DAN 3:12 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

3:12 OSHB variant note: עלי/ך: (x-qere) ’עֲלָ֤/ךְ’: lemma_5922 morph_AR/Sp2ms id_27evD עֲלָ֤/ךְ

3:12 OSHB variant note: ל/אלהי/ך: (x-qere) ’לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙’: lemma_l/426 n_0.1.0 morph_AR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms id_27deG לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration 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.”

UST Sir, there are some men from Judah whom you have appointed to be officials in Babylon province who have not obeyed your decree. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They have refused to worship your god and the gold statue that you have set up.”

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

LSV There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the work of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of you, O king, [any] regard; your gods they are not serving, and to the golden image you have raised up—are not making worship.”

FBV But there are some Jews that you placed in charge of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who pay no attention to Your Majesty's decree. They do not serve your gods and will not worship the gold statue you set up.”

T4T Sir, there are some men from Judah whom you have appointed to be officials in Babylon province who have not obeyed your decree. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They have refused to worship your god and the gold statue that you have set up.”

LEB However there are Judean men whom you have appointed[fn] over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—these men, O king, _⌊pay you no heed_⌋[fn] and were not serving your god, and the statue of gold[fn] that you set up they are not worshiping.”

3:12 Aramaic “whom you have appointed them”

3:12 Literally “not they pay heed to you”

3:12 Aramaic “the gold”

BBE There are certain Jews whom you have put over the business of the land of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men have not given attention to you, O King: they are not servants of your gods or worshippers of the gold image which you have put up.

Moff Now there are some Jews whom you have put in charge of the business of the province of Babylon, Shadrak, Meshak, Abednego; these men have paid no heed to you, O king; they do not serve your gods, and they do not bow before the golden image which you have erected.”

JPS There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.'

ASV There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

DRA Now there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the works of the province of Babylon, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago: these men, O king, have slighted thy decree: they worship not thy gods, nor do they adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.

YLT There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the work of the province of Babylon — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of thee, O king, [any] regard; thy gods they are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up — are not making obeisance.'

Drby There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: these men, O king, regard thee not; they serve not thy [fn]gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up.

3.12 Elohim

RV There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
(There are certain Jews whom thou/you hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, Oh king, have not regarded thee/you: they serve not thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image which thou/you hast set up. )

SLT There are men, Jews, that thou didst appoint over the business of the province of Babel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men set not an account to thee, O king: they served not to thy gods; and to the image of gold that thou didst set up they prostrated themselves not.

Wbstr There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

KJB-1769 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.[fn]
(There are certain Jews whom thou/you hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, Oh king, have not regarded thee/you: they serve not thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image which thou/you hast set up. )

3.12 have…: Chaldee, have set no regard upon thee

KJB-1611 [fn]There are certain Iewes whom thou hast set ouer the affaires of the prouince of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: these men, O King, haue not regarded thee, they serue not thy gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou hast set vp.
(There are certain Yews whom thou/you hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: these men, Oh King, have not regarded thee/you, they serve not thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou/you hast set up.)

3:12 Cald. haue set no regard vpon thee.

Bshps Now are there certayne Iewes, whom thou hast set ouer the charge of the prouince of Babylon: namely Sidrach, Misach, and Abednego: these men, O king, regarded not thy commaundement: yea they will not serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set vp.
(Now are there certain Yews, whom thou/you hast set over the charge of the province of Babylon: namely Sidrach, Misach, and Abednego: these men, Oh king, regarded not thy/your commandment: yea they will not serve thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image that thou/you hast set up.)

Gnva There are certeine Iewes whome thou hast set ouer the charge of ye prouince of Babel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: these men, O King, haue not regarded thy commandement, neither wil they serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image, that thou hast set vp.
(There are certain Yews whom thou/you hast set over the charge of ye/you_all province of Babel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: these men, Oh King, have not regarded thy/your commandment, neither will they serve thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image, that thou/you hast set up. )

Cvdl Now are there certaine Iewes, whom thou hast set ouer the offices of the londe off Babilon: namely, Sydrac, Misac and Abdenago. These men (o kynge) regarde not thy comaundemet, yee they will not serue thy goddes, ner bowe them selues to the golden ymage, that thou hast set vp.
(Now are there certain Yews, whom thou/you hast set over the offices of the land off Babylon: namely, Sydrac, Misac and Abdenago. These men (o king) regard not thy/your commandment, ye/you_all they will not serve thy/your gods, nor bow themselves to the golden image, that thou/you hast set up.)

Wycl Therfor men Jewis ben, Sidrac, Mysaac, and Abdenago, whiche thou hast ordeynede on the werkis of the cuntrei of Babiloyne. Thou kyng, these men han dispisid thi decree; thei onouren not thi goddis, and thei worshipen not the goldun ymage, which thou reisidist.
(Therefore men Yews been, Sidrac, Mysaac, and Abdenago, which thou/you hast ordained on the works of the country of Babylon. Thou/You king, these men have despised thy/your decree; they honouren not thy/your gods, and they worshipen not the golden image, which thou/you raisedist.)

Luth Nun sind da jüdische Männer, welche du über die Ämter im Lande zu Babel gesetzet hast: Sadrach, Mesach und Abed-Nego; dieselbigen verachten dein Gebot und ehren deine Götter nicht und beten nicht an das güldene Bild, das du hast setzen lassen.
(Now are there Yewishe men, which you(sg) above the Ämter in_the land to/for Babel set(v)et have: Sadrach, Mesach and Abed-Nego; the_same despise/scorn your(s) commandment/command and honour(v) your gods not and pray not at/to the golden image/picture, the you(sg) have set/put/place let.)

ClVg Sunt ergo viri Judæi, quos constituisti super opera regionis Babylonis, Sidrach, Misach, et Abdenago: viri isti contempserunt, rex, decretum tuum: deos tuos non colunt, et statuam auream, quam erexisti, non adorant.
(They_are therefore men Jews, which to_establishsti over works of_the_region Babylonis, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago: men these contempserunt, king, decretum your(sg): the_gods yours not/no they_worship, and statuam golden, how erexisti, not/no adorant. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–30: God delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace

This is the only chapter in the book of Daniel where the author does not refer to Daniel himself. Scholars have debated why this might be. Possibly he was traveling somewhere else in the empire on the king’s business at this time.

The author wrote Daniel 3 in the Aramaic language. These Notes usually follow the Aramaic found in the Masoretic Text (MT). The early Greek translation of Daniel 3 is somewhat different from the Aramaic. The Greek translation includes two stories that are not in the MT. The first is called “The Prayer of Azariah” (3:24–45). The second is called “The Song of the Three Young Men” (3:50–90). These two stories are connected by a short paragraph (3:46–50). Most English versions do not include these two stories. The NJB, however, does include them. As a result the verse numbers in the NJB are different from those of most other English versions.

In some other places the Greek text of Daniel 3 differs from the Aramaic of the Masoretic Text. For example, the Greek text includes a date in 3:1 that is not in the MT. Scholars have different views on why the two texts differ. It is possible that the Greek versions may have translated from a different Aramaic original. The Notes will discuss the differences between the two texts for certain important passages.

Outline: This chapter can be divided into four parts:

1. Setting: Nebuchadnezzar commanded all his officials of Babylon to come and worship the golden image that he had set up. (3:1–7)

2. Problem: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the image. The king threatened to kill them, but they still refused. (3:8–18)

3. Action: The king ordered his soldiers to throw the three young men into the furnace. (3:19–23)

4. Result/Outcome: God delivered the three young men from the furnace, and Nebuchadnezzar gave honor to God. (3:24–30)

The author gave prominence to Daniel 3:16–18, when the three young men proclaimed that they trusted in God to rescue them. If you have a way in your language to mark this section as important, you should use do that here

Headings:

The Notes interpret Daniel 3:1–30 as a one unit with one heading. However, in some languages it may be helpful to divide this chapter into more than one unit and to give each unit a separate heading. The following are some examples of how English versions divide the chapter into units and the headings they give for each unit:

Some versions have one heading. For example:
1. “The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace” (NIV)
2. “The Fiery Furnace” (REB)
3. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Refuse to Worship an Idol” (GW)

2. Some have two headings:

“The Golden Image” (NRSV, 3:1–18)
- “Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue” (NLT, 3:1–18)
“The Fiery Furnace” (NRSV, 3:19–30)
- “The Blazing Furnace” (NLT, 3:19–30)

3. The GNT has four headings:

“Nebuchadnezzar Commands Everyone to Worship a Gold Statue” (3:1–7)
“Daniel’s Three Friends Are Accused of Disobedience” (3:8–18)
“Daniel’s Three Friends Are Sentenced to Death” (3:19–25)
“The Three Men Are Released and Promoted” (3:26–30)

Special Translation Problems:

Lists: The author liked to use lists. He repeated these lists throughout the chapter. For example:
1. the list of the names of officials (3:2, 3, 27)
2. the list of musical instruments (3:5, 7, 10, 15)
3. the phrase: “peoples, nations, and languages” (3:4, 29)
Repetition: The author also liked to repeat phrases throughout the narrative. Some of these phrases are:
1. “the image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up” (3:1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, 18)
2. “hear the sound of the horn” (3:5, 7, 10, 15)
3. “fall down and worship” (3:5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 15)
4. “burning fiery furnace” (3:6, 11, 15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 26)
5. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” (3:12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 22, 26, 28, 29, 30)

Each language uses repetition in its own way. These notes will discuss the significance of the repetitions in Daniel. In some languages, the repetition may not be natural. If that is true in your language, you will have to consider how best to communicate the same meaning.

3:12a

But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—

But, there are some Jewish men here whom you^(sing) have appointed to govern the province of Babylon.
There are some men from Judah here, men you^(sing) have appointed to administer the province of Babylon.

But: The BSB has supplied the word But to indicate that this verse introduces a contrast. The three Jewish men disobeyed what the king had commanded.

there are some Jews: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as some Jews is more literally “Jewish men.” The events in this chapter probably occurred several years after the events in Daniel 1. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have been young men by now. See how you translated Jews in 3:8.

you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar had given these Jewish men important positions in the government of the province. See the Notes at 2:49a. Other ways to translate this include:

whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon (NET)

whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon (NLT)

manage the province of Babylon: The phrase manage the province of Babylon refers to the government or administration of Babylon province. Some other ways to translate this idea using a verb are:

[you appointed] to govern the province of Babylon (GW)

[you appointed] to administer the province of Babylon (NJPS)

3:12b

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—

Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: See the Notes at 1:7a–b The author repeated these names twelve times in the chapter. In some languages it may be natural here to translate the names using a separate sentence. For example:

Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (NCV)

3:12c

who have ignored you, O king,

Your Majesty, these men have defied you^(sing).
have deliberately ignored your command, O king.

who have ignored you, O king: In some languages it may be natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:

These pay no heed to you, O King. (NRSV)

These men, O king, pay no heed to you. (RSV)

who: You can also translate this as:

These men (RSV)

They (NLT, GNT, NIV, NCV)

Those Jews (CEV)

have ignored you: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as have ignored you here means that the Jewish men were ignoring or defying the king’s command. Other ways to translate this include:

they have defied your Majesty (NET)

did not obey your order (GW)

have ignored your command (NJB)

O king: See the Notes at 2:4a. Use an expression that is natural in your language to address someone important.

3:12d

and have refused to serve your gods

They do not honor your^(sing) gods,
They refuse to worship the gods you^(sing) worship,

and have refused to serve your gods: In this context, the verb serve means to honor and worship. For example:

They don’t honor your gods… (GW)

They refuse to worship your gods (CEV)

your gods: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as gods is plural. However, early versions and English versions differ as to whether the word gods should be understood as singular or plural:

It refers to the Aramaic gods in general. For example:
your gods (NJB) (BSB, NJB, CEV, NCV, GW, NLT, REB, KJV, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NJB)
It refers to one specific god. For example:
your god (GNT) (NJPS, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) and the majority of English versions. This is the reading of the written form of the Masoretic Text.

3:12e

or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

and they do not bow down to the golden statue which you have set/raised up.”
and they refuse to worship the golden column which you have caused to be erected.”

or: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as or here introduces a second accusation against the three men. The second accusation is more specific than the first. English versions translate the connector in different ways:

They do not…and they do not… (NRSV, NCV, similarly the NJB)

They do not worship…or bow down (GNT, similarly GW, NLT, NJPS)

Translate in the way that is most natural in your language.

or worship the golden statue you have set up: See the Notes at 3:5b. Most versions translate the verb as worship. The author used this verb together with the synonym “to serve” in 3:12, 14, 18, 28. If your language has only one verb that means worship, you may use it here. For example:

Those Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to worship your gods and the statue you have set up (CEV)