1 In the eighteenth year Nebuchadnezzar the king, who governed cities and countries and all who dwell on the earth from India to Ethiopia, made an image of gold; its height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits; and he set it up in the plain of the enclosure of the country of Babylonia. 2 And Nebuchadnezzar, king of kings and lord of the whole world, sent to gather together all the nations and tribes and tongues, satraps, generals, governors and consuls, administrators, and those in authority in each country, and all who were throughout the world, to come to the dedication of the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 And those already named stood before the image. 4 And the herald proclaimed to the crowds, To you it is commanded, nations and countries, peoples and tongues: 5 When you hear the sound of the trumpet, pipe and lyre, sambuca and harp, symphony and every kind of music, fall down and worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up; 6 and whoever does not fall down and worship, they shall cast him into the burning furnace of fire. 7 And at that time, when all the nations heard the sound of the trumpet and every sound of music, all the nations, tribes and tongues fell down and worshiped the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up, before it. 8 At that time men who were Chaldeans came forward and slandered the Jews. 9 And they answered and said, lord king, live for ever. 10 You, king, commanded and decreed that every man who hears the sound of the trumpet and every sound of music should fall down and worship the golden image, 11 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the burning furnace of fire. 12 But there are certain men, Jews, whom you set over the country of Babylonia, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego; these men have not feared your command, and have not served your idol, and have not worshiped your golden image which you set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, enraged with anger, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego be brought. Then the men were brought to the king. 14 And Nebuchadnezzar the king saw them and said to them, Why, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, do you not serve my gods, and do not worship the golden image which I set up? 15 And now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the trumpet and every sound of music, to fall down and worship the golden image which I set up, well; but if not, know that if you do not worship, you shall be cast at once into the burning furnace of fire; and what god shall deliver you out of my hands? 16 And Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego answered and said to king Nebuchadnezzar, king, we have no need to answer you concerning this command. 17 For there is a God in the heavens, our one Lord, whom we fear, who is able to deliver us out of the furnace of fire; and out of your hands, king, he will deliver us. 18 And then it shall be plain to you that we neither serve your idol nor worship your golden image which you set up. 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the form of his face was changed, and he commanded that the furnace be heated seven times more than it was meant to be heated. 20 And he commanded the strongest men in the army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego hand and foot and to cast them into the burning furnace of fire. 21 Then those men were bound hand and foot, with their shoes on and their tiaras on their heads, together with their clothing, and they were cast into the furnace. 22 Since the king's command was urgent, and the furnace was heated seven times more than before, the men who were chosen bound them hand and foot, and brought them to the furnace, and cast them into it. 23 So the flame went out from the furnace and burned up and killed the men who bound Azariah and those with him; but they themselves were preserved. 24 So then Hananiah and Azariah and Mishael prayed and sang hymns to the Lord, when the king commanded that they be cast into the furnace. 25 And Azariah stood and prayed thus, and he opened his mouth and gave thanks to the Lord together with his companions in the midst of the fire, while the furnace was heated exceedingly by the Chaldeans; and they said, 26 You are blessed, Lord, the God of our fathers, and your name is to be praised and glorified for ever. 27 For you are just in all the things which you have done to us, and all your works are true, and your ways are right, and all your judgments are true. 28 And you have executed true judgments in all that you have brought on us and on your holy city, Jerusalem, the city of our fathers; for in truth and judgment you have done all these things because of our sins. 29 For we have sinned in all things, and have done lawlessly in departing from you, and have sinned greatly in all things, and have not obeyed the commandments of your law, 30 nor kept them, nor done as you commanded us, that it might go well with us. 31 And now all that you have brought on us, and all that you have done to us, you have done in true judgment. 32 And you delivered us into the hands of our enemies, lawless and most hateful rebels, and to a king unjust and the most wicked in all the earth. 33 And now we cannot open our mouth; shame and reproach have come on your servants and on those who worship you. 34 Do not give us up to the end, for your name's sake, and do not break your covenant, 35 and do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham who is loved by you, and for the sake of Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, 36 as you spoke to them, saying that you would multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the shore of the sea. 37 For, Master, we have become fewer than all the nations, and we are brought low in all the earth this day because of our sins. 38 And at this time there is no ruler and prophet, nor leader, nor whole burnt offering, nor sacrifice, nor offering, nor incense, nor place to offer first fruits before you and to find mercy. 39 But with a crushed soul and a humbled spirit may we be accepted, as with whole burnt offerings of rams and bulls, and as with tens of thousands of fat lambs. 40 So let our sacrifice be before you this day, and make atonement behind you, for there is no shame for those who trust in you, and bring it to completion behind you. 41 And now we follow you with our whole heart, and we fear you, and we seek your face; do not put us to shame, 42 but deal with us according to your gentleness and according to the abundance of your mercy, 43 and deliver us according to your wonders, and give glory to your name, Lord. 44 And let all who show evil to your servants be put to confusion, and let them be put to shame, stripped of all their power, and let their strength be broken; 45 let them know that you alone are the Lord God, and glorious over the whole world. 46 And the king's servants who cast them in did not stop heating the furnace; and when they had cast the three all at once into the furnace, and the furnace was red hot, seven times its usual heat, and when they had cast them in, those who cast them in were above them, and the others fed the fire beneath them with naphtha and tow and pitch and brushwood. 47 And the flame poured out above the furnace to forty-nine cubits; 48 and it broke through and burned up those of the Chaldeans whom it found around the furnace. 49 But an angel of the Lord came down together with Azariah and those with him into the furnace, and shook the flame of the fire out of the furnace, 50 and made the midst of the furnace like a whistling breeze of dew;⁠a and the fire did not touch them at all, and did not hurt them, and did not trouble them. 51 And the three took it up as from one mouth, and sang hymns and glorified and blessed and exalted God in the furnace, saying, 52 You are blessed, Lord, the God of our fathers, and to be praised and highly exalted for ever; and blessed is the holy name of your glory, and to be praised above all and highly exalted for all ages. 53 You are blessed in the temple of your holy glory, and to be sung above all and glorified above all for ever. 54 You are blessed on the throne of your kingdom, and to be sung and highly exalted for ever. 55 You are blessed who look upon the depths, sitting upon the cherubim, and to be praised and glorified for ever. 56 You are blessed in the firmament, and to be sung and glorified for ever. 57 Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 58 Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 59 Bless the Lord, you heavens; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 60 Bless the Lord, all you waters that are above the heaven; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 61 Bless the Lord, all you powers of the Lord; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 62 Bless the Lord, sun and moon; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 63 Bless the Lord, you stars of heaven; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 64 Bless the Lord, every shower and dew; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 65 Bless the Lord, all you winds; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 66 Bless the Lord, fire and heat; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 67 Bless the Lord, frost and cold; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 68 Bless the Lord, dews and snowstorms; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 69 Bless the Lord, ice and cold; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 70 Bless the Lord, hoarfrosts and snows; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 71 Bless the Lord, nights and days; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 72 Bless the Lord, light and darkness; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 73 Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 74 Let the earth bless the Lord; let it sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 75 Bless the Lord, mountains and hills; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 76 Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 77 Bless the Lord, you springs; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 78 Bless the Lord, seas and rivers; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 79 Bless the Lord, you sea monsters and all that move in the waters; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 80 Bless the Lord, all you birds of the sky; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 81 Bless the Lord, four-footed creatures and wild beasts of the earth; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 82 Bless the Lord, you sons of men; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 83 Bless the Lord, Israel; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 84 Bless the Lord, you priests; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 85 Bless the Lord, you servants; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 86 Bless the Lord, you spirits and souls of the righteous; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 87 Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever. 88 Bless the Lord, Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael; sing hymns to him and highly exalt him for ever; for he has rescued us from Hades, and saved us from the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the burning flame, and redeemed us from the fire. 89 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is for ever. 90 Bless the God of gods, all you who worship him; sing hymns and give thanks, for his mercy is for ever and for ever and ever. 91 And when the king heard them singing hymns, and stood and saw them alive, then Nebuchadnezzar the king marveled, and rose up in haste, and said to his friends, 92 Look, I see four men loose, walking about in the fire, and no harm has come to them, and the appearance of the fourth is the likeness of an angel of God. 93 And the king came near to the door of the furnace burning with fire, and called them by name, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the God of gods, the Most High, come out of the fire. So then the men came out of the midst of the fire. 94 And the consuls, governors, and chief patriarchs, and the friends of the king were gathered together, and they saw those men, that the fire had not touched their body, and their hair was not burned, and their trousers were not changed, nor was there any smell of fire on them. 95 And Nebuchadnezzar the king answered and said, Blessed is the Lord, the God of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, who sent his angel and saved his servants who trusted in him; for they set aside the command of the king, and gave up their bodies to burning, so that they might not serve nor worship any other god but their own God. 96 And now I decree that every nation and all tribes and all tongues, whoever blasphemes against the Lord, the God of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, shall be torn limb from limb, and his house shall be confiscated; for there is no other god who will be able to deliver in this way. 97 So then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego authority over the whole country, and appointed them rulers.