¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold. Its height was sixty cubits and its breadth was six cubits. He set it up in the lowland of Dura in the province of Babylon. ²And Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the administrators and the governors, the high court judges, the treasurers, the legislators, the security officials and all the rulers of the provinces, for them to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³At this the satraps, the administrators and the governors, the high court judges, the treasurers, the legislators, the security officials and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king set up, and they stood facing the image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴And the herald proclaimed loudly, “We command you, O peoples and nations and languages, ⁵that at the moment when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery, the bagpipes, and all the kinds of music, you shall fall down and prostrate yourselves to the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. ⁶And whoever does not fall down and prostrate himself will at that time be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” ⁷In accordance with this, at the very moment when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery, and all the kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and languages would fall down and prostrate themselves to the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ⁸Pursuant to this, at that very time some Chaldean men came along and slandered the Jews. ⁹They broached the subject and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live age-abidingly. ¹⁰O king, you issued a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery and the bagpipes, and all the kinds of music, shall fall down and prostrate themselves to the image of gold, ¹¹and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. ¹²There are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. These men, O king, have not heeded you; they do not worship your gods, nor do they prostrate themselves to the image of gold which you set up.” ¹³At this Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave commandment to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in. So these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar addressed them and said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, do you really not worship my gods, nor prostrate yourselves to the image of gold which I set up? ¹⁵Now then, if you are willing at the time when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery and the bagpipes, and all kinds of music, to fall down and prostrate yourselves to the image which I made, fine. But if you do not prostrate yourselves, at that very time you will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my hands?” ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not obliged to reply to you in this matter. ¹⁷Nevertheless, our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, he will save us. ¹⁸And even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not worship your gods, and we will not prostrate ourselves to the image of gold which you have set up.” ¹⁹At this Nebuchadnezzar became full of fury, and the complexion of his face changed, in opposition to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. He responded and gave commandment to heat the furnace seven times more than it was customary to heat it. ²⁰And he commanded men, valiant warriors who were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹So these men were bound in their trousers, their shirts and their hats and their garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²²As a result of this, considering that the king's word was pressing, and the furnace was heated in the extreme, the flame of the fire killed those men who took Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego up. ²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego fell into the furnace of blazing fire, bound. ²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he arose in haste and reacted and said to his attendants, “Did we not throw three men into the fire, bound?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.” ²⁵He replied and said, “Look, I see four men, loose, walking around in the fire, and there is no harm being done to them. And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God.” ²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and addressed them and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego came out of the fire. ²⁷And the satraps, administrators and governors and attendants to the king gathered together and saw these men over whose bodies the fire had no power, and whose hair of their head was not singed, and whose trousers were not affected, and on whom the smell of fire did not pass. ²⁸Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, who sent his angel and saved his servants who put their trust in him and defied the king's word, and who gave up their bodies so that they should not worship or prostrate themselves to any god except their God. ²⁹And a decree is hereby issued by me, that every people and nation and language which speaks disrespectfully about the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego will be dismembered and their house will be made a dunghill, because there is no other god who can bring deliverance like this.” ³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.