STANDING IN THE FIRE

 

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, 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, 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, have 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, 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 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. 20

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. 21 Then 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. 22

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. 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, 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

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. 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 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. 30

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the

province of Babylon.


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