Bible, King James Version
Daniel
Dan.3
[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 counsellers, 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 counsellers, 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
Abed-nego; 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 Abed-nego. Then they brought these
men before the king.
[14] Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true,
O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 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 Abed-nego, 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 Abed-nego:
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 Abed-nego, 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 Abed-nego.
[23] And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, 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 counsellers, 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 Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and
come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of
the midst of the fire.
[27] And the princes, governors, and captains, and the
king's counsellers, 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 Abed-nego, 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 Abed-nego, 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
Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
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