1N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] 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 Bavel (to jumble, or a confused medley of sounds; confusion; gate of the deity) (Babylon) [confusion]. 2Then N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] the king had set up. 3Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] the king had set up; and they stood before the image that N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] had set up. 4Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5[That] at what time you^2f hear the sound of the cornet (a wind instrument; horn; trumpet), flute, harp, sackbut (triangular, 4-stringed instrument, like a lyre), Psaltery (stringed instrument, like an harp), dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you^2f fall down and worship the golden image that N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] the king has set up: 6And whoso falls not down and worships 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 (a wind instrument; horn; trumpet), flute, harp, sackbut (triangular, 4-stringed instrument, like a lyre), Psaltery (stringed instrument, like an harp), and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down [and] worshipped the golden image that N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] the king had set up.

8For what reason at that time certain Kasdim [clod-breakers] came near, and accused the Y’hudim (Judeans). 9They spoke and said to the king N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown], O king, live forever. 10youⁱ, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet (a wind instrument; horn; trumpet), flute, harp, sackbut (triangular, 4-stringed instrument, like a lyre), Psaltery (stringed instrument, like an harp), and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11And whoso falls not down and worships, [that] he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12There are certain Y’hudim (Judeans) whom youⁱ have set over the affairs of the province of Bavel (to jumble, or a confused medley of sounds; confusion; gate of the deity) (Babylon) [confusion], Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo]; these men, O king, have not regarded youⁱ: they serve not youⁱ gods, nor worship the golden image which youⁱ have set up.

13Then N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo]. Then they brought these men before the king. 14N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] spoke and said unto them, [Is it] true, O Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], do not you^2f serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15Now if you^2f be ready that at what time you^2f hear the sound of the cornet (a wind instrument; horn; trumpet), flute, harp, sackbut (triangular, 4-stringed instrument, like a lyre), Psaltery (stringed instrument, like an harp), and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you^2f fall down and worship the image which I have made; [well]: but if you^2f worship not, you^2f shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who [is] that God-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered] that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], answered and said to the king, O N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown], we [are] not careful to answer youⁱ in this matter. 17If it be [so], our God-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered] whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of youⁱ hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known unto youⁱ, O king, that we will not serve youⁱ gods, nor worship the golden image which youⁱ have set up.

19Then was N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] full of fury, and the form of his visage (appearance; face; look of a person) was changed against Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo]: [therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont (used to; in the habit of) to be heated. 20And he commanded the most mighty men that [were] in his army to bind Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], [and] to cast [them] into the burning fiery furnace. 21Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, 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 killed those men that took up Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo]. 23And these three men, Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24Then N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, [and] spoke, and said unto his counselors, 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-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered]. 26Then N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, [and] spoke, and said, Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe]! Meishakh [guest of the king]! ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo]! you^2f servants of the El ‘Elyon [The Most High The Living Word of God], come forth, and come [here]. Then Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king] and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], came forth of the midst of the fire. 27And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, 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.

28[Then] N’vukhadnetzar [May Nebo protect the crown] spoke, and said, Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) [be] the God-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered] of Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], who has 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-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered]. 29Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss (wrong; incorrect) against the God-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered] of Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God-Elohim (The Living Word) [The Many Powered] that can deliver after this sort. 30Then the king promoted Shadrakh [royal, or the great scribe], Meishakh [guest of the king], and ‘Aved-N’go [servant of Nebo], in the province of Bavel (to jumble, or a confused medley of sounds; confusion; gate of the deity) (Babylon) [confusion].