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.

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Daniel 3:8-30 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 51

1. See Daniel 1:4
2. Daniel 6:12
3. ver. 29; Daniel 4:6; Daniel 6:26
4. ver. 5, 7, 15
5. ver. 5, 7, 15
6. [See ver. 6 above]
7. Daniel 2:49
8. [See ver. 1 above]
9. [Daniel 1:7]
10. Daniel 6:13
11. Daniel 2:12
12. [See ver. 12 above]
13. ver. 5, 7, 10
14. [See ver. 6 above]
15. [Daniel 6:20; Exodus 5:2; 2 Kings 18:35]
16. [See ver. 12 above]
17. [ver. 15]
18. [ver. 13; Esther 7:7]
19. [Daniel 2:49]
20. [See ver. 12 above]
21. [ver. 24, 25]
22. [See ver. 12 above]
23. [See ver. 20 above]
24. Daniel 2:15
25. [Daniel 1:7]
26. [See ver. 20 above]
27. Daniel 4:19
28. Daniel 2:25
29. Daniel 4:36; Daniel 6:7
30. ver. 20, 21, 23
31. [Isaiah 43:2]
32. [Daniel 6:23]
33. [ver. 28; Job 1:6]
34. [See ver. 22 above]
35. Daniel 4:2; Daniel 5:18, 21
36. [See ver. 22 above]
37. ver. 2
38. [See ver. 24 above]
39. [Hebrews 11:34]
40. ver. 21
41. [See ver. 22 above]
42. Daniel 6:22
43. [ver. 15, 17; Psalms 34:7]
44. [Psalms 25:2]
45. [Exodus 20:3]
46. See ver. 10
47. See ver. 4
48. [See ver. 22 above]
49. Daniel 2:5
50. [See ver. 22 above]
51. ver. 1, 12; Daniel 2:48, 49

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.