3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose hight
[was] sixty cubits, [and] the breadth of it six cubits: he set
it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
3:2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to convene the princes,
the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers,
the counselors, the sherifs, and all the rulers of the
provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3:3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges,
the treasurers, the counselors, the sherifs, and all the rulers
of the provinces, were assembled to the dedication of the image
that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before
the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3:4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people,
nations, and languages,
3:5 [That] at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye
fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king hath set up.
3:6 And whoever shall not fall down and worship shall the same
hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
3:7 Therefore 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] worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king had set up.
3:8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and
accused the Jews.
3:9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live
for ever.
3:10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery,
and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and
worship the golden image:
3:11 And whoever shall not fall down and worship, [that] he
shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
3:12 There 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.
3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to
bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these
men before the king.
3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them, [Is it] true, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do ye not serve my gods, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up?
3:15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of
the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and
all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which 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?
3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the
king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in
this matter.
3:17 If it is [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of
thy hand, O king.
3:18 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.
3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his
visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:
[therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the
furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
3:20 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.
3:21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hose, and
their hats, and their [other] garments, and were cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace.
3:22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and
the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those
men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell
down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in
haste, [and] spoke, and said to his counselors, Did we not cast
three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and
said to the king, True, O king.
3:25 He 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.
3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning
fiery furnace, [and] 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.
3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's
counselors, being assembled, saw these men, upon whose bodies
the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed,
neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire
passed upon them.
3:28 [Then] Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed [be] the God
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel,
and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have
changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they
might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
3:29 Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and
language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and
their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no
other god that can deliver after this sort.
3:30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in
the province of Babylon.
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