1Nebuchadnezzar 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.
2Then 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.
3Then 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.
4Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is
commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5That at
what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of
musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image
that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6And 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 musick, 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.
9They spake and said to the king
Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
10Thou, 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:
11And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he
should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery
furnace.
12There 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 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
Abednego. Then they brought these men before the
king.
14Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is
it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 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, 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?
16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered
and said to the king, 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, and 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.
19Then was Nebuchadnezzar full 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.
20And 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.
21Then these men were bound in their coats,
their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments,
and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery
furnace.
22Therefore 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.
23And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the
burning fiery furnace.
24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied,
and rose up in 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.
26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth
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.
27And 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.
28Then 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.
29Therefore I make 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.
30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.