Daniel 3

King James Version (1769) · Tap a verse to see it in context

About this chapter

AI-assisted, sourced

Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden image in the plain of Dura and commands everyone to bow to it or be thrown into "a burning fiery furnace." Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse: "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not... we will not serve thy gods." They are thrown into the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar, "astonied," sees "four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire," and they come out unharmed; he blesses their God. Daniel 3:1 Daniel 3:5 Daniel 3:6 Daniel 3:12 Daniel 3:17 Daniel 3:18 Daniel 3:24 Daniel 3:25 Daniel 3:27 Daniel 3:28

Who, where, when, and the key verses

Who

Nebuchadnezzar, his officials, "certain Chaldeans" who accuse the Jews, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel is not mentioned in this chapter. Daniel 3:2 Daniel 3:8 Daniel 3:12

Where

"The plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon," where the image stood, and the king's furnace. Daniel 3:1 Dura Babylon 1

When

The chapter gives no year. Traditionally written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC. Daniel overview

How it fits

In chapter 2 the king confessed Daniel's God as "a God of gods"; here he sets up his own golden image. Chapter 4 is the king's own letter to all nations, telling of "the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me." Daniel 2:47 Daniel 3:1 Daniel 4:1 Daniel 4:2

Key verses

Verse 18
"But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods." They trust God can save them, but their obedience does not depend on being saved. Acts 5:29 puts it, "We ought to obey God rather than men." Daniel 3:17 Daniel 3:18 Acts 5:29
Verse 25
Nebuchadnezzar, "astonied," says he sees "four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire... and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." He later says God "sent his angel." Isaiah 43:2 promises, "when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned." Daniel 3:24 Daniel 3:25 Daniel 3:28 Isaiah 43:2
Verse 28
Nebuchadnezzar blesses the God "who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him," because they "yielded their bodies" rather than worship any other god. Daniel 3:28 Daniel 3:29

Takeaway

Refuse to worship anything but God, even under pressure, trusting that he is able to deliver and that he is worth obeying even if he does not. Daniel 3:17 Daniel 3:18 Daniel 3:28

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a separate AI reader. Updated 2026-10-29.

The golden image

¹Nebuchadnezzar 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 Babylon. ²Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ³Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, ⁵That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: ⁶And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth 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, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Three men refuse to bow

⁸Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. ⁹They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. ¹⁰Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: ¹¹And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ¹²There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. ¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? ¹⁵Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. ¹⁷If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. ¹⁸But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The fiery furnace

¹⁹Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. ²⁰And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, 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 slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, 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. ²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. ²⁷And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, 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.

The king blesses their God

²⁸Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath 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. ²⁹Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. ³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.