Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, 10pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar 11in furious rage commanded that 12Shadrach, 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 13you 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.[b] But if you do not worship, 14you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And 15who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"
16 16Shadrach, 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, 17our 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.[c]
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 18filled with fury, and the expression of his face 19was changed against 20Shadrach, 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 21to bind 22Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were 23bound in their cloaks, their tunics,[d] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
22 Because the king's order was 24urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up 25Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell 26bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was 27astonished and rose up 28in haste. He declared to his 29counselors, "Did we not cast three men 30bound into the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
25 He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound, 31walking in the midst of the fire, and they 32are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like 33a son of the gods."
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, 34"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the 35Most High God, come out, and come here!" Then 36Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
27 And the 37satraps, the prefects, the governors, and 38the king's counselors gathered together and saw that 39the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their 40cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of 41Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who 42has sent his angel and 43delivered his servants, who 44trusted in him, and set aside[e] the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than 45serve and worship any god except their own God.
29 Therefore 46I make a decree: Any 47people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of 48Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 49shall 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 50Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in 51the province of Babylon.

Images for Daniel 3:8-30

Cross References 51

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Aramaic answered and said; also verses 24, 26
  • [b]. Aramaic lacks well and good
  • [c]. Or If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and out of your hand, O king.
  • [d]. The meaning of the Aramaic words rendered cloaks and tunics is uncertain; also verse 27
  • [e]. Aramaic and changed
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.