Daniel 3
New English Translation
Daniel’s Friends Are Tested
3 [a] King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden[b] statue made.[c] It was 90 feet[d] tall and 9 feet[e] wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates,[f] and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he[g] had erected. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial authorities assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They were standing in front of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.[h]
4 Then the herald[i] made a loud[j] proclamation: “To you, O peoples, nations, and language groups, the following command is given:[k] 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither,[l] trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must[m] bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected. 6 Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately[n] be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!” 7 Therefore when they all[o] heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes,[p] and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
8 Now[q] at that time certain[r] Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against[s] the Jews. 9 They said[t] to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever![u] 10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music. 11 And whoever does not bow down and pay homage must be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—and these men[v] have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage[w] demanded that they bring[x] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them[y] before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected? 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”[z] 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar,[aa] “We do not need to give you a reply[ab] concerning this. 17 If[ac] our God whom we are serving exists,[ad] he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 18 But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed[ae] toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders[af] to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated. 20 He ordered strong[ag] soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes,[ah] and were thrown into the furnace[ai] of blazing fire. 22 But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted[aj] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed[ak] by the leaping flames.[al] 23 But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace[am] of blazing fire while still securely bound.[an]
God Delivers His Servants
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw[ao] into[ap] the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” 25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!”[aq] 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out,[ar] “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!”
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.[as] 27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically[at] unharmed by the fire.[au] The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,[av] “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel[aw] and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring[ax] the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than[ay] serve or pay homage to any god other than their God! 29 I hereby decree[az] that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes[ba] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.” 30 Then Nebuchadnezzar[bb] promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Footnotes
- Daniel 3:1 sn The LXX introduces this chapter with the following chronological note: “in the eighteenth year of.” Such a date would place these events at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. (cf. 2 Kgs 25:8). However, there seems to be no real basis for associating the events of Daniel 3 with this date.
- Daniel 3:1 sn There is no need to think of Nebuchadnezzar’s image as being solid gold. No doubt the sense is that it was overlaid with gold (cf. Isa 40:19; Jer 10:3-4), with the result that it presented a dazzling self-compliment to the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements.
- Daniel 3:1 sn According to a number of patristic authors, the image represented a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This is not clear from the biblical text, however.
- Daniel 3:1 tn Aram “60 cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 90 feet (27.4 m) high.
- Daniel 3:1 tn Aram “6 cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 9 feet (2.74 m) wide.sn The dimensions of the image (90 feet high and 9 feet wide) imply that it did not possess normal human proportions, unless a base for the image is included in the height dimension. The ancient world knew of other tall statues. For example, the Colossus of Rhodes—the huge statue of Helios which stood (ca. 280-224 b.c.) at the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world—was said to be 70 cubits (105 ft or 32 m) in height, which would make it even taller than Nebuchadnezzar’s image.
- Daniel 3:2 sn The specific duties of the seven types of officials listed here (cf. vv. 3, 27) are unclear. The Aramaic words that are used are transliterations of Akkadian or Persian technical terms whose exact meanings are uncertain. The translations given here follow suggestions set forth in BDB.
- Daniel 3:2 tn Aram “Nebuchadnezzar the king.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the relative pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Daniel 3:3 tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.”
- Daniel 3:4 tn According to BDB 1097 s.v. כָּרוֹז the Aramaic word used here is a Greek loanword, but other scholars have argued instead for a Persian derivation (HALOT 1902 s.v. *כָּרוֹז).
- Daniel 3:4 tn Aram “in strength.”
- Daniel 3:4 tn Aram “they are saying.”
- Daniel 3:5 sn The word zither (Aramaic קִיתָרוֹס [qitaros]), and the words for harp (Aramaic פְּסַנְתֵּרִין [pesanterin]) and pipes (Aramaic סוּמְפֹּנְיָה [sumponeyah]), are of Greek derivation. Though much has been made of this in terms of suggesting a date in the Hellenistic period for the writing of the book, it is not surprising that a few Greek cultural terms, all of them the names of musical instruments, should appear in this book. As a number of scholars have pointed out, the bigger surprise (if, in fact, the book is to be dated to the Hellenistic period) may be that there are so few Greek loanwords in Daniel.
- Daniel 3:5 tn The imperfect Aramaic verbs have here an injunctive nuance.
- Daniel 3:6 tn Aram “in that hour.”
- Daniel 3:7 tn Aram “all the peoples.”
- Daniel 3:7 tc Though not in the Aramaic text of BHS, this word appears in many medieval Hebrew mss, some LXX mss, and the Vulgate (cf. vv. 5, 10, 15).
- Daniel 3:8 tc This expression is absent in Theodotion.
- Daniel 3:8 tn Aram “men.”
- Daniel 3:8 tn Aram “ate the pieces of.” This is a rather vivid idiom for slander.
- Daniel 3:9 tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.
- Daniel 3:9 sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.
- Daniel 3:12 sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or absence prompted by business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.
- Daniel 3:13 tn Aram “in anger and wrath”; NASB “in rage and anger.” The expression is a hendiadys.
- Daniel 3:13 tn The Aramaic infinitive is active.
- Daniel 3:13 tn Aram “these men.” The pronoun is used in the translation to avoid undue repetition.
- Daniel 3:15 tn Aram “hand,” as also in v. 17.
- Daniel 3:16 tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the verse-dividing atnakh from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”
- Daniel 3:16 tn Aram “to return a word to you.”
- Daniel 3:17 tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.
- Daniel 3:17 tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (ʾitay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ʾitay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 41, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power, thus their statement is rhetorically adapted to the perspective of the person they are addressing.
- Daniel 3:19 tn Aram “the appearance of his face was altered”; cf. NLT “his face became distorted with rage”; NAB “[his] face became livid with utter rage.”
- Daniel 3:19 tn Aram “he answered and said.”
- Daniel 3:20 tn This is sometimes taken as a comparative: “[some of the] strongest.”
- Daniel 3:21 sn There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the specific nature of these items of clothing.
- Daniel 3:21 tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
- Daniel 3:22 tn Aram “caused to go up.”
- Daniel 3:22 tn The Aramaic verb is active.
- Daniel 3:22 tn Aram “the flame of the fire” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NRSV “the raging flames.”
- Daniel 3:23 tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
- Daniel 3:23 sn The deuterocanonical writings known as The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three present at this point a confession and petition for God’s forgiveness and a celebration of God’s grace for the three Jewish youths in the fiery furnace. Though not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, these compositions do appear in the ancient Greek versions.
- Daniel 3:24 tn Aram “we threw…bound.”
- Daniel 3:24 tn Aram “into the midst of.”
- Daniel 3:25 sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.” Despite the king’s description though, the fourth person probably was an angel who had come to deliver the three men, or was a theophany.
- Daniel 3:26 tn Aram “answered and said.”
- Daniel 3:26 tn Aram “from the midst of the fire.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
- Daniel 3:27 tn Aram “in their bodies.”
- Daniel 3:27 tn Aram “the fire did not have power.”
- Daniel 3:28 tn Aram “answered and said.”
- Daniel 3:28 sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).
- Daniel 3:28 tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”
- Daniel 3:28 tn Aram “so that they might not.”
- Daniel 3:29 tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”
- Daniel 3:29 tn Aram “speaks negligence.”
- Daniel 3:30 tn Aram “and the king.” The proper name has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Daniel 3
Ang Biblia, 2001
Ang Rebultong Ginto
3 Ang haring si Nebukadnezar ay gumawa ng isang rebultong ginto na ang taas ay siyamnapung talampakan,[a] at ang lapad ay siyam na talampakan.[b] Itinayo niya ito sa kapatagan ng Dura, sa lalawigan ng Babilonia.
2 At nagsugo si Haring Nebukadnezar upang tipunin ang mga tagapangasiwa ng lalawigan,[c] mga kinatawan, mga gobernador, mga ingat-yaman, mga tagapayo, mga hukom, at ang lahat ng mga pinuno ng mga lalawigan upang pumunta sa pagtatalaga ng rebultong itinayo ng haring si Nebukadnezar.
3 At nagtipon ang mga tagapangasiwa ng lalawigan, mga kinatawan, mga gobernador, mga hukom, ang mga ingat-yaman, mga tagapayo, mga pinuno at lahat ng pinuno ng mga lalawigan sa pagtatalaga ng rebultong itinayo ng haring si Nebukadnezar. Sila'y tumayo sa harapan ng rebultong itinayo ni Nebukadnezar.
4 At malakas na ipinahayag ng tagapagbalita, “Sa inyo'y ipinag-uutos, O mga bayan, mga bansa, at mga wika,
5 na kapag inyong narinig ang tunog ng tambuli, plauta, alpa, sambuko, salterio, tambol at ng iba pang mga panugtog, kayo'y magpapatirapa at sasamba sa rebultong ginto na ipinatayo ng haring si Nebukadnezar.
6 Sinumang hindi magpatirapa at sumamba ay kaagad na ihahagis sa gitna ng hurno ng nagniningas na apoy.”
7 Kaya't sa oras na iyon, nang marinig ng lahat ng mga bayan ang tunog ng tambuli, plauta, alpa, sambuko, salterio, at ng iba pang mga panugtog, ang lahat ng bayan, mga bansa, at mga wika, ay nagpatirapa at nagsisamba sa rebultong ginto na itinayo ng haring si Nebukadnezar.
Ang Tatlong Kaibigan ni Daniel ay Pinagbintangan ng Pagsuway
8 Kaya't nang panahong iyon ay nagsilapit ang ilang Caldeo, at nagbigay ng mga paratang laban sa mga Judio.
9 Sila'y sumagot at sinabi sa haring si Nebukadnezar, “O hari, mabuhay ka magpakailanman!
10 Ikaw, O hari, ay gumawa ng utos na bawat taong makarinig sa tunog ng tambuli, plauta, alpa, sambuko, salterio, tambol, at ng iba pang mga panugtog, ay magpapatirapa at sasamba sa rebultong ginto.
11 At sinumang hindi magpatirapa at sumamba ay ihahagis sa gitna ng hurno ng nagniningas na apoy.
12 May ilang mga Judio na iyong itinalaga sa pamamahala sa lalawigan ng Babilonia na sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego. O hari, ang mga lalaking ito ay hindi nakinig sa iyo. Sila'y hindi naglilingkod sa iyong mga diyos, ni nagsisisamba man sa rebultong ginto na iyong itinayo.”
13 Kaya't sa poot at galit ay ipinag-utos ni Nebukadnezar na dalhin sa kanya sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego. Dinala nga nila ang mga lalaking ito sa harapan ng hari.
14 Sumagot si Nebukadnezar at sinabi sa kanila, “O Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego, totoo ba na kayo'y hindi naglilingkod sa aking diyos, ni nagsisisamba man sa rebultong ginto na aking itinayo?
15 Mabuti kung kayo'y handa ngayon na magpatirapa at sumamba sa rebultong ginawa ko sa sandaling inyong marinig ang tunog ng tambuli, plauta, alpa, sambuko, salterio, tambol, at ng iba pang mga panugtog. Ngunit kapag kayo'y hindi sasamba, kayo'y kaagad na ihahagis sa gitna ng hurno ng nagniningas na apoy; at sinong diyos ang magliligtas sa inyo sa aking mga kamay?”
16 Sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego ay sumagot sa hari, “O Nebukadnezar, hindi namin kailangang sagutin ka sa bagay na ito.
17 Kung mangyayari na ang aming Diyos na pinaglilingkuran namin ay makapagliligtas sa amin sa hurno ng nagniningas na apoy; ay hayaang iligtas niya kami sa iyong kamay, O hari.
18 Ngunit kung sakali mang hindi, dapat mong malaman, O hari, na hindi kami maglilingkod sa iyong mga diyos, ni sasamba man sa rebultong ginto na iyong ipinatayo.”
Ang Tatlong Kaibigan ni Daniel ay Nahatulang Mamatay
19 Kaya't napuno ng galit si Nebukadnezar, at ang anyo ng kanyang mukha ay nagbago laban kina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego. Siya'y nagsalita at iniutos na painitin ang hurno ng pitong ulit na higit kaysa dating init nito.
20 Kanyang inutusan ang ilang magigiting na mandirigma mula sa kanyang hukbo na gapusin sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego, at sila'y ihagis sa hurno ng nagniningas na apoy.
21 Ang mga lalaking ito'y tinalian na may mga suot, may tunika, at may balabal, at may ibang mga kasuotan, at sila'y inihagis sa gitna ng hurno ng nagniningas na apoy.
22 Sapagkat ang utos ng hari ay pang-madalian at ang hurno ay lubhang pinainit, pinatay ng liyab ng apoy ang mga lalaking bumuhat kina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego.
23 Ngunit ang tatlong lalaking ito, sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego, ay bumagsak na nakagapos sa gitna ng hurno ng nagniningas na apoy.
24 Kaya't ang haring si Nebukadnezar ay nagtaka at nagmamadaling tumindig. Sinabi niya sa kanyang mga tagapayo, “Di ba tatlong nakagapos na lalaki ang ating inihagis sa apoy?” Sila'y sumagot sa hari, “Totoo, O hari.”
25 Siya'y sumagot, “Tingnan ninyo, ang nakikita ko'y apat na lalaki na hindi nakagapos na naglalakad sa gitna ng apoy at sila'y walang paso at ang anyo ng ikaapat ay gaya ng isang anak ng mga diyos.”
26 Nang magkagayo'y lumapit si Nebukadnezar sa pintuan ng hurno ng nagniningas na apoy at sinabi, “Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego, mga lingkod ng Kataas-taasang Diyos, lumabas kayo at pumarito kayo!” Kaya't sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego ay lumabas mula sa kalagitnaan ng apoy.
27 At ang mga tagapangasiwa ng lalawigan, mga kinatawan, mga gobernador, at ang mga tagapayo ng hari ay nagtipun-tipon at nakita na ang apoy ay hindi nagkaroon ng anumang kapangyarihan sa katawan ng mga lalaking ito. Ang mga buhok ng kanilang mga ulo ay hindi nadarang, ni nasunog man ang kanila mga suot, ni nag-amoy apoy man sila.
Nagbago ang Isip ng Hari
28 Nagsalita si Nebukadnezar at sinabi, “Purihin ang Diyos nina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego, na nagsugo ng kanyang anghel at nagligtas sa kanyang mga lingkod na nagtiwala sa kanya. Kanilang sinuway ang utos ng hari, at isinuko ang kanilang mga katawan kaysa maglingkod o sumamba sa sinumang diyos maliban sa kanilang sariling Diyos.
29 Kaya't ako'y nag-uutos na ang bawat bayan, bansa, at wika, na magsalita ng anumang masama laban sa Diyos nina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego, ay pagpuputul-putulin, at ang kanilang mga bahay ay gagawing bunton ng basura, sapagkat walang ibang diyos na makapagliligtas sa ganitong paraan.”
30 Nang magkagayo'y, itinaas ng hari sa katungkulan sina Shadrac, Meshac, at Abednego sa lalawigan ng Babilonia.
Footnotes
- Daniel 3:1 Sa Hebreo ay 60 siko .
- Daniel 3:1 Sa Hebreo ay 6 na siko .
- Daniel 3:2 o satrap .
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