3:1 1 King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden 2 statue made. 3 It was ninety feet 4 tall and nine feet 5 wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, 6 and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he 7 had erected. 3:3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial authorities assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They were standing in front of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected. 8
3:4 Then the herald 9 made a loud 10 proclamation: “To you, O peoples, nations, and language groups, the following command is given: 11 3:5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, 12 trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must 13 bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected. 3:6 Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately 14 be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!” 3:7 Therefore when they all 15 heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, 16 and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
3:8 Now 17 at that time certain 18 Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against 19 the Jews. 3:9 They said 20 to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 21 3:10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music. 3:11 And whoever does not bow down and pay homage must be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men 22 have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage 23 demanded that they bring 24 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them 25 before the king. 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected? 3:15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?” 26 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, 27 “We do not need to give you a reply 28 concerning this. 3:17 If 29 our God whom we are serving exists, 30 he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed 31 toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders 32 to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.