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Daniel 3

3 King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his craftsmen to make a giant statue and cover it completely with gold. It was 27 meters high and 2.7 meters wide. They set it up on the Plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then the king sent messengers to the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and the other officials in the province. He ordered them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had set up. 3 So the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and the other officials in the province came for the dedication of the statue that the king had set up. They all stood in front of that statue.

4 Then a royal herald shouted loudly, “You people who come from many different nations and groups and who speak many different languages, listen to what the king has commanded! 5 When you hear the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, bagpipes, and other instruments, you must bow down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. 6 The king’s soldiers will immediately throw anyone who does not do that into a furnace that is blazing with fire!”

7 So when the officials who had gathered there heard the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, and other instruments, they bowed down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue.

8 But because of something they saw, some of the king’s advisors then went to him and said bad things about the Jews who were provincial officials. 9 They told King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your Majesty, we hope that you will live for a very long time! 10 You commanded all of us officials to bow down and worship your golden statue when we heard the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, bagpipes, and other instruments. 11 You said that if anyone did not do that, you would command your solders to throw him into a furnace that was blazing with fire. 12 But there are some men who are not obeying your decree, Your Majesty. They are men from Judah whom you have appointed to be officials in the province of Babylon. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refuse to worship your gods. They did not bow down to your golden statue.”

13 When he heard that, Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry. He commanded his soldiers to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to him. When those three men arrived, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to worship my gods? Did you not bow down to my golden statue? 15 I will not punish you if you are willing to bow down and worship my statue when you hear the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, bagpipes, and other instruments. But if you do not bow down, I will immediately command my soldiers to throw you into a furnace that is blazing with fire. Then what god would be able to rescue you from my power?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to make a decision about what to do and then tell you whether we are willing to bow down to your statue. 17 If that happened, our God, whom we worship, would be able to rescue us from the furnace. He could rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But we want you to know, Your Majesty, that even if he did not rescue us, we would never worship your gods. We would not bow down to your golden statue.”

19 When Nebuchadnezzar heard that, he became extremely angry. He had been regarding Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with a generous expression, but now he looked at them with a very hostile expression. He ordered his soldiers to heat the furnace as hot as possible, hotter than it had ever been before. 20 Then he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into that extremely hot furnace. 21 So those soldiers tied up the three men and threw them into the furnace. The men were still wearing their robes, tunics, turbans, and other clothes. 22 The king had given a very stern command, so his servants had made the furnace extremely hot. As a result, the heat of the furnace killed the strong soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into it. 23 And those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the roaring flames with ropes around them.

24 But then King Nebuchadnezzar saw something that amazed him. He quickly jumped up and asked his advisors, “Did we not tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”

The advisors replied, “Yes, Your Majesty, we did.”

25 Nebuchadnezzar responded, “But look! I see four men! They have no ropes around them, and they are walking around in the flames. The fire is not hurting them! And the fourth man looks like a divine being!”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came closer to the opening of the furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you men who worship the Supreme God, come out of there! Come over here!” So they stepped out of the furnace.

27 Then the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal counselors crowded around them. They saw that the flames had not harmed them. The flames had not even singed any of the hair on their heads or scorched any of their clothes! There was not even any smell of smoke on them!

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “People should praise the God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego worship! He sent one of his angels to rescue these three men who worship him and who trusted him to protect them. They were willing to die rather than worship any other god other than their own God. As a result, they made my punishment have no effect. 29 Therefore, I am now making this decree: ‘No person, no matter what nation or group he comes from or what language he speaks, may criticize the God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego worship. If anyone does, I will order my soldiers to cut him into pieces. I will also order them to destroy his house completely. That is because there is no other god who can rescue people like this!’ ”

30 Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in the province of Babylon.

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