Dan 3 | NASB2020 | STEP | Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold , the height of which was sixty cubits , and its width six cubits ; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon .

Daniel 3

The King’s Golden Image

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a ^astatue of gold, the height of which was ^{▼▼About 90 ft. high and 9 ft. wide or 27 m and 2.7 m}sixty cubits, and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the ^cprovince of Babylon. 2 Nebuchadnezzar the king also sent word to assemble the ^dsatraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you ^{▼▼Lit they command}the command is given, you ^fpeoples, nations, and populations of all ^{▼▼Lit tongues}languages, 5 that at the moment you ^hhear the sound of the horn, flute, ^{▼▼Or zither}lyre, ^{▼▼I.e., triangular lyre}trigon, ^{▼▼Or a type of harp}psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be ^lthrown into the middle of a ^mfurnace of blazing fire.” 7 Therefore as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, ^{▼▼See notes v 5}lyre, trigon, psaltery, ^{▼▼MT omits bagpipe}bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^{▼▼Lit tongues}languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Worship of the Image Refused

8 For this reason at that time certain ^qChaldeans came forward and ^{▼▼Lit ate the pieces of
,} ^sbrought charges against the Jews. 9 They began to speak and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “ ^tO king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have ^umade a decree that every person who hears the sound of the horn, flute, ^{▼▼See notes v 5}lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, is to ^wfall down and worship the golden statue. 11 But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have ^xappointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods, nor do they worship the golden statue which you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^yrage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar began speaking and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve ^zmy gods, nor worship the golden statue that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready, ^aaat the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^{▼▼See notes 1, 2, 3 v 5}lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will ^{▼▼Or in the same hour}immediately be ^adthrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^aewhat god is there who can rescue you from my hands?”

16 ^afShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. 17 If it be so, our ^agGod whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; ^{▼▼Or then}and ^aiHe will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 ^ajBut even if He does not, ^aklet it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Daniel’s Friends Protected

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with ^alwrath, and his facial expression was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered ^{▼▼Lit and ordered to}by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 Then these men were tied up in their ^antrousers, their ^{▼▼Or cloaks}coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire. 22 For this reason, because the king’s ^{▼▼Lit word}command was ^aqharsh and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^arfell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up quickly; he said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the middle of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Absolutely, O king.” 25 He responded, “Look! I see four men untied and ^aswalking about in the middle of the fire ^{▼▼Lit there is no injury in them}unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^augods!” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^avMost High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^awcame out of the middle of the fire. 27 The ^axsatraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the ^ayfire had no ^{▼▼Lit power over}effect on ^{▼▼Lit their}the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their ^{▼▼Or coats
,} ^bctrousers ^{▼▼Lit changed}damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the ^beGod of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^bfsent His angel and rescued His servants who put their ^bgtrust in Him, ^{▼▼Lit and changed the king’s word}violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies ^birather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I ^bjmake a decree that any people, nation, or population of any language that speaks anything offensive against the God of ^bkShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their ^blhouses made a rubbish heap, because there is ^bmno other god who is able to save in this way.” 30 Then the king ^bnmade Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosperous in the province of Babylon.