Dan. 3:1‑30• 1{i}Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.{/i}
2{i}And Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the justices, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.{/i}
3{i}Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the justices, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.{/i}
4{i}And the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,{/i}
5{i}that at what time ye hear{/i} the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer{i}, and all kinds of music, ye{/i} fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;
6{i}and{/i} whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7Therefore, at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews.
9{i}They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever!{/i}
10{i}Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of{/i} the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, {i}and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;{/i}
11{i}and that whosoever doth not fall down and worship, shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace{/i}.
12There 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.
13Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. {i}Then were these men brought before the king{/i}.
14{i}Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them{/i}, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15Now, if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, {i}and all kinds of music{/i}, ye fall down and worship the image that I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16{i}Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king{/i}, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18But 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.
19{i}Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.{/i}
20{i}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.{/i}
21{i}Then these men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their cloaks, and their garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.{/i}
22{i}Forasmuch as the king's commandment was rigorous, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that had taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.{/i}
23{i}And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.{/i}
24{i}Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and{/i} rose up in his haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O King.
25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26{i}Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the opening of the burning fiery furnace; he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither . Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came forth from the midst of the fire.{/i}
27{i}And the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had had no power, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.{/i}
28{i}Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and who changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God!{/i}
29{i}Therefore I make a decree, that in every people, nation, and language, he who shall speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and his house shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that is able to deliver after this sort.{/i}
30{i}Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon{/i}. (Dan. 3:1‑30)