Daniel Chapter 3
In Chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar builds a massive, golden statue and orders his officials to bow down to it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse, and are cast into a fiery furnace as punishment, but God sends an angel to save them.
Annotated Commentary with Links
In Chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar builds a mighty statue and forces all of his officials to bow down and worship it, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow down. In a rage, Nebuchadnezzar orders the three men thrown into a fiery furnace. Instead of burning, the men are saved by an Angel and Nebuchadnezzar is reminded of the power of God. In the end, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the God of the Hebrews as the “Most High God.” This acknowledgement sets the stage for the events of chapter 4.
| 1Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. | Both Greek translation traditions add the words, “In the eighteenth year,” to the beginning of verse 1. This would place the events of chapter 3 around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. No Hebrew manuscripts contain this addition. Using a cubit of 18 inches, the statue would measure 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. This is a very narrow and tall statue with strange proportions. |
| 2Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. | Satraps, counselors, treasurers and judges are Persian loan words. Prefects and governors are Assyrian loan words. The events of chapter 3 occur during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, which is before the rise of Persian dominance. Some scholars point the use of these words as a historical error, but others propose Daniel may have written or edited this chapter during Persian rule. |
| 3Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. | Daniel is not among the gathered officials. The text gives no reason for his absence. |
| 4Then the herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, | |
| 5that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flat, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up; | |
| 6and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall the same hour be case into the middle of a burning fiery furnace.” | |
| 7Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kids of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. | |
| 8Therefor at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews. | The Chaldeans are a group of diviners who advise the king. Daniel, an exiled Jew, is in charge of the Chaldeans. (Daniel Chapter 1) |
| 9They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for ever! | |
| 10You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image; | |
| 11and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of burning fiery furnace. | |
| 12There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.” | |
| 13Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. | |
| 14Nebucahdnezzar answered them, “Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? | |
| 15Now, if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that will deliver you out of my hands?” | |
| 16Shadarch, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. | |
| 17If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. | |
| 18But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.” | |
| 19Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should be heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. | |
| 20He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and cast them into burning the fiery furnace. | |
| 21Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantels, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. | |
| 22Therefore because of the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. | |
| 23These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. | |
| 24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we case three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” | |
| 25He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” | |
| 26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.!” | |
| 27The satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their pants changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. | |
| 28Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. | |
| 29Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil 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 who is able to deliver like this.” | |
| 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Mescal, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. |
