የወርቁ ምስልና የእቶን እሳት
1ንጉሡ ናቡከደነፆር ከፍታው ስድሳ ክንድ፣ ወርዱ ስድስት ክንድ የሆነ የወርቅ ምስል አሠራ፤ በባቢሎንም አውራጃ በዱራ ሜዳ አቆመው። 2ከዚያም መኳንንትን፣ ሹማምትን፣ አገረ ገዦችን፣ አማካሪዎችን፣ የግምጃ ቤት ኀላፊዎችን፣ ዳኞችን፣ ሌሎች የሕግ ዐዋቂዎችንና በየአውራጃው ያሉትን ሹማምት ሁሉ ላቆመው ምስል ምረቃ በዓል እንዲመጡ ጠራ። 3መኳንንቱ፣ ሹማምቱ፣ አገረ ገዦቹ፣ አማካሪዎቹ፣ የግምጃ ቤት ኀላፊዎቹ፣ ዳኞቹ፣ ሌሎች የሕግ ዐዋቂዎችና በየአውራጃው ያሉ ሹማምት ሁሉ ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር ላቆመው ምስል ምረቃ በዓል ተሰበሰቡ፤ በምስሉም ፊት ቆሙ።
4ከዚያም ከፍ ባለ ድምፅ እንዲህ የሚል ዐዋጅ ታወጀ፤ “ሕዝቦች ሆይ፤ መንግሥታትና ልዩ ልዩ ቋንቋ የምትናገሩ ሰዎች ሁሉ፤ እንድታደርጉ የታዘዛችሁት ይህ ነው፤ 5የመለከትና የእንቢልታ፣ የመሰንቆና የክራር፣ የበገናና የዋሽንት እንዲሁም የዘፈን ሁሉ ድምፅ ስትሰሙ፣ ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር ላቆመው የወርቅ ምስል ተደፍታችሁ መስገድ አለባችሁ፤ 6ተደፍቶ የማይሰግድ ማንም ሰው ቢኖር፣ ወዲያውኑ በሚንበለበለው የእሳት እቶን ውስጥ ይጣላል።”
7ስለዚህ የመለከትና የእንቢልታ፣ የመሰንቆና የክራር፣ የበገናና የዋሽንት፣ የዘፈንም ሁሉ ድምፅ በሰሙ ጊዜ ወዲያውኑ ሕዝቡ ሁሉ፣ መንግሥታትና ልዩ ልዩ ቋንቋ የሚናገሩ ሰዎች፣ ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር ላቆመው የወርቅ ምስል ተደፍተው ሰገዱ።
8በዚህ ጊዜ አንዳንድ ኮከብ ቈጣሪዎች3፥8 ወይም ከላዳውያን ወደ ፊት ቀርበው አይሁድን ከሰሱ፤ 9ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆርንም እንዲህ አሉት፤ “ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ ለዘላለም ንገሥ! 10ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ አንተ እንዲህ ብለህ ዐዋጅ አውጥተህ ነበር፤ የመለከትና የእንቢልታ፣ የመሰንቆና የክራር፣ የበገናና የዋሽንት፣ የዘፈንም ድምፅ የሰማ ሁሉ ለወርቁ ምስል ተደፍቶ መስገድ አለበት፤ 11ማንም ተደፍቶ ለወርቁ ምስል ባይሰግድ በሚንበለበለው የእሳት እቶን ውስጥ ይጣላል። 12ነገር ግን ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ በባቢሎን አውራጃ አስተዳዳሪዎች አድርገህ የሾምሃቸው ሲድራቅ፣ ሚሳቅና አብደናጎ የሚባሉት አንዳንድ አይሁድ ትእዛዝህን አይቀበሉም፤ አማልክትህን አያገለግሉም፤ አንተም ላቆምኸው የወርቅ ምስል አይሰግዱም።”
13ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር በታላቅ ቍጣ ሲድራቅን፣ ሚሳቅንና አብደናጎን አስጠራቸው፤ እነዚህንም ሰዎች በንጉሡ ፊት አቀረቧቸው፤ 14ናቡከደነፆርም እንዲህ አላቸው፤ “ሲድራቅ፣ ሚሳቅና አብደናጎ ሆይ፤ እኔ ላቆምሁት ምስል አለመስገዳችሁ፣ አማልክቴንም አለማገልገላችሁ እውነት ነው? 15አሁንም ቢሆን የመለከቱንና የእንቢልታውን፣ የመሰንቆውንና የክራሩን፣ የበገናውንና የዋሽንቱን፣ የዘፈኑንም ሁሉ ድምፅ ስትሰሙ፣ እኔ ላቆምሁት የወርቅ ምስል ተደፍታችሁ ለመስገድ ዝግጁ ከሆናችሁ መልካም! ባትሰግዱለት ግን ወዲያውኑ ወደሚንበለበለው የእቶን እሳት ውስጥ ትጣላላችሁ፤ ታዲያ ከእጄ ሊያድናችሁ የሚችል አምላክ ማን ነው?”
16ሲድራቅ፣ ሚሳቅና አብደናጎ ለንጉሡ እንዲህ ብለው መለሱ፤ “ናቡከደነፆር ሆይ፤ በዚህ ጕዳይ ላይ ስለ ራሳችን መልስ መስጠት አያስፈልገንም። 17ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ በሚንበለበለው የእቶን እሳት ውስጥ ብንጣል፣ የምናመልከው አምላክ ሊያድነን ይችላል፤ ከእጅህም ያድነናል። 18ነገር ግን ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ ባያድነንም እንኳ፤ አማልክትህን እንደማናገለግል፣ ላቆምኸውም የወርቅ ምስል እንደማንሰግድ ዕወቅ።”
19ከዚያም ናቡከደነፆር በሲድራቅ፣ በሚሳቅና በአብደናጎ እጅግ ተቈጣ፣ ፊቱም ተለወጠባቸው፤ የእቶኑ እሳትም ቀደም ሲል ከነበረው ሰባት ዕጥፍ ተደርጎ እንዲነድድ አዘዘ። 20ከሰራዊቱም ብርቱ የሆኑትን ጥቂት ወታደሮች፣ ሲድራቅን፣ ሚሳቅንና አብደናጎን አስረው ወደሚንበለበለው የእቶን እሳት ውስጥ እንዲጥሏቸው አዘዘ። 21እነርሱም መጐናጸፊያቸውን፣ ሱሪያቸውን፣ የራስ ጥምጥማቸውንና ሌሎች ልብሶቻቸውን እንደ ለበሱ ታስረው በሚንበለበለው የእቶን እሳት ውስጥ ተጣሉ። 22የንጉሡ ትእዛዝ አስቸኳይ ስለ ነበረና የእቶኑም እሳት እጅግ ስለ ነደደ፣ የእሳቱ ወላፈን ሲድራቅን፣ ሚሳቅንና አብደናጎን ወስደው የጣሏቸውን ወታደሮች ገደላቸው። 23ሦስቱ ሰዎች ግን ተጠፍረው እንደ ታሰሩ በሚንበለበለው የእቶን እሳት ውስጥ ወደቁ።
24ከዚህ በኋላ ንጉሥ ናቡከደነፆር በአድናቆት ከተቀመጠበት ዘልሎ በመነሣት አማካሪዎቹን “አስረን በእሳት ውስጥ የጣልናቸው ሰዎች ሦስት አልነበሩምን?” ሲል ጠየቀ።
እነርሱም፣ “ንጉሥ ሆይ፤ እውነት ነው” አሉ።
25እርሱም፣ “እነሆ፤ ያልታሰሩና ያልተጐዱ አራት ሰዎች በእሳቱ ውስጥ ሲመላለሱ አያለሁ፤ አራተኛውም የአማልክትን ልጅ ይመስላል” አላቸው።
26ናቡከደነፆርም ወደሚነድደው የእቶን እሳት በር ቀረብ ብሎ ከፍ ባለ ድምፅ፣ “እናንተ የልዑል አምላክ አገልጋዮች ሲድራቅ፣ ሚሳቅና አብድናጎ፤ ኑ ውጡ! ወደዚህ ኑ!” አላቸው።
ስለዚህ ሲድራቅ፣ ሚሳቅና አብድናጎ ከእሳቱ ወጡ፤ 27መኳንንቱ፣ ሹማምቱ፣ አገረ ገዦቹና የቤተ መንግሥት አማካሪዎችም በዙሪያቸው ተሰበሰቡ፤ እነርሱም እሳቱ ሰውነታቸውን እንዳልጐዳ፣ ከራሳቸውም ጠጕር አንዲቷ እንኳ እንዳልተቃጠለች አዩ፤ የመጐናጸፊያቸው መልክ አልተለወጠም፤ የእሳትም ሽታ በላያቸው አልነበረም።
28ከዚያም ናቡከደነፆር እንዲህ አለ፤ “መልአኩን ልኮ አገልጋዮቹን ያዳነ፣ የሲድራቅ፣ የሚሳቅና የአብደናጎ አምላክ ይባረክ፤ በእርሱ በመታመን የንጉሡን ትእዛዝ ጥሰው፣ ከአምላካቸው በቀር ሌላ አምላክ ለማገልገልም ሆነ ለእርሱ ለመስገድ ፈቃደኛ ባለመሆን ሕይወታቸውን አሳልፈው ሰጥተዋልና። 29ስለዚህ እንደዚህ የሚያድን ሌላ አምላክ የለምና በሲድራቅ፣ በሚሳቅና በአብደናጎ አምላክ ላይ ማናቸውንም ቃል የሚናገሩ ሕዝቦችም ሆኑ ልዩ ልዩ ቋንቋ የሚናገሩ ሁሉ ይቈራረጣሉ፤ ቤቶቻቸውም የፍርስራሽ ክምር ይሆናሉ ብዬ አዝዣለሁ።”
30ከዚያም ንጉሡ ሲድራቅን፣ ሚሳቅንና አብደናጎን በባቢሎን አውራጃ ላይ ሾማቸው።
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,3.4 aloud: Chaldee, with might3.4 it…: Chaldee, they command 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:3.5 dulcimer: or, singing: Chaldee, symphony 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.
8¶ Wherefore 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:3.10 dulcimer: or, singing: Chaldee, symphony 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 Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.3.12 have…: Chaldee, have set no regard upon thee
13¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?3.14 true: or, of purpose 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?3.15 dulcimer: or, singing: Chaldee, symphony 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 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.
19¶ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.3.19 full: Chaldee, filled 20And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.3.20 most…: Chaldee, mighty of strength 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.3.21 coats: or, mantles3.21 hats: or, turbans 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 Abed-nego.3.22 commandment: Chaldee, word3.22 flame: or, spark 23And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 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.3.24 counsellors: or, governors 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.3.25 they…: Chaldee, there is no hurt in them
26¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.3.26 mouth: Chaldee, door 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 Abed-nego, 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 Abed-nego, 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.3.29 I make…: Chaldee, a decree is made by me3.29 any…: Chaldee, error3.29 cut…: Chaldee, made pieces 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.3.30 promoted: Chaldee, made to prosper
