Daniel:3
Seeker Overlay ON
*
Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue 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 .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the great [
ones ],
the assistants and captains ,
the judges ,
the treasurers ,
those of the council ,
presidents ,
and all the governors of the provinces ,
to come to the dedication of the statue which Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up .
*
Then the great [
ones ],
the assistants and captains ,
the judges ,
the treasurers ,
those of the council ,
presidents ,
and all the governors of the provinces ,
were gathered together unto the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up ;
and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up .
*
Then a herald cried aloud ,
To you it is commanded ,
O people ,
nations ,
and languages ,
* [
that ]
when ye hear the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
dulcimer ,
and of every musical instrument ,
ye [
are to ]
fall down and worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up :
*
and whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace .
*
Therefore ,
when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
and every musical instrument ,
all the peoples ,
nations ,
and languages ,
fell down [
and ]
worshipped the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up .
*
Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near ,
and accused the Jews .
*
They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar ,
O king ,
live for ever .
*
Thou ,
O king ,
hast made a law that every man upon hearing the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
and dulcimer ,
and every musical instrument ,
shall fall down and worship the statue of gold ;
*
and whoever does not fall down and worship [
that ]
he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace .
*
There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon ,
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ;
these men ,
O king ,
have not regarded thee ;
they do not worship thy gods ,
nor [
do they ]
worship the statue of gold which thou hast raised up .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar in [
his ]
rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego .
Then they brought these men before the king .
*
Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them , [
Is it ]
true ,
O Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
that ye do not honour my gods ,
nor worship the statue of gold which I have set up ?
*
Now ,
are ye ready when ye hear the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
and dulcimer ,
and of every musical instrument to fall down and worship the statue which I made ?
For if ye do not worship ,
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 ?
*
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
answered and said to king Nebuchadnezzar ,
We [
are ]
not careful to answer thee in this matter .
*
Behold ,
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 .
*
But if not ,
be it known unto thee ,
O king ,
that we will not worship thy god ,
nor honour the statue which thou hast raised up .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury ,
and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ; [
therefore ]
he spoke ,
and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was customary to be heated .
*
And he commanded the most mighty men that [
were ]
in his army to bind Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego [
and ]
to cast [
them ]
into the burning fiery furnace .
*
Then these men were bound in their coats ,
their undergarments ,
and their hats ,
and their [
other ]
garments ,
and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace .
*
Therefore because the king '
s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot ,
the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego .
*
And these three men ,
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished ,
and rose up in haste [
and ]
spoke and said unto his counsellors ,
Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ?
They answered and said unto the king ,
True ,
O king .
*
He answered and said ,
Behold ,
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 .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace [
and ]
spoke and said ,
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
ye servants of the most high God ,
come forth and come [
here ].
Then Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
came forth of the midst of the fire .
*
And the great ones ,
the governors and the captains and the king '
s counsellors gathered together to see these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power ,
nor was a hair of their head singed ,
neither were their coats changed ,
nor the smell of fire had passed on them .
* [
Then ]
Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said ,
Blessed [
be ]
the God of these ,
of Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
who has 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
*
Therefore I make a decree ,
That every people ,
nation ,
or language which speak blasphemy 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 .
*
Then the king promoted Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
in the province of Babylon .: