- 1Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof 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 princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, 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 princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
- 4Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
- 5That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
- 6And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
- 7Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
- 8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
- 9They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
- 10Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:
- 11And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
- 12There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
- 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
- 14Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
- 15Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
- 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
- 17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
- 18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
- 19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
- 20And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
- 21Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, 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 exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
- 23And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
- 24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
- 25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
- 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
- 27And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
- 28Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and 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 any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
- 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
KING JAMES VERSION
DANIEL 3
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Daniel 3 — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse the golden image and are delivered unharmed from the burning furnace.
About this illustration
The furnace and the astonished king center the moment of deliverance without showing those killed by the flames. The fourth figure is rendered as a radiant, non-detailed angelic presence, preserving the chapter’s own descriptions without resolving later interpretive debate.
Scripture basis: Daniel 3:1–30King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
c. 100–50 BC (late Hasmonean to early Herodian, paleographic dating)
4Q Daniel (4Q112)
4Q112 preserves substantial portions of Daniel in both Aramaic and Hebrew, including the visible transition at Daniel 7:28-8:1, furnishing an early material witness to the book's textual form while leaving its compositional date and unity debated.
Daniel 1:16–20 · Daniel 2:9–11 · Daniel 2:19–49
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
Second half of the fourth century AD
The Brescia Lipsanotheca
The late-fourth-century Brescia ivory casket compresses thirty-three biblical images, including an exceptionally early Passion cycle, into a luxury object whose craftsmanship is secure but whose original function, workshop, and reconstructed arrangement remain debated.
Daniel 3:19–27 · John 1:35–42
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Third–fourth centuries AD
The Biblical Frescoes of the Catacomb of Priscilla
Third-century burial chambers on Rome's Via Salaria preserve layered Christian images of rescue, resurrection, prayer, shepherding, and biblical memory within an active funerary landscape.
Luke 15:3–7 · Matthew 12:38–41 · Daniel 3:19–27
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Late second or early third century AD
Chester Beatty Biblical Papyrus IX–X: Ezekiel, Daniel, and Esther
Papyrus 967 is an approximately AD 200 Greek codex of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Esther, written by two scribes and now divided among Dublin and several continental and American collections.
Ezekiel 37:1–14 · Daniel 3:1–18 · Esther 8:1–17
Prophecy Events
Sermons
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Bible ProphecyScripture AloneChristian Living
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In “Placed, Planted & Positioned,” Pastor Troy Towns develops a Scripture-centered message moving through why has god put me here?, placement for immediate purpose, joseph and daniel in foreign ground, planted for long-term fruit. The sermon follows the speaker’s argument chronologically, grounding its principal appeals in biblical passages and practical ministry examples.
Doctrine and DiscernmentScripture AloneChrist AloneChristian LivingSpiritual Warfare
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Music
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Music built around the sequence described by Jesus in Matthew 24 and the questions it asks every reader to examine.