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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