1Nebuchadnezzar the kingmade an image of gold, whose height was threescorecubits, and the breadth thereof sixcubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
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Then Nebuchadnezzar the kingsent 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 stoodbefore the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
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Then an heraldcriedaloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
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That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and allkinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the goldenimage that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
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And whosofallethnotdown and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burningfieryfurnace.
7Therefore at that time, whenall the peopleheard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and allkinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the goldenimage that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8Wherefore at thattimecertainChaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
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They spake and said to the kingNebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
10Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that everyman that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and allkinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the goldenimage:
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And whosofallethnotdown and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burningfieryfurnace.
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There arecertainJewswhom thou hast setover the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; thesemen, O king, havenotregardedthee: they servenot thy gods, norworship the goldenimage which thou hast setup.
13ThenNebuchadnezzar in his rage and furycommanded to bringShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they broughtthesemenbefore the king.
14Nebuchadnezzarspake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do notyeserve my gods, norworship the goldenimage which I have set up?
15Nowif ye beready that at what time ye hear the soundof the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and allkindsofmusick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worshipnot, ye shall becast the same hour into the midstof a burningfieryfurnace; 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 notcareful to answer thee inthismatter.
17If it be so, our God whom weserveisable to deliver us from the burningfieryfurnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
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But ifnot, be itknown unto thee, O king, that we willnotserve thy gods, norworship the goldenimage which thou hast set up.
19Then was Nebuchadnezzarfull of fury, and the form of his visage was changedagainstShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnaceone seven timesmorethan it was wont to be heated.
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And he commanded the mostmightymen that were in his army to bindShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burningfieryfurnace.
21Thenthesemen were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burningfieryfurnace.
22Thereforebecause the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnaceexceedinghot, the flame of the fireslewthosemen that took upShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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And thesethreemen, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell downbound into the midst of the burningfieryfurnace.
24ThenNebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we castthreemenbound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
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He answered and said, Lo, Iseefourmenloose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they havenohurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26ThenNebuchadnezzar came near to the mouthof the burningfieryfurnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servantsof the most highGod, comeforth, and come hither. ThenShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forthof the midstof the fire.
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And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, sawthesemen, upon whose bodies the fire had nopower, nor was an hair of their headsinged, neither were their coatschanged, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
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Then Nebuchadnezzarspake, 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 notservenorworshipanygod, except their own God.
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Therefore Imake a decree, That everypeople, nation, and language, which speak any thing amissagainst the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there isnootherGod that candeliver after this sort.
30Then the kingpromotedShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.