²¹ Then these men were tied up in their ^(A)trousers, their ^[a]coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire. ²² For this reason, because the king’s ^[b]command was ^(B)harsh and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. ²³ But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^(C)fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up quickly; he said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the middle of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Absolutely, O king.” ²⁵ He responded, “Look! I see four men untied and ^(D)walking about in the middle of the fire ^[c]unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^(E)gods!” ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^(F)Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^(G)came out of the middle of the fire. ²⁷ The ^(H)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the ^(I)fire had no ^[d]effect on ^[e]the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their ^[f](J)trousers ^[g]damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.