DAN 3:18 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.)

3:18 OSHB variant note: ל/אלהי/ך: (x-qere) ’לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙’: lemma_l/426 n_0.1.0 morph_AR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms id_27TmV לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙

3:18 OSHB note: We have abandoned or added a ketib/qere relative to BHS. In doing this we agree with L against BHS.

3:18 OSHB variant note: איתי/נא: (x-qere) ’אִיתַ֣/נָא’: lemma_383 morph_ATa/Sp1cp id_27qKL אִיתַ֣/נָא

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 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you set up.”

UST But even if he does not rescue us, you need to know that we will never worship your gods or the gold statue that you have set up.”

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

LSV And behold—not! Be it known to you, O king, that we are not serving your gods, and we do not worship the golden image you have raised up.”

FBV But even if he does not, Your Majesty needs to know that we would never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

T4T But even if he does not rescue us, you need to know that we will never worship your gods or the gold statue that you have set up.”

LEB And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that _⌊we will not serve your gods_⌋,[fn] and the statue of gold[fn] that you have set up we will not worship.”

3:18 Literally “your gods not there is us serving”

3:18 Aramaic “the gold”

BBE But if not, be certain, O King, that we will not be the servants of your gods, or give worship to the image of gold which you have put up.

Moff But even if he does not, understand this, O king, we will not serve your gods, and we will not bow down before the golden image which you have erected.”

JPS But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.'

ASV But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

DRA But if he will not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not worship thy gods, nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.

YLT And lo — not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'

Drby But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy [fn]gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up.

3.18 Elohim

RV But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
(But if not, be it known unto thee/you, Oh king, that we will not serve thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image which thou/you hast set up. )

SLT And if not, it shall be made known to thee, O king, that to thy gods we serve not, and to the image of gold that thou didst set up we will not prostrate ourselves:

Wbstr But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

KJB-1769 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
(But if not, be it known unto thee/you, Oh king, that we will not serve thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image which thou/you hast set up. )

KJB-1611 But if not, bee it knowen vnto thee, O king, that we will not serue thy gods, nor worship thy golden image, which thou hast set vp.
(But if not, be it known unto thee/you, Oh king, that we will not serve thy/your gods, nor worship thy/your golden image, which thou/you hast set up.)

Bshps And though he will not, yet shalt thou knowe O king, that we will not serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set vp.
(And though he will not, yet shalt/shall thou/you know Oh king, that we will not serve thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image which thou/you hast set up.)

Gnva But if not, bee it knowen to thee, O King, that wee will not serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou hast set vp.
(But if not, be it known to thee/you, Oh King, that we will not serve thy/your gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou/you hast set up. )

Cvdl And though he wil not, yet shalt thou knowe (o kynge) that we will not serue thy goddes, ner do reuerece to the ymage, which thou hast set vp.
(And though he will not, yet shalt/shall thou/you know (o king) that we will not serve thy/your gods, nor do reverece to the image, which thou/you hast set up.)

Wycl That if he nyle, be it knowun to thee, thou kyng, that we onouren not thi goddis, and we worschipen not the goldun ymage, which thou hast reisid.
(That if he won’t, be it known to thee/you, thou/you king, that we honouren not thy/your gods, and we worship not the golden image, which thou/you hast raised.)

Luth Und wo er‘s nicht tun will, so sollst du dennoch wissen, daß wir deine Götter nicht ehren, noch das güldene Bild, das du hast setzen lassen, anbeten wollen.
(And where he's not do/put will, so should you(sg) nonetheless realise, that we/us your gods not honour(v), still the golden image/picture, the you(sg) have set/put/place let, worship want.)

ClVg Quod si noluerit, notum sit tibi, rex, quia deos tuos non colimus, et statuam auream, quam erexisti, non adoramus.
(That when/but_if will_not_want, known be to_you, king, because the_gods yours not/no colimus, and statuam golden, how erexisti, not/no adoramus. )

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.

Paragraph 3:16–18

In this paragraph, the three men responded to the king. The paragraph does not begin with a connector. However, the relation between the two paragraphs (3:13–15; 3:16–18) is one of contrast. If you have a natural way of showing this in your language, you can use it here. For example, in English you could begin the paragraph with the connector “But…”

3:18a

But even if He does not,

But even if he does not rescue/save us^(excl),
But even if he chooses/decides not to do so,

But: The Aramaic conjunction that the BSB translates as But here introduces a possibility that contrasts with the previous statement.

even if He does not: This conditional sentence is a short way to say “even if our God does not deliver us from the furnace.” In some languages it may be natural to include some of this implied information. For example:

But even if God does not save us (NCV)

3:18b

let it be known to you, O king,

King Nebuchadnezzar, you^(sing) need to know
we^(excl) want to make it clear/plain to you^(sing), O king,

let it be known to you: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as let it be known to you is more literally “be it known to you” (as in the RSV). This is a passive clause. If an active clause is more natural in your language, you may follow the NIV or the NLT, which say:

we want to make it clear to you (NLT)

we want you to know (NIV)

In some languages it may be natural to make the king the subject of the verb. For example:

you should know (GW)

you can be sure/certain

3:18c

that we will not serve your gods

that we^(excl) will not/never worship the gods you^(sing) worship
that we^(excl) refuse to worship your^(sing) gods

that we will not serve your gods: See the Notes at 3:5b, 3:12d. The statement is emphatic. Emphasize the men’s refusal in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

we will never serve your gods (NLT)

gods: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates gods is plural, as in 3:12d. Translate it here as you did there.

3:18d

or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

and we^(excl) will not bow down to the golden statue which you^(sing) have set up.”
and we^(excl) refuse to worship the golden column which you^(sing) have had erected/established.”

or: The Aramaic conjunction that the BSB translates as or here introduces another thing that the Jewish men refused to do. In some languages it may be natural to translate it as:

and