Daniel 3 King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high, and six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, of the province of Babylon.

VIN⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high, and six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, of the province of Babylon. ² Then he summoned the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces, ordering them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had erected. ³ The satraps, deputies, governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together at the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. They stood before the image. ⁴ Then the herald proclaimed: »You are commanded to do this, O peoples, nations, and men of every language. ⁵ that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. ⁶ "Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace." ⁷ Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ⁸ Therefore at this time some astrologers came forward and they denounced the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. ¹⁰ You, 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; ¹¹ Whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a blazing fire furnace.' ¹² There are men, Jews, whom you have set over the business of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, do not heed you. They do not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up. ¹³ Then ordered Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and ‘Abed-nego. Then were these men brought before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar said to them: "Is it true Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that you do not serve my god, nor worship the golden image that I set up? ¹⁵ "Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, good! But if you do not worship it you will be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace that same hour. What god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ "If it is so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace. He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” ¹⁹ Out of control with rage, Nebuchadnezzar's facial expression changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. ²⁰ He commanded the mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men were bound in their coats, hosen, shoes with their other garments, and cast into the hot burning oven. ²² Then, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ Bound firmly with ropes, these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the blazing fire furnace. ²⁴ Astonished, King Nebuchadnezzar stood up in terror, and asked his advisers, "Didn't we throw three men into the fire, bound firmly with ropes?" In reply they said to the king, "Yes, your majesty." ²⁵ He said: "Look, I see four men walking in the midst of the fire. They are not hurt! The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of the blazing fire furnace. He shouted out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. ²⁷ The satraps, the viceroys, the governors, and the royal advisors gazed at those men and saw that the fire had no effect on their bodies not a hair on their head was singed, their clothes were not burned, and they did not smell of fire. ²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and said: 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king's command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ "Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut into pieces. Their houses shall be made a dunghill. There is no other god that is able to deliver like this." ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.