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 flames 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.
