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DanielChapter 3

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King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, 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.
Then the herald proclaimed with a loud voice: "This is the command to you, O peoples and nations and speakers of every language:
When you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
At that very time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!
You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music must fall down and worship the golden image,
and that whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a blazing furnace.
There are certain Jews whom you appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men pay no attention to you, O king. They do not serve your gods, and they do not worship the golden image you have set up."
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in. So these men were brought before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image I have set up?
Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image I have made, well and good. But if you will not worship, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. And who is the god who can rescue you from my hand?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, know this, O king: we will not serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image you have set up."
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the look on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual,
and he commanded the strongest soldiers of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
So these men were bound in their robes, trousers, turbans, and other garments, and thrown into the blazing furnace.
Because the king's command was so urgent and the furnace so exceedingly hot, the flames of the fire killed the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up to it.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished. He rose up in alarm and said to his counselors, "Did we not throw three men, bound, into the fire?" They answered the king, "Certainly, O king."
"But look," he said, "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!"
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near the door of the blazing furnace and called out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
The satraps, prefects, governors, and the king's counselors crowded around and saw these men: the fire had no power over their bodies, not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unharmed, and no smell of fire clung to them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar declared, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him! They set aside the king's command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Therefore I decree that any people, nation, or language that speaks offensively against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to rubble, for there is no other god who can rescue like this."
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar, to all the peoples, nations, and languages who dwell in all the earth: May your peace abound!
It has pleased me to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.
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