Daniel 3:8-18

8 And anon in that time men of Chaldea nighed, and accused the Jews, (And at once, the Chaldeans approached, and accused the Jews,)
9 and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar (and said to King Nebuchadnezzar), King, live thou without end.
10 Thou, king, hast set a decree, that each man that heareth the sound of trump, of pipe, and of harp, of sambuca, and of psaltery, and of symphony, and of all kind of musics, bow down himself, and worship the golden image; (Thou, king, hast made a decree, that everyone who heareth the sound of the trumpet, and pipe, and harp, and zither, and lute, yea, of a symphony, and of all kinds of music, bow he himself down, and worship the gold figure;)
11 forsooth if any man falleth not down, and worshippeth not, be he sent into the furnace of fire burning (and if anyone falleth not down, and worshippeth not, be he sent into the furnace of burning fire.)
12 Therefore men Jews be, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which thou hast ordained on the works of the country of Babylon. Thou king, these men have despised thy decree; they honour not thy gods, and they worship not the golden image, which thou raisedest. (And so there be some Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whom thou hast ordained over the works of the province of Babylon. O king, these men have despised thy decree; they do not honour thy gods, and they do not worship the gold figure, which thou hast raised up.)
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar commanded, in strong vengeance and in wrath, that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego should be brought; which were brought anon in the sight of the king (who were brought in at once before the king).
14 And the king Nebuchadnezzar pronounced, and said to them, Whether verily Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye honour not my gods, and worship not the golden image which I made? (And King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do ye truly not honour my gods, and not worship the gold figure which I have made, or which I have raised up?)
15 Now therefore be ye ready, in whatever hour ye hear the sound of trump, of pipe, of harp, of sambuca, of psaltery, and of symphony, and of all kind of musics, bow ye down you, and worship the image which I made; that if ye worship not, in the same hour ye shall be sent into the furnace of fire burning; and who is God that shall deliver you from mine hand? (And so now be ye ready, at whatever hour ye hear the sound of the trumpet, and pipe, and harp, and zither, and lute, yea, of a symphony, and of all kinds of music, to bow ye yourselves down, and worship the figure which I have made; but if ye do not worship it, in that same hour ye shall be sent into the furnace of burning fire; and then what god shall rescue you, or shall save you, from my power?)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar (and said to King Nebuchadnezzar), It needeth not, that we answer of this thing to thee.
17 For why our God, whom we worship, may ravish us from the chimney of fire burning, and may deliver from thine hands, thou king. (For our God, whom we worship, can rescue us from the furnace of burning fire, and can save us from thy hands, O king.)
18 That if he do not, be it known to thee, thou king, that we honour not thy gods, and we worship not the golden image which thou hast raised. (But even if he shall not do that, be it known to thee, O king, that we shall not honour thy gods, and we shall not worship the gold figure which thou hast raised up.)

Images for Daniel 3:8-18

Daniel 3:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 3

In this chapter an account is given of a golden image made by Nebuchadnezzar; its size; and where placed, Da 3:1, a summons to all his princes, governors, and officers, to attend the dedication of it, Da 3:2,3, a proclamation commanding men of all nations to fall down and worship it, at hearing the sound of music, Da 3:4-7, an accusation of the Jews to the king, particularly Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, for not worshipping it, Da 3:8-12, the king's sending for them in rage, and threatening to cast them into a fiery furnace if they continued to disobey his will, Da 3:13-15, their answer, which showed an inflexible resolution at all events not to comply with it, Da 3:16-18 the king's order to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual, and cast them into it, which was executed; the consequence of which was, they that cast them in were destroyed through the vehement heat of the furnace, but the three Jews were unhurt, Da 3:19-23. Nebuchadnezzar's amazement at the sight of four persons, instead of three; and these loose, walking in the midst of the fire without hurt; and one of them like the Son of God, which he observed to his counsellors, Da 3:24,25, upon which he called to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to come out of the furnace, which they did in the presence of his princes, governors, and officers, having received not the least harm in their persons or clothes, Da 3:26,27 and then the king, praising the God of the Jews, published an edict that none should speak against him on pain of death; and restored the three men to their former dignity, Da 3:28-30.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.