Daniel 3:1-30
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, 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.
4 Then an herald cried aloud,a To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer,b and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
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 musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:
11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, havec not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true,d O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
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 musick, 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?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But 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 Then was Nebuchadnezzar fulle of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 And he commanded the mostf mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were bound in their coats,g their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Therefore because the king's commandmenth was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors,i Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
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.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouthj of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 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.
29 Therefore I makek a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 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.
30 Then the king promotedl Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 3. The Golden Image and the Fiery Furnace. Nebuchadnezzar made a colossal image of gold and commanded the people to worship it. The three friends of Daniel refused to comply with the order. The king thereupon had them thrown into a burning fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. But the fire had no power to consume them, and there appeared walking by the side of the three men in the midst of the furnace a fourth whose aspect was like a son of the gods. The message of this chapter to the men of the Maccabean age is obvious. The devotion and fidelity of the three heroes who faced the fiery furnace rather than prove traitors to their God is held up as an example to those whom Antiochus Epiphanes was tempting to betray their Lord, and their marvellous rescue is held up as a Divine deliverance, and an illustration of the fulfilment of the prophecy of Deutero-Isaiah: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned: neither shall the fire kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:2).
Daniel 3:1. image of gold: this phrase does not necessarily mean that the statue was made of solid gold. Probably it was composed of another material coated or overlaid with gold. threescore cubits: 90 feet. six cubits: 9 feet, a cubit being l½ feet. the plain of Dura: it is impossible to identify this plain. The best suggestion is that it was connected with a small river, named the Dura, which entered the Euphrates some six miles S. of Babylon. Near this river many mounds have been discovered, one of which, a rectangular brick structure, may possibly have been the foundation on which the statue was placed. But this, of course, is pure conjecture (see Driver, CB).
Daniel 3:2. The particular functions of the different officials cannot be easily distinguished. Some of the words, e.g. satrap, belong to the later Persian period, and are therefore plainly an anachronism.
Daniel 3:5. sackbut: trigon, a triangular four-stringed instrument of the nature of a harp. The term sackbut is misleading, for a sackbut is a wind instrument resembling a trombone, while there is little doubt that the word used here denotes a stringed instrument. psaltery: also a stringed instrument resembling an inverted triangle in shape. dulcimer: the character of this instrument is probably better described by the mg. bagpipe.
Daniel 3:8. Chaldeans: whether the term is used here in its technical sense of wise men or magicians, or in its ethnic sense cannot be determined (see on Daniel 1:4).
Daniel 3:14. Is it of purpose: both Driver and Charles prefer the AV, Is it true?
Daniel 3:17. If it be so: there is general agreement that this translation is wrong; but opinions differ as to what should be substituted for it. Driver, following mg. 2, reads, If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, He will deliver us. But Charles objects that this rendering suggests that doubts had entered into the minds of the three young men. He proposes therefore to follow the Versions, For there is a God, whom we serve, who is able to deliver us.
Daniel 3:21. hosen. tunics. mantles: translate, mantles. trousers. hats.
Daniel 3:23 f. Between these two verses the LXX inserts the Apocryphal Song of the Three Children.
Daniel 3:25. a son of the gods: the AV translation, the son of God, is wrong. The phrase simply means a heavenly being or angel.
Daniel 3:27. hosen: mantles, as in Daniel 3:21.
Daniel 3:28. changed: frustrated.
Daniel 3:30. promoted: prospered.