DAN 3:20 Parallel Verse View

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

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 He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.

UST After that was done, he commanded some of the very strong men of his army to tie Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and then to throw them into the blazing furnace.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET He ordered strong soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.

LSV and to certain mighty men who [are] in his force he has said to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the burning fiery furnace.

FBV Then he commanded some of his strongest soldiers, “Tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire!”

T4T After that was done, he commanded some of the very strong men of his army to tie Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and then to throw them into the blazing furnace.

LEB And he commanded _⌊the strongest men of the guards_⌋[fn] who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.

3:20 Literally “to the strong men, men of strength”

BBE And he gave orders to certain strong men in his army to put cords on Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and put them into the burning and flaming fire.

Moff and ordered some powerful soldiers to bind Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, and fling them into the burning furnace.

JPS And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

ASV And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

DRA And he commanded the strongest men that were in his army, to bind the feet of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and to cast them into the furnace of burning fire.

YLT and to certain mighty men who [are] in his force he hath said to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the burning fiery furnace.

Drby And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

RV And he commanded certain mighty men that were in is army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

SLT To the strong, the strong of strength that were in his army, he said to bind to Shadrach, Mesbach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the furnace of flaming fire.

Wbstr And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

KJB-1769 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.[fn]

3.20 most…: Chaldee, mighty of strength

KJB-1611 [fn]And hee commaunded the most mighty men that were in his armie, to binde Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fierie furnace.
(And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.)

3:20 Cald. mightie of strength.

Bshps And he charged the most valiaunt men of warre that were in his armie, to bind Sidrach, Misach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the hot firie fornace.
(And he charged the most valiant men of war that were in his army, to bind Sidrach, Misach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the hot fiery furnace.)

Gnva And hee charged the most valiant men of warre that were in his armie, to binde Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the hote fierie fornace.
(And he charged the most valiant men of war that were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the hot fiery furnace. )

Cvdl and spake vnto the strongest worthies that were in his hooste, for to bynde Sidrac, Misac and Abdenago, and to cast them in to the hote burnynge ouen.
(and spake unto the strongest worthies that were in his host/army, for to bind Sidrac, Misac and Abdenago, and to cast them in to the hot burning oven.)

Wycl And he comaundide to the strongeste men of his oost, that thei schulden bynde the feet of Sidrac, Mysaac, and Abdenago, and sende hem in to the furneis of fier brennynge.
(And he commanded to the strongest men of his host/army, that they should bind the feet of Sidrac, Mysaac, and Abdenago, and send hem in to the furnace of fire burning.)

Luth Und befahl den besten Kriegsleuten, die in seinem Heer waren, daß sie Sadrach, Mesach und Abed-Nego bänden und in den glühenden Ofen würfen.
(And commanded/ordered the best soldiers, the in his army were, that they/she/them Sadrach, Mesach and Abed-Nego bänden and in the glowingn oven würfen.)

ClVg Et viris fortissimis de exercitu suo jussit ut ligatis pedibus Sidrach, Misach, et Abdenago, mitterent eos in fornacem ignis ardentis.
(And men the_strongest from/about army his_own ordered as tietis feet Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, to_sendnt them in/into/on fornacem fire ardentis. )

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 3:19–23

The king ordered his soldiers to throw the three Jews into the furnace.

3:20a

and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Then he ordered some of the warriors in his army to tie/bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
And he commanded some of his best fighting men to tie the hands and feet of the three men with ropes

and he commanded: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces the next event in the sequence. The king gave some further orders. In some languages it may be natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:

Then he ordered (NLT)

Next, he commanded (CEV)

some mighty men of valor in his army: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as some mighty men of valor in his army means “some of his warriors.” In your translation, avoid suggesting that some of the soldiers in the army were not very strong. Other ways to translate this include:

certain mighty men of his army (RSV)

some soldiers from his army (GW)

some of the strong guards in his army (NRSV)

to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: The soldiers tied the three men to prevent them from trying to escape. They probably tied their hands and feet with chains or rope. In some languages it may be necessary to add some of this implied information. For example:

to tie the hands and feet of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

In some languages it may be natural to refer back to the young men in a different way. For example:

to tie the three men up (GNT)

3:20b

and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace.

and to throw them into the burning fire in the furnace.
and to throw them into the furnace where the fire was burning/blazing.

and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace: See the Notes at 3:6.

General Comment on 3:19b–20b

In some languages it may be natural to translate the king’s orders using direct speech. For example:

he commanded his men, “Make that furnace as hot as possible! And you guards, tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Throw them into the fire!”

Parallel DAN 3:20

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

Paragraph 3:19–23

3:20a

3:20b

General Comment on 3:19b–20b