Daniel 3

The Faithfulness of Three Young Israelites and God’s Deliverance

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold. Its height [was] sixty cubits [and] its width [was] six cubits; he set it up in the valley of Dura in the province of Babylon.

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent [directions] to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all of the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up.

3 Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province [were] assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up, and [were] standing {before} the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then the herald proclaimed {aloud}, "To you {it is commanded}, O peoples, {nations and people of all languages},

5 [that] at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp, [the] drum and all kinds of music, you must fall down and you must worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king [has] set up.

6 And {whoever} does not fall down and worship will be thrown {immediately} into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire."

7 {Therefore}, {at that time}, {as soon as} all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, {the nations and people of all languages} [were] falling down [and] were worshiping the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

8 {Therefore} {at this time} [some] {astrologers} came forward and {they denounced the Jews}.

9 {They responded and said} to Nebuchadnezzar the king, "O king, may [you] live {forever}!

10 You, O king, have made a decree that {everyone} who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold.

11 {And whoever} {does not fall down} and worship shall be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

12 [However] there are Judean men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--these men, O king, {pay you no heed} [and] [were] not serving your god, and the statue of gold that you set up they are not worshiping."

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar said in rage and anger to bring in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; then they brought in these men before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "[Is it] true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, [that] you are not serving my god, and [you are] not worshiping the statue of gold that I have set up?

15 Now if you are ready so that {when} you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, [that will be good]. But if you do not worship it, {immediately} you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and {who is the god} who will rescue you from my hands?"

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, "We have no need on this matter {to present a defense to you}.

17 {If it is so}, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us.

18 And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that {we will not serve your gods}, and the statue of gold that you have set up we will not worship."

The Wrath of the King and His Fiery Furnace of Death

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with anger and the image of his face was changed {toward} Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, [so he] {ordered and said} to heat up the one furnace seven times what was usual to heat [it] up.

20 And he commanded {the strongest men of the guards} who [were] in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to throw [them] into the furnace of blazing fire.

21 Then these men were bound with their garments, their trousers and their turbans and their [other] clothing, and they were thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

22 {Therefore} {because} the word of the king was severe and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed these men who lifted up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

23 But these men, the three of them, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell down into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, [and they] were bound.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he rose up in haste [and] he asked, saying to his advisers, "[Did] we not throw three men, bound, into the midst of the fire? They answered, saying to the king, "Certainly, O king!"

25 {He answered}, saying, "Look, I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire and there is no damage to them, and the appearance of the fourth [man] resembles the son of a god."

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire, [and] he called out, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, {servants} of the Most High God, come out and come here!"

27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the advisors of the king [were] assembling, [and] they saw these men, that the fire had no power over their bodies, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their garments were not harmed, and the smell of fire did not come from them.

The King’s Praise for the Great Deliverance of the Three Young Israelites

28 Nebuchadnezzar {responded}, saying, "Blessed be their God, [the God] of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him, and the command of the king they disobeyed, and they gave their bodies so that they [did] not serve and [did] not worship any god except their God.

29 And from me {is set forth} a decree that any people, nation, or language that [may] utter criticism against their God--[the God of] Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--will be broken into pieces and their house will be made like ruins. {For} there is not another God who is able to rescue like this [God]."

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. (1-7) Shadrach and his companions refuse to worship it. (8-18) They are cast into a furnace, but are miraculously preserved. (19-27) Nebuchadnezzar gives glory to Jehovah. (28-30)

Verses 1-7 In the height of the image, about thirty yards, probably is included a pedestal, and most likely it was only covered with plates of gold, not a solid mass of that precious metal. Pride and bigotry cause men to require their subjects to follow their religion, whether right or wrong, and when worldly interest allures, and punishment overawes, few refuse. This is easy to the careless, the sensual, and the infidel, who are the greatest number; and most will go their ways. There is nothing so bad which the careless world will not be drawn to by a concert of music, or driven to by a fiery furnace. By such methods, false worship has been set up and maintained.

Verses 8-18 True devotion calms the spirit, quiets and softens it, but superstition and devotion to false gods inflame men's passions. The matter is put into a little compass, Turn, or burn. Proud men are still ready to say, as Nebuchadnezzar, Who is the Lord, that I should fear his power? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not hesitate whether they should comply or not. Life or death were not to be considered. Those that would avoid sin, must not parley with temptation when that to which we are allured or affrighted is manifestly evil. Stand not to pause about it, but say, as Christ did, Get thee behind me, Satan. They did not contrive an evasive answer, when a direct answer was expected. Those who make their duty their main care, need not be anxious or fearful concerning the event. The faithful servants of God find him able to control and overrule all the powers armed against them. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst. If He be for us, we need not fear what man can do unto us. God will deliver us, either from death or in death. They must obey God rather than man; they must rather suffer than sin; and must not do evil that good may come. Therefore none of these things moved them. The saving them from sinful compliance, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the saving them out of the fiery furnace was in the kingdom of nature. Fear of man and love of the world, especially want of faith, make men yield to temptation, while a firm persuasion of the truth will deliver them from denying Christ, or being ashamed of him. We are to be meek in our replies, but we must be decided that we will obey God rather than man.

Verses 19-27 Let Nebuchadnezzar heat his furnace as hot as he can, a few minutes will finish the torment of those cast into it; but hell-fire tortures, and yet does not kill. Those who worshipped the beast and his image, have no rest, no pause, no moment free from pain, ( revelation 14:10 revelation 14:11 ) . Now was fulfilled in the letter that great promise, ( Isaiah 43:2 ) , When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. Leaving it to that God who preserved them in the fire, to bring them out, they walked up and down in the midst, supported and encouraged by the presence of the Son of God. Those who suffer for Christ, have his presence in their sufferings, even in the fiery furnace, and in the valley of the shadow of death. Nebuchadnezzar owns them for servants of the most high God; a God able to deliver them out of his hand. It is our God only is the consuming fire, ( Hebrews 12:29 ) . Could we but see into the eternal world, we should behold the persecuted believer safe from the malice of his foes, while they are exposed to the wrath of God, and tormented in unquenchable fires.

Verses 28-30 What God did for these his servants, would help to keep the Jews to their religion while in captivity, and to cure them of idolatry. The miracle brought deep convictions on Nebuchadnezzar. But no abiding change then took place in his conduct. He who preserved these pious Jews in the fiery furnace, is able to uphold us in the hour of temptation, and to keep us from falling into sin.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to [the] front"
• [b]. Literally "with power"
• [c]. Literally "they [are] saying"
• [d]. Literally "the nations and the languages"
• [e]. Aramaic "the gold"
• [f]. Literally "who that"
• [g]. Literally "the time"
• [h]. Literally "All of because this"
• [i]. Literally "at the time"
• [j]. Literally "as that"
• [k]. Literally "the nations and the languages"
• [l]. Aramaic "the gold"
• [m]. Literally "All because of this"
• [n]. Literally "at it the time"
• [o]. Literally "Chaldean men"
• [p]. Literally "they ate their pieces of the Jews"
• [q]. Literally "they answered and [were] saying"
• [r]. Literally "to eternity"
• [s]. Literally "all of humanity"
• [t]. Aramaic "the gold"
• [u]. Literally "And who that"
• [v]. Literally "not he falls down"
• [w]. Aramaic "whom you have appointed them"
• [x]. Literally "not they pay heed to you"
• [y]. Aramaic "the gold"
• [z]. Aramaic "the gold"
• [aa]. Literally "at that time"
• [ab]. Literally "at that [very] time"
• [ac]. Literally "who he god"
• [ad]. Or "that"
• [ae]. Literally "to return to you"
• [af]. Literally "If there is"
• [ag]. Literally "your gods not there is us serving"
• [ah]. Aramaic "the gold"
• [ai]. Literally "against"
• [aj]. Literally "answering and saying"
• [ak]. Literally "to the strong men, men of strength"
• [al]. Literally "because of this"
• [am]. Literally "from that"
• [an]. Literally "[was] answering"
• [ao]. Aramaic "its"
• [ap]. Literally "his servant"
• [aq]. Or "Go out"
• [ar]. Aramaic plural
• [as]. Literally "answering"
• [at]. Or "messenger"
• [au]. Literally "setting out"
• [av]. Aramaic "his"
• [aw]. Literally "All of because"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 3

In this chapter an account is given of a golden image made by Nebuchadnezzar; its size; and where placed, Da 3:1, a summons to all his princes, governors, and officers, to attend the dedication of it, Da 3:2,3, a proclamation commanding men of all nations to fall down and worship it, at hearing the sound of music, Da 3:4-7, an accusation of the Jews to the king, particularly Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, for not worshipping it, Da 3:8-12, the king's sending for them in rage, and threatening to cast them into a fiery furnace if they continued to disobey his will, Da 3:13-15, their answer, which showed an inflexible resolution at all events not to comply with it, Da 3:16-18 the king's order to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual, and cast them into it, which was executed; the consequence of which was, they that cast them in were destroyed through the vehement heat of the furnace, but the three Jews were unhurt, Da 3:19-23. Nebuchadnezzar's amazement at the sight of four persons, instead of three; and these loose, walking in the midst of the fire without hurt; and one of them like the Son of God, which he observed to his counsellors, Da 3:24,25, upon which he called to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to come out of the furnace, which they did in the presence of his princes, governors, and officers, having received not the least harm in their persons or clothes, Da 3:26,27 and then the king, praising the God of the Jews, published an edict that none should speak against him on pain of death; and restored the three men to their former dignity, Da 3:28-30.