Daniel 3

Daniel · Chapter 3

Daniel 3:1

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.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.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.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.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
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.King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar 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.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

This verse opens the story of the golden image and the fiery furnace. King Nebuchadnezzar builds a huge gold statue on the plain of Dura and then commands everyone to bow to it on pain of death (3:5-6). The image becomes the test that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to pass, and God delivers them. Daniel 3:1Daniel 3:5Daniel 3:6Daniel 3:18Daniel 3:28Daniel overview

SpeakingThe narrator tells this story about Daniel's world in the third person, as in all of chapters 1-6. Tradition holds that Daniel wrote the book. Daniel overview

ToThe book is written for God's people in exile and after it, who had to live under foreign kings like Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel overview

Also involvedAll the officials and peoples of the empire were called to worship the image. The three Jews Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused (3:12). Daniel 3:2Daniel 3:4Daniel 3:12

Nebuchadnezzar made a gold image sixty cubits high and six cubits wide and set it up in the plain of Dura. A cubit was about 18 inches, so it stood about 90 feet tall and about 9 feet wide. He then gathered his rulers to dedicate it and ordered all to fall down and worship it (3:2-5). Daniel 3:1Strong's H0521Strong's H8361Strong's H8353Daniel 3:2Daniel 3:5

The image stood in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon, in what is now Iraq near the Euphrates. The exact site of Dura is uncertain. Daniel 3:1Strong's H1757Strong's H0895DuraBabylon 1

BABYLONIAMEDIABabylon 1DuraSusaUlai

The eventsThe verse gives no year. The book's events run from about 605 BC to about 536 BC, and this chapter falls in Nebuchadnezzar's reign, after his dream of the great image in chapter 2. Daniel overviewStrong's H5020

WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview

HereThe verse sets the scene for a test of loyalty. The king's statue demands the worship that the three Jews keep for their own God (3:17-18). Daniel 3:5Daniel 3:17Daniel 3:18Daniel overview

In the whole of ScriptureDaniel shows that the most High rules over the kingdoms of men, not the king who sets up gods of gold. By the end of the chapter Nebuchadnezzar himself says there is no other God that can deliver like this (3:29). Daniel overviewDaniel 3:29

For readersOther Scripture says gods made of gold by human hands are no gods (Jeremiah 16:20; Acts 17:29). Isaiah 46:6 describes people who hire a goldsmith, make a god, and fall down to worship it, just as happens here. The chapter calls God's people to stay faithful even under pressure. Jeremiah 16:20Acts 17:29Isaiah 46:6Habakkuk 2:19Daniel overview

  • imageצְלֵם
    Aramaic · tse.lem · H6755

    The word means "image, idol." This is not just a monument. The chapter shows it was made to be worshipped (3:5, 3:12). Strong's H6755Daniel 3:5Daniel 3:12

  • set upקוּם
    Aramaic · qum · H6966I

    The verb means to set up or establish. The chapter repeats again and again that this is the image "Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up" (3:2, 3:3, 3:7, 3:18). That stresses it was a king's own making. Strong's H6966IDaniel 3:2Daniel 3:3Daniel 3:7Daniel 3:18

  • cubitsאַמָּה
    Aramaic · am.mah · H0521

    A cubit was the length of a forearm, about 18 inches. So the image was about 90 feet high and 9 feet wide, a towering statue on an open plain. Strong's H0521Daniel 3:1

Takeaway

Nebuchadnezzar's golden image was a man-made god backed by royal power and the threat of death. Scripture calls such gods no gods, and this chapter shows the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as the one who truly delivers. Daniel 3:1Daniel 3:6Daniel 3:29Jeremiah 16:20Acts 19:26

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.

The world around the text

Behind this verse

Babylon: The plain of Dura
Nebuchadnezzar set up his golden image "in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon." The exact site is not known. Daniel 3:1

About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.

Who ruled
  • King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC

    The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)

  • Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC

    Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus

  • Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC

    Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)

  • King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC

    He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder

  • King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC

    Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11

What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
  1. 612 BC
    WarNineveh falls

    Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)

  2. 605 BC
    WarBattle of Carchemish

    Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)

  3. 597 BC
    WarJerusalem surrenders

    Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)

  4. 586 BC
    WarJerusalem and the temple destroyed

    Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17

  5. c. 575 BC
    BuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor

    Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183

  6. 562 BC
    RulersNebuchadnezzar dies

    His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34

  7. c. 553-543 BC
    RulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar

    King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1

  8. 550 BC
    WarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians

    Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130

  9. October 539 BC
    WarBabylon falls to Cyrus

    Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder

  10. 538 BC
    God's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return

    In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder

  11. c. 536 BC
    God's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid

    The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3

  12. 334-331 BC
    WarAlexander the Great conquers Persia

    Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3

  13. 323-301 BC
    WarAlexander's empire is divided

    Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30

  14. 167 BC
    WarAntiochus IV defiles the temple

    The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Aramaic words

This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.

EnglishAramaicSay itStrong'sMeaning
Nebuchadnezzarנְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֣רne-vu-khad-ne-TZARH5020
Nebuchadnezzar

נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר, נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר (ne.vu.khad.nets.tsar) A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Ki.24.1; father of: Belshazzar (H1112) Aramaic of ne.vu.khad.nets.tsar (נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר, נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר "Nebuchadnezzar" H5019) § Nebuchadnezzar = "may Nebo protect the crown" the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive

king theמַלְכָּ֗אmal-KA'H4430
king

מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king

he madeעֲבַד֙'a-VADH5648
to make

עֲבַד (a.vad) 1) to make, do 1a)(P'al) 1a1) to make, create 1a2) to do, perform 1b) (Ithp'al) 1b1) to be made into 1b2) to be done, be wrought, be performed, be executed, be carried out

an imageצְלֵ֣םtze-LEMH6755
image

צְלֵם (tse.lem) image, idol Aramaic of tse.lem (צֶ֫לֶם "image" H6754)

ofדִּֽי־di-H1768
that

דִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because

goldדְהַ֔בde-HAVH1722
gold

דְּהַב (de.hav) gold Aramaic of za.hav (זָהָב "gold" H2091)

height itsרוּמֵהּ֙ru-MEHH7314
height

רוּם (rum) height Aramaic of rum (רוּם "height" H7312)

[was] cubitsאַמִּ֣ין'a-MINH0521
cubit

אַמָּה (am.mah) cubit-a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 18 in (. 5 m) Aramaic of am.mah (אַמָּה "cubit" H0520A)

sixtyשִׁתִּ֔יןshi-TINH8361
sixty

שִׁתִּין (shit.tin) sixty, threescore Aramaic of shish.shim (שִׁשִּׁים "sixty" H8346)

width itsפְּתָיֵ֖הּpe-ta-YEHH6613
breadth

פְּתָי (pe.tay) width, breadth

[was] cubitsאַמִּ֣ין'a-MINH0521
cubit

אַמָּה (am.mah) cubit-a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 18 in (. 5 m) Aramaic of am.mah (אַמָּה "cubit" H0520A)

sixשִׁ֑תShitH8353
six

שֵׁת (shet) six (as cardinal number) Aramaic of shesh (שֵׁשׁ "six" H8337)

he set up itאֲקִימֵהּ֙'a-ki-MEHH6966I
to stand: rise

קוּם (qum) : rise/get_going 1) to arise, stand 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to arise from 1a2) to come on the scene (fig) 1a3) to arise (out of inaction) 1a4) to stand 1a5) to endure 1b) (Pael) to set up, establish 1c) (Aphel) 1c1) to set up 1c2) to lift up 1c3) to establish 1c4) to appoint 1d) (Hophal) to be made to stand

on [the] plain ofבְּבִקְעַ֣תbe-vik-'ATH1236
plain

בִּקְעָא (biq.a) plain Aramaic of biq.ah (בִּקְעָה "valley" H1237K)

Duraדּוּרָ֔אdu-RA'H1757
Dura

דּוּרָא (du.ra) § Dura = "dwelling" a place in Babylonia where Nebuchadnezzar set up the golden image, site uncertain

in [the] province ofבִּמְדִינַ֖תbim-di-NATH4083
province

מְדִינָה (me.di.nah) district, province Aramaic of me.di.nah (מְדִינָה "province" H4082)

Babylonבָּבֶֽל׃ba-VELH0895
Babylon

בָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶל (ba.vel) Aramaic of ba.vel (בָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶל "Babylon" H0894) § Babel or Babylon = "confusion (by mixing)" Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.