Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
1 King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and he had it set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
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Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then the king gave orders for all his officials to come together - the princes, governors, lieutenant governors, commissioners, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces. They were to attend the dedication of the statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
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Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, 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.
3 When all these officials gathered for the dedication and stood in front of the statue,
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Then the satraps, 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.
4 a herald announced in a loud voice, "People of all nations, races, and languages!
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Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,
5 You will hear the sound of the trumpets, followed by the playing of oboes, lyres, zithers, and harps; and then all the other instruments will join in. As soon as the music starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
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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;
6 Anyone who does not bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
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and whoever doesn't fall down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7 And so, as soon as they heard the sound of the instruments, the people of all the nations, races, and languages bowed down and worshiped the gold statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
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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.
8 It was then that some Babylonians took the opportunity to denounce the Jews.
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Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews.
9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "May Your Majesty live forever!
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They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live for ever.
10 Your Majesty has issued an order that as soon as the music starts, everyone is to bow down and worship the gold statue,
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You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;
11 and that anyone who does not bow down and worship it is to be thrown into a blazing furnace.
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and whoever doesn't fall down and worships, shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are some Jews whom you put in charge of the province of Babylon - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - who are disobeying Your Majesty's orders. They do not worship your god or bow down to the statue you set up."
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There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded you: they don't serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.
13 At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered the three men to be brought before him.
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Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
14 He said to them, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you refuse to worship my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have set up?
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Nebuchadnezzar answered them, Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you don't serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now then, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, oboes, lyres, zithers, harps, and all the other instruments, bow down and worship the statue. If you do not, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Do you think there is any god who can save you?"
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Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to you fall down and worship the image which I have made, [well]: but if you don't worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves.
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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered the king, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will.
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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 doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up."
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But if 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.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar lost his temper, and his face turned red with anger at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual.
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Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: [therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 And he commanded the strongest men in his army to tie the three men up and throw them into the blazing furnace.
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He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 So they tied them up, fully dressed - shirts, robes, caps, and all - and threw them into the blazing furnace.
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Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their [other] garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Now because the king had given strict orders for the furnace to be made extremely hot, the flames burned up the guards who took the men to the furnace.
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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 Abed-nego.
23 Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, still tied up, fell into the heart of the blazing fire.
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These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Suddenly Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement. He asked his officials, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the blazing furnace?" They answered, "Yes, we did, Your Majesty."
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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 midst of the fire? They answered the king, True, O king.
25 "Then why do I see four men walking around in the fire?" he asked. "They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt - and the fourth one looks like an angel."
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He answered, Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
26 So Nebuchadnezzar went up to the door of the blazing furnace and called out, "Shadrach! Meshach! Abednego! Servants of the Supreme God! Come out!" And they came out at once.
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Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came forth out of the midst of the fire.
27 All the princes, governors, lieutenant governors, and other officials of the king gathered to look at the three men, who had not been harmed by the fire. Their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned, and there was no smell of smoke on them.
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The satraps, 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, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their pants changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.
28 The king said, "Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued these men who serve and trust him. They disobeyed my orders and risked their lives rather than bow down and worship any god except their own.
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Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 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.
29 "And now I command that if anyone of any nation, race, or language speaks disrespectfully of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he is to be torn limb from limb, and his house is to be made a pile of ruins. There is no other god who can rescue like this."
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Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver after this sort.
30 And the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to higher positions in the province of Babylon.
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Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.