Daniel 3:24

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying 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."

Daniel 3:24 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 3:24

Then Nebuchadnezzar was astonished,
At the burning of those that cast the three men into the furnace, as Jacchiades; or he might be seized with a panic, and his spirits filled with fear and dread, the word F21 is by some said to signify, and this from the immediate hand of God: and rose up in haste;
from the place where he was, and went to the mouth of the furnace, to see what was become of those that were cast into it: and spake and said unto his counsellors;
who had advised him to do what he had done, out of envy and ill will to these Jews: did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?
that is, was there not an order of council for it? and was it not done according to it? they answered and said, true, O King;
it was certainly so: thus they are brought to bear a testimony to the truth of this; it was not only the king that gave the orders, and saw them obeyed, but his counsellors also; and which they own, and serves to corroborate the truth of the miracle.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (hwt) "expavit", Munster, Piscator, Michaelis; "trepidavit", Gejerus; so Ben Melech from the Targum on Gen. xxvii. 33; "trepidus", Junius & Tremellius.

Daniel 3:24 In-Context

22 Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying 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 "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.