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Daniel
Introduction
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3 4
5
6 7
8 9
10
11 12
 Absurdities
 Science and History
 Contradictions
 Injustice
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 Interpretation
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| Daniel 3
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| | 3:1
Nebuchadnezzar 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. |
Nebuchadnezzar built a statue of gold sixty
cubits high and six cubits wide. Taking a cubit to be 18 inches and assuming the
depth to also be six cubits, this would give a total volume of 270 cubic yards
-- which would probably be more than all of the gold in all of the kingdoms of the
world at that time.
| | 3:2
Then 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.
| | 3:3
Then 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. |
| | 3:4
Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and
languages, |
| | 3:5
That 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: |
| | 3:6
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. |
| | 3:7
Therefore 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. |
| | 3:8
Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. |
| | 3:9
They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. |
| | 3:10
Thou, 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: |
| | 3:11
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace. |
| | 3:12
There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province
of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not
regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which
thou hast set up. |
| | 3:13
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. |
| | 3:14
Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I
have set up? |
| | 3:15
Now 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? |
| | 3:16
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. |
| | 3:17
If 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. |
| | 3:18
But 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. |
| | 3:19
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was
changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and
commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was
wont to be heated. |
| | 3:20
And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery
furnace. |
| | 3:21
Then 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. |
| | 3:22
Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace
exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. |
| | 3:23
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into
the midst of the burning fiery furnace. |
| | 3:24
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, 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. |
| | 3:25
He 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. |
(3:25-27)
Daniel's three friends were cast into a fiery furnace, but were totally unaffected -- not even a hair was
singed. And they were joined by the Son of God (Jesus?), himself! At least that's who Nebuchadnezzar
thought it looked like.
 Shadrach, Mesach, and
Abednego in the fiery furnace
(Unknown, 1430)
| | 3:26
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace,
and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the
most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
| | 3:27
And 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.
| | 3:28
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, 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. |
| | 3:29
Therefore I make a
decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss
against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 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. |
Nebuchadnezzar, after first trying to burn to
death the three Hebrews, now decrees that everyone who says anything against the
Hebrew god "shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a
dunghill."
| | 3:30
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of
Babylon.
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