The Fiery Furnace

8 Therefore at that time certain ^dChaldeans ^ecame forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared¹ to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, ^fhave made a decree, that every man who ^ghears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, ^gshall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship ^cshall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have ^happointed over the affairs of ^vthe province of Babylon: ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, ^jpay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was ^ofilled with fury, and the expression of his face ^pwas changed against ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army ^qto bind ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were ^qbound in their cloaks, their tunics,¹ their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was ^rurgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell ^qbound into the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was ^tastonished and rose up ^uin haste. He declared to his ^vcounselors, “Did we not cast three men ^wbound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, ^xwalking in the midst of the fire, and they ^yare not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like ^za son of the gods.”