Daniel 3
A Fourth Man Walking in the Fire
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The Golden Image on the Plain
3:1In the eighteenth year, King Nebuchadnezzar, who administered cities and countries and all who inhabited the earth from India to Ethiopia, made a golden image, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. He set it up on the plain of the enclosure in the country of Babylonia.
3:2Nebuchadnezzar, king of kings and lord of the whole inhabited world, sent to gather all the nations, tribes, and languages, satraps, generals, district governors, consuls, administrators, those holding authority in each country, and everyone throughout the inhabited world, to come to the dedication of the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3:3Those previously listed stood opposite the image.
3:4The herald proclaimed to the crowds, “You are commanded, nations and countries, peoples and languages:
3:5when you hear the sound of trumpet, panpipe, kithara, sambuca, psaltery, symphonia, and every kind of musical instrument, fall down and bow to the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
3:6Whoever does not fall down and bow, they will throw him into the blazing furnace.”
3:7At that time, when all the nations heard the sound of the trumpet and every musical sound, all the nations, tribes, and languages fell down and bowed to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up before him.
The Chaldeans Accuse the Jews
3:8At that time Chaldean men came forward and accused the Jews.
3:9They spoke and said, “My lord king, live forever!
3:10You, O king, commanded and decreed that everyone who hears the trumpet and every musical sound must fall down and bow to the golden image.
3:11Whoever does not fall down and bow will be thrown into the blazing furnace.
3:12There are certain Jewish men whom you appointed over the country of Babylonia—Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago. Those men have not feared your command; they have not served your idol or bowed to your golden image that you set up.”
We Neither Serve Your Idol nor Bow
3:13Then Nebuchadnezzar, angered with wrath, ordered Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago brought in. The men were brought to the king.
3:14When King Nebuchadnezzar saw them, he said to them, “Why, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, do you not serve my gods or bow to the golden image I set up?
3:15Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the trumpet and every musical sound, to fall down and bow to the golden image I set up—but if not, know that unless you bow, you will immediately be thrown into the blazing furnace. What god will rescue you from my hands?”
3:16Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, we have no need to answer you concerning this command.
3:17For there is a God in the heavens, our one Lord, whom we fear, who is able to rescue us from the furnace of fire; and from your hands, O king, He will rescue us.
3:18Then it will be plain to you that we neither serve your idol nor bow to your golden image that you set up.”
The Furnace Heated Sevenfold
3:19Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the appearance of his face changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times beyond what it needed to be heated.
3:20He ordered the strongest men in his force to bind Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago hand and foot and throw them into the blazing furnace.
3:21Then those men were bound hand and foot, wearing their footwear and the tiaras on their heads, together with their clothing, and were thrown into the furnace.
3:22Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been heated seven times beyond its earlier heat, the appointed men bound them hand and foot, brought them to the furnace, and threw them into it.
3:23The flame came out of the furnace and burned and killed the men who had bound Azariah and his companions; but they themselves were preserved.
The Prayer of Azariah
3:24Thus Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael prayed and sang to the Lord when the king ordered them thrown into the furnace.
3:25Azariah stood and prayed in this way. Opening his mouth, he gave thanks to the Lord together with his companions amid the fire, while the Chaldeans were fiercely stoking the furnace. They said:
3:26“Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers; Your name is praised and glorified forever.
3:27For You are righteous in everything You have done to us; all Your works are true, Your ways upright, and all Your judgments true.
3:28You have carried out judgments of truth in everything You brought upon us and upon Your holy city, our fathers’ Jerusalem. For in truth and judgment You did all these things because of our sins.
3:29For we have sinned in everything and acted lawlessly by departing from You. We have sinned in everything and have not obeyed the commands of Your law.
3:30We have neither kept nor done what You commanded us, so that it might go well with us.
3:31And now, everything You have brought upon us and everything You have done to us, You have done in true judgment.
3:32You handed us over to our enemies, lawless and most hateful apostates, and to an unjust king, the most wicked in all the earth.
3:33Now we cannot open our mouths; shame and reproach have come upon Your servants and those who revere You.
3:34Do not hand us over utterly, for Your name’s sake; do not dissolve Your covenant.
3:35Do not remove Your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, beloved by You, and Isaac Your servant, and Israel Your holy one,
3:36as You spoke to them, saying that You would multiply their descendants like the stars of heaven and the sand along the shore of the sea.
3:37For, Master, we have been diminished beyond all nations, and today we are lowly throughout the earth because of our sins.
3:38At this time there is no ruler or prophet or leader, no burnt offering or sacrifice or offering or incense, no place to offer produce before You and find mercy.
3:39But with a crushed soul and humbled spirit may we be accepted, as with burnt offerings of rams and bulls, and as with tens of thousands of fat lambs.
3:40So may our sacrifice be before You today; and be propitious—“behind You”; for there is no shame for those who trust in You; and bring to completion—“behind You.”
3:41Now we follow with our whole heart; we fear You and seek Your face. Do not put us to shame,
3:42but deal with us according to Your gentleness and the abundance of Your mercy.
3:43Rescue us according to Your wondrous deeds, and give glory to Your name, Lord.
3:44May all who inflict evil on Your servants be ashamed; may they be humiliated out of all their power, and may their strength be crushed.
3:45Let them know that You alone are Lord, God, glorious over the whole inhabited world.”
The Angel of the Lord in the Furnace
3:46The king’s servants who threw them in did not stop heating the furnace. When they threw the three together into the furnace, the furnace was sevenfold ablaze in its heat. When they threw them in, those casting them were above them, while others stoked beneath them with naphtha, tow, pitch, and vine brushwood.
3:47The flame spread above the furnace for forty-nine cubits.
3:48It spread out and burned those Chaldeans whom it found around the furnace.
3:49An angel of the Lord descended into the furnace together with Azariah and his companions and shook the flame of fire out of the furnace.
3:50He made the middle of the furnace like a dew-laden breeze whistling through. The fire did not touch them at all; it neither distressed nor troubled them.
The Song of the Three Young Men
3:51Then the three took up the song as with one mouth, singing hymns, glorifying, blessing, and exalting God in the furnace, saying:
3:52“Blessed are You, Lord, God of our fathers, praised and highly exalted forever. Blessed is the holy name of Your glory, exceedingly praised and highly exalted through all ages.
3:53Blessed are You in the temple of Your holy glory, exceedingly hymned and exceedingly glorious forever.
3:54Blessed are You upon the throne of Your kingdom, hymned and highly exalted forever.
3:55Blessed are You who look upon the depths, seated upon cherubim, praised and glorified forever.
3:56Blessed are You in the firmament, hymned and glorified forever.
All Works of the Lord, Bless the Lord
3:57All works of the Lord, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:58Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:59Heavens, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:60All waters above heaven, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:61All powers of the Lord, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:62Sun and moon, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:63Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:64All rain and dew, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:65All winds, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:66Fire and heat, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:67Chill and cold, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:68Dews and snowfalls, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:69Ice and cold, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:70Hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:71Nights and days, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:72Light and darkness, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:73Lightning and clouds, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:74Let the earth bless the Lord; let her sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:75Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:76All things growing upon the earth, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:77Springs, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:78Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:79Sea monsters and all things moving in the waters, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:80All birds of heaven, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:81Four-footed creatures and wild animals of the earth, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:82Sons of humankind, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:83Israel, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:84Priests, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:85Servants, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:86Spirits and souls of the righteous, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:87Holy ones and those humble in heart, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever.
3:88Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, bless the Lord; sing praise to Him and exalt Him highly forever. For He rescued us from Hades and saved us from the hand of death; He delivered us from the midst of the burning flame and redeemed us from the fire.
3:89Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.
3:90Bless, all who revere the God of gods; sing praise and give thanks, for His mercy endures forever and for the age of ages.”
I See Four Men Unbound
3:91When the king heard them singing and, standing, observed them alive, King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, rose in haste, and said to his friends:
3:92“Look! I see four men unbound, walking in the fire, and no harm has come upon them. The fourth has the appearance of an angel of God.”
3:93The king approached the door of the furnace blazing with fire and called them by name: “Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, servants of the Most High God of gods, come out of the fire!” Thus the men came out from the midst of the fire.
3:94The consuls, district governors, ancestral chiefs, and the king’s friends gathered. They observed those men: the fire had not touched their bodies, their hair had not burned, their trousers were unchanged, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Blessed Be the God of Sedrach, Misach and Abdenago
3:95King Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who sent His angel and saved His servants who hoped in Him. They rejected the king’s command and surrendered their bodies to burning so that they would neither serve nor bow to another god except their own God.
3:96Now I decree: from every nation, every tribe, and every language, whoever blasphemes the Lord, the God of Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, will be dismembered and his house confiscated, because there is no other god who can rescue like this.”
3:97Thus the king gave Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago authority over the whole country and appointed them rulers.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.