1Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and its width six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4Then the herald cried aloud, To you{+} it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5that at what time you{+} hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you{+} fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up; 6and whoever does not fall down and worship will the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 7Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, 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. 8Therefore at that time [prominent] men, Chaldeans, came near and brought accusation against the Jews. 9They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live forever. 10You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who will hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, will fall down and worship the golden image; 11and whoever does not fall down and worship, will be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12There are Jewish [prominent] men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these [prominent] men, O king, have not regarded you: they don't serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. 13Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these [prominent] men before the king. 14Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, Is it on purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you{+} don't serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15Now if you{+} are ready that at what time you{+} hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you{+} fall down and worship the image which I have made, [well]: but if you{+} don't worship, you{+} will be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that will deliver you{+} out of my hands? 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17If it is [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. 19Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: [therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20And he commanded mighty [prominent] men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21Then these [prominent] men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their mantles, and their [other] garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those [prominent] men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23And these three [prominent] men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in a hurry: he spoke and said to his counselors, Didn't we cast three [prominent] men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O king. 25He answered and said, Look, I see four [prominent] men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods. 26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you{+} slaves of the Most High God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came forth out of the midst of the fire. 27And the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these [prominent] men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. 28Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his slaves who trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, will be cut in pieces, and their houses will be made a dunghill; because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort. 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.