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Daniel 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 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.
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