1King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue. It was 30 metres high and 3 metres wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura near the city of Babylon.2Then the king sent for the royal rulers, high officials and governors. He sent for the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. And he sent for all the other officials of Babylon. He asked them to come to a special gathering to honour the statue he had set up.3So the royal rulers, high officials and governors came together. So did the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. All the other officials joined them. They came to honour the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of it.4Then a messenger called out loudly, ‘Listen, you people who come from every nation! Pay attention, you who speak other languages! Here is what the king commands you to do.5You will soon hear the sound of horns and flutes. You will hear zithers, lyres, harps and pipes. In fact, you will hear all kinds of music. When you do, you must fall down and worship the gold statue. That is the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.6If you don’t, you will be thrown into a blazing furnace right away.’7All the people heard the sound of the horns and flutes. They heard the zithers, lyres, harps and other musical instruments. As soon as they did, they fell down and worshipped Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. They were people from all nations no matter what language they spoke.8At this time some people who studied the heavens came forward. They spoke against the Jews.9They said, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, may you live for ever!10Your Majesty has commanded everyone to fall down and worship the gold statue. You told them to do it when they heard the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments.11If they didn’t, they would be thrown into a blazing furnace.12But you have appointed some Jews to help Daniel govern Babylon and the towns around it. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They don’t pay any attention to you, King Nebuchadnezzar. They don’t serve your gods. And they refuse to worship the gold statue you have set up.’13Nebuchadnezzar was very angry. He sent for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they were brought to him.14The king said to them, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is what I heard about you true? Don’t you serve my gods? Don’t you worship the gold statue I set up?15You will hear the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments. When you do, fall down and worship the statue I made. If you will, that’s very good. But if you won’t, you will be thrown at once into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to save you from my power?’16Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him. They said, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore.17We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your power.18But we want you to know this, Your Majesty. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.’19Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The look on his face changed. And he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.20He also gave some of the strongest soldiers in his army a command. He ordered them to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then he told his men to throw them into the blazing furnace.21So they were tied up. Then they were thrown into the furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, turbans and other clothes.22The king’s command was carried out quickly. The furnace was so hot that its flames killed the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it.23So the three men were firmly tied up. And they fell into the blazing furnace.24Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. He was so amazed he asked his advisers, ‘Didn’t we tie up three men? Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Yes, we did, Your Majesty.’25The king said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They aren’t tied up. And the fire hasn’t even harmed them. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.’26Then the king approached the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! You who serve the Most High God, come here!’ So they came out of the fire.27The royal rulers, high officials, governors and advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire hadn’t harmed their bodies. Not one hair on their heads was burned. Their robes weren’t burned either. And they didn’t even smell like smoke.28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent his angel and saved his servants. They trusted in him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God.29No other god can save people this way. So I’m giving an order about the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. No one may say anything against him. That’s true no matter what language they speak. If they say anything against him, they’ll be cut to pieces. And their houses will be turned into piles of rubble.’30Then the king honoured Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He gave them higher positions in the city of Babylon and the towns around it.
English Standard Version
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image
1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits* and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.2Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.3Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.4And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,5that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.6And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”7Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.9They declared* to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!10You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.11And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.12There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”13Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.14Nebuchadnezzar 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?15Now if you are ready when you 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.* But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.17If this 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.*18But 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.”19Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.20And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.21Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics,* their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.22Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.23And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.24Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”25He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.27And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.28Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside* the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.29Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall 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.”30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
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