Daniel 3:8-12

3:8 Now ¹  at that time certain ²  Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against ³  the Jews. 3:9 They said ⁴  to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ⁵  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 ⁶  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.”

[3:8]  ¹ tc This expression is absent in Theodotion.

[3:8]  ² tn Aram “men.”

[3:8]  ³ tn Aram “ate the pieces of.” This is a rather vivid idiom for slander.

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.

[3:9]  ⁵ sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.

[3:12]  ⁶ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.