Daniel 3
30 verses
Daniel 3 narrates the trial of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they refuse to worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue, a story of corporate faithfulness and divine deliverance that became central to Jewish and Christian theology of martyrdom and resurrection. The three companions face the ultimate threat—death by furnace—yet refuse to acknowledge the king's gods, declaring that "if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us...But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods." Their theology of absolute trust without guarantee of deliverance represents the mature covenantal faith the book commends, where obedience is unconditioned by outcomes. The supernatural deliverance—the fourth figure in the furnace and the companions' miraculous preservation—validates their faithfulness and demonstrates that God's power over pagan authority is absolute, able to nullify even the most potent instruments of coercion. Remarkably, the narrative concludes not with destruction of the Babylonian system but with the king himself acknowledging God's supremacy and advancing the companions in the empire, suggesting again that faithful witness within oppressive systems can transform them, or at least create space for covenant people to flourish. The theological message proved revolutionary for Jewish communities under persecution: survival is possible through absolute loyalty to God rather than capitulation to idolatrous power. Daniel 3 establishes persecution and deliverance as recurring templates through which God's sovereignty is demonstrated to and vindicated before hostile powers.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
God meets us exactly where we are — broken, uncertain, yet chosen. Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller pict...
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.
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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.
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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.
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4
Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
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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:
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6
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
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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.
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8
Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
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9
They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
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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:
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11
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
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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.
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13
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
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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?
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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?
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16
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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23
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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30
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, in the province of Babylon.
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