Daniel 3 – NIRV & BPH

New International Reader’s Version

Daniel 3:1-30

A Gold Statue and a Blazing Furnace

1King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue. It was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura near the city of Babylon. 2Then the king sent for the royal rulers, high officials and governors. He sent for the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. And he sent for all the other officials of Babylon. He asked them to come to a special gathering to honor the statue he had set up. 3So the royal rulers, high officials and governors came together. So did the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. All the other officials joined them. They came to honor the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of it.

4Then a messenger called out loudly, “Listen, you people who come from every nation! Pay attention, you who speak other languages! Here is what the king commands you to do. 5You will soon hear the sound of horns and flutes. You will hear zithers, lyres, harps and pipes. In fact, you will hear all kinds of music. When you do, you must fall down and worship the gold statue. That is the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6If you don’t, you will be thrown into a blazing furnace right away.”

7All the people heard the sound of the horns and flutes. They heard the zithers, lyres, harps and other musical instruments. As soon as they did, they fell down and worshiped Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. They were people from all nations no matter what language they spoke.

8At this time some people who studied the heavens came forward. They spoke against the Jews. 9They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, may you live forever! 10Your Majesty has commanded everyone to fall down and worship the gold statue. You told them to do it when they heard the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments. 11If they didn’t, they would be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12But you have appointed some Jews to help Daniel govern Babylon and the towns around it. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They don’t pay any attention to you, King Nebuchadnezzar. They don’t serve your gods. And they refuse to worship the gold statue you have set up.”

13Nebuchadnezzar was very angry. He sent for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they were brought to him. 14The king said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is what I heard about you true? Don’t you serve my gods? Don’t you worship the gold statue I set up? 15You will hear the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments. When you do, fall down and worship the statue I made. If you will, that’s very good. But if you won’t, you will be thrown at once into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to save you from my power?”

16Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore. 17We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your power. 18But we want you to know this, Your Majesty. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.”

19Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The look on his face changed. And he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20He also gave some of the strongest soldiers in his army a command. He ordered them to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then he told his men to throw them into the blazing furnace. 21So they were tied up. Then they were thrown into the furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, turbans and other clothes. 22The king’s command was carried out quickly. The furnace was so hot that its flames killed the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. 23So the three men were firmly tied up. And they fell into the blazing furnace.

24Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. He was so amazed he asked his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men? Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”

They replied, “Yes, we did, Your Majesty.”

25The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They aren’t tied up. And the fire hasn’t even harmed them. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.”

26Then the king approached the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! You who serve the Most High God, come here!”

So they came out of the fire. 27The royal rulers, high officials, governors and advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire hadn’t harmed their bodies. Not one hair on their heads was burned. Their robes weren’t burned either. And they didn’t even smell like smoke.

28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent his angel and saved his servants. They trusted in him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29No other god can save people this way. So I’m giving an order about the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. No one may say anything against him. That’s true no matter what language they speak. If they say anything against him, they’ll be cut to pieces. And their houses will be turned into piles of trash.”

30Then the king honored Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He gave them higher positions in the city of Babylon and the towns around it.

Bibelen på hverdagsdansk

Daniels Bog 3:1-33

Daniels venner nægter at tilbede den gyldne statue

1Kong Nebukadnezar lod fremstille en forgyldt statue, der var 27 m høj og 2,7 m bred, og den blev opstillet på Durasletten i provinsen Babylon. 2Derpå sendte han bud til alle sine statholdere, generaler, administratorer, rådgivere, skatmestre, dommere, jurister og andre embedsmænd i provinsen og inviterede dem til indvielse af statuen. 3Da de alle sammen var ankommet og havde taget opstilling foran statuen, 4råbte kongens herold så højt, han kunne: „Hør, hvad kongen har befalet mennesker af alle folkeslag, stammer og sprog at gøre: 5Når orkestret med alle dets forskellige instrumenter begynder at spille, skal I falde på knæ med ansigtet mod jorden og tilbede kong Nebukadnezars gyldne statue! 6Hvis nogen ikke gør det, bliver de kastet i den gloende ovn!”

7Da orkestret med alle dets forskellige instrumenter begyndte at spille, faldt alle de tilstedeværende fra alle folkeslag, stammer og sprog på knæ med ansigtet mod jorden og tilbad Nebukadnezars gyldne statue.

8Inden længe kom nogle af kaldæerne3,8 Kaldæerne boede oprindeligt helt mod syd i Mesopotamien, men på dette tidspunkt var de dominerende i hele Babylonien specielt inden for astrologi og afgudsdyrkelse. til kongen for at anklage judæerne. 9„Deres Majestæt længe leve!” sagde de. 10„De har påbudt, at når orkestret med alle dets instrumenter spiller, skal alle falde på knæ og tilbede den gyldne statue, 11og De har bestemt, at de, der nægter at gøre det, skal kastes i den gloende ovn. 12Men der er nogle judæiske mænd, som ikke retter sig efter Deres påbud. Det drejer sig om Shadrak, Meshak og Abed-Nego, som De har sat til at administrere provinsen Babylon. De judæere nægter at dyrke Deres gud og tilbede den statue, De har ladet opstille.”

13Nebukadnezar blev rasende og lod straks Shadrak, Meshak og Abed-Nego hente. Da de blev ført frem for ham, sagde han: 14„Shadrak, Meshak og Abed-Nego, er det for at trodse mig, at I ikke vil dyrke min gud og tilbede den statue, jeg har ladet opstille? 15Jeg giver jer én chance mere! Hvis I falder på knæ og tilbeder min statue, når orkestret med alle dets instrumenter om lidt begynder at spille igen, så vil jeg tilgive jer. Men hvis I ikke gør det, bliver I omgående kastet i den gloende ovn. Og hvilken gud kan så redde jer?”

16„Ærede Kong Nebukadnezar,” svarede de tre judæere, „vi har ikke gjort noget forkert over for Dem. 17Men hvis vi alligevel bliver kastet i den gloende ovn, skal De vide, Deres Majestæt, at den Gud, vi tjener, har magt til at redde os. 18Og skulle han ikke redde os, vil vi dog under ingen omstændigheder dyrke Deres gud eller tilbede den statue, De har ladet opstille.”

19Da Nebukadnezar hørte det svar, skar han tænder af raseri og befalede, at ovnen skulle gøres syv gange varmere end normalt. 20Derefter befalede han nogle af sine stærkeste soldater at binde Shadrak, Meshak og Abed-Nego og kaste dem i den gloende ovn.

21De tre judæere blev bundet med alt tøjet på og ført hen til den gloende ovn. 22Fordi kongen i sit raseri havde forlangt at få ovnen ekstra ophedet, slikkede store flammer ud og brændte soldaterne ihjel, da de skubbede judæerne ind i ovnen. 23De tre mænd faldt ned i bunden af ovnen.

24Kong Nebukadnezar sad og iagttog det hele. Pludselig sprang han op og udbrød bestyrtet til sine rådgivere: „Var det ikke kun tre mænd, vi smed bundne ind i ovnen?”

„Jo,” svarede de.

25„Jamen, se!” råbte Nebukadnezar. „Der er jo fire! Og de er ikke bundne! De går omkring i ilden helt uberørt af flammerne! Og den fjerde ligner en gud!”

26Da gik Nebukadnezar så tæt hen til ovndøren, som han kunne, og råbte: „Shadrak, Meshak og Abed-Nego, I er den højeste Guds tjenere. Kom ud igen! Skynd jer!”

Så trådte de tre mænd ud af ilden, 27og alle statholderne, generalerne, administratorerne og rådgiverne stimlede sammen om dem og så, at ilden ikke havde gjort dem noget. Deres tøj var uskadt, der var ingen brandlugt ved dem, og ikke et hår på deres hoved var svedet!

28Da sagde Nebukadnezar: „Priset være Shadraks, Meshaks og Abed-Negos Gud! Han sendte sin engel for at frelse sine tjenere, der i tillid til ham trodsede en kongelig befaling og var villige til at dø frem for at tjene eller tilbede nogen anden gud end deres egen. 29Derfor befaler jeg nu, at hvis noget menneske, uanset hvilket land eller folkeslag de kommer fra, siger et ondt ord om judæernes Gud, bliver han skåret i småstykker og hans hus jævnet med jorden. For ingen gud kan gribe ind og frelse, som denne Gud har gjort!”

30Derefter genindsatte kongen de tre judæere i deres stillinger i provinsen Babylon.

Nebukadnezars anden drøm

31Kong Nebukadnezar udsendte senere følgende bekendtgørelse til sine undersåtter fra alle folkeslag, stammer og sprog:

Hilsen med ønsket om alt godt! 32Jeg ønsker at informere jer om de tegn og undere, den højeste Gud har ladet mig opleve! 33Hvilke utrolige tegn! Hvilke mægtige undere! Hans rige ophører aldrig. Han hersker over alt og alle fra slægt til slægt.