The Idol of Gold and the Hot Furnace

3 King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold idol made. That idol was 60 cubits* high and 6 cubits* wide. Then he set the idol up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ²Then the king called the satraps,* the prefects,* governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, rulers, and all the other officials in his kingdom to come together. The king wanted all those men to come to the dedication ceremony for the idol. ³So all those men came and stood in front of the idol that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴Then the man that makes the announcements for the king spoke in a loud voice. He said, “All you people from many nations and language groups, {listen to me}. This is what you are commanded to do: ⁵You must bow down as soon as you hear the sound of all the musical instruments. When you hear the horns, flutes, lyres,* sambucas,* harps, bagpipes,* and all of the other musical instruments, you must worship the gold idol. King Nebuchadnezzar has set this idol up. ⁶If any person does not bow down and worship this gold idol, then that person will be quickly thrown into a very hot furnace. ⁷So, as soon as they heard the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres,* sambucas,* bagpipes,* and all of the other musical instruments, they bowed down and worshiped the gold idol. All the peoples, nations, and men of every kind of language there worshiped the gold idol that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁸Then, some of the Chaldean* men came up to the king. Those men began speaking against the Jews. ⁹They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “King, may you live forever! ¹⁰King, you gave a command. You said that everyone that hears the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres,* sambucas,* harps, bagpipes,* and all the other musical instruments must bow down and worship the gold idol. ¹¹And you also said that if any person does not bow down and worship the gold idol, then that person will be thrown into a very hot furnace. ¹²There are some Jews that did not pay attention to your order, king. You made those Jews important officials in the province of Babylon. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They don’t worship your gods. And they didn’t bow down and worship the gold idol you set up.” ¹³Nebuchadnezzar became very angry. He called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So those men were brought to the king. ¹⁴And Nebuchadnezzar said to those men, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t worship my gods? And is it true that you didn’t bow down and worship the gold idol I have set up? ¹⁵Now, when you hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres,* sambucas,* harps, bagpipes,* and all the other musical instruments, you must bow down and worship the gold idol. If you are ready to worship the idol I have made, that will be good. But if you don’t worship it, you will be thrown very quickly into the hot furnace. Then no god will be able to save you from my power!” ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to explain these things to you! ¹⁷If you throw us into the hot furnace, then the God we serve can save us. And if he wants to, he can save us from your power. ¹⁸But even if God does not save us, we want you to know, king, that we refuse to serve your gods. We won’t worship the gold idol you have set up.” ¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry! He looked very mean at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave an order for the oven to be heated seven times hotter that it usually was. ²⁰Then Nebuchadnezzar commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king told the soldiers to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the hot furnace. ²¹So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tied up and thrown into the hot furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, hats, and other clothes.

²²The king was very angry when he gave the command, so they quickly made the furnace very hot! The fire was so hot that the flames killed the strong soldiers! They were killed when they went close to the fire and threw in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the fire. They were tied up very tightly. ²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped to his feet. He was very surprised and he asked his advisers, “We tied only three men and we threw only three men into the fire! Is that right?” His advisers said, “Yes, king.” ²⁵The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They are not tied up and they are not burned. The fourth man looks like an angel!* ²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the hot furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, come out! Servants of the Most High God, come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. ²⁷When they came out, the satraps*, prefects*, governors, and royal advisers crowded around them. They could see that the fire had not burned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their bodies were not burned at all. Their hair was not burned, their robes were not burned, and they didn’t even smell like they had been near fire. ²⁸Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God. They refused to obey my command and were willing to die instead of serving or worshiping any other god. ²⁹So, I now make this law: The people of any nation or of any language that says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut to pieces. And that person’s house will be destroyed until it is a pile of dirt and ashes. No other god can save his people like this.” ³⁰Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important jobs in the province of Babylon.

60 cubits 88’ 6 15/16” (27m) using the short cubit. 6 cubits 8’ 10 1/4” (2.7m) using the short cubit. satraps Persian officials that were governors of a province. prefects Important officials. lyres A musical instrument like a harp. The name in Hebrew comes from some other language, possibly the Greek word “kitharis.” sambuca(s) A musical instrument. It might be a seven stringed instrument like a harp. The name in Hebrew comes from some other language, possibly Greek. bagpipes A musical instrument with a bag and several horns or pipes. The name in Hebrew comes from some other language, possibly the Greek word “symphony.” Chaldean(s) An important family group in Babylonia. Sometimes this name means simply “People from Babylonia.” angel Literally, “son of the god.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about a Tree

4 King Nebuchadnezzar sent this letter to the many nations and people that speak other languages and live all around the world. Greetings: ²I am very happy to tell you about the miracles and wonderful things that the Most High God did for me. ³God has done amazing miracles! God has done powerful miracles! God’s kingdom continues forever; God’s rule will continue for all generations. ⁴I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at my palace.* I was happy and successful. ⁵I had a dream that made me afraid. I was lying on my bed, and I saw pictures and visions* in my mind. Those things made me very afraid. ⁶So I gave an order that all the wise men of Babylon be brought to me. Why? So they could tell me what my dream meant. ⁷When the men of magic, and the Chaldeans* came, I told them about the dream. But those men could not tell me what it meant. ⁸Finally, Daniel came to me. (I gave Daniel the name, Belteshazzar, to honor my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I told Daniel about my dream. ⁹I said, Belteshazzar, you are the most important of all the men of magic. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. I know there is no secret that is too hard for you to understand. This was what I dreamed. Tell me what it means. ¹⁰These are the visions* I saw while I was lying in my bed: I looked, and there in front of me was a tree standing in the middle of the earth. The tree was very tall. ¹¹The tree grew large and strong. The top of the tree touched the sky.* It could be seen from anywhere on earth.

¹²The leaves of the tree were beautiful. It had much good fruit on it. And on the tree was plenty of food for everyone. The wild animals found shelter under the tree. And the birds lived in its branches. Every animal ate from the tree. ¹³I was looking at those things in the vision* while lying on my bed. And then I saw a holy angel coming down from heaven. ¹⁴He spoke very loud. He said, ‘Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches. Strip off its leaves. Scatter its fruit around. The animals that are under the tree will run away. The birds that were in its branches will fly away. ¹⁵But let the stump and roots stay in the ground. Put a band of iron and bronze around it. The stump and roots will stay in the field with the grass all around it. It will live among the wild animals and plants in the fields. It will become wet with dew.* ¹⁶He will not think like a man any longer. He will have the mind of an animal. Seven seasons (years) will pass while he is like this.’ ¹⁷A holy angel announced this punishment. Why? So all the people on earth may know that God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. God gives those kingdoms to anyone he wants to. And God chooses humble people to rule those kingdoms! ¹⁸That is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed. Now, Belteshazzar (Daniel), tell me what it means. None of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret that dream for me. But Belteshazzar, you can interpret the dream because the spirit of the holy gods is in you. ¹⁹Then Daniel (also named Belteshazzar) became very quiet for about an hour. The things he was thinking bothered him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar (Daniel), don’t let the dream or its meaning make you afraid.” Then Belteshazzar (Daniel) answered the king, “My lord, I wish the dream were about your enemies. And I wish the meaning of the dream were about those against you. ^20–21You saw a tree in your dream. The tree grew large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen from all over the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, and it had plenty of fruit. The fruit gave plenty of food for everyone. It was a home for the wild animals, and its branches were nesting places for the birds. That is the tree you saw. ²²King, you are that tree! You have become great and powerful. You are like the tall tree that touched the sky—and your power reaches to the far parts of the earth. ²³“King, you saw a holy angel coming down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut the tree down and destroy it. Put a band of iron and bronze around the stump and leave the stump and its roots in the ground. Leave it in the grass in the field. It will become wet with dew.* He will live like a wild animal. Seven seasons (years) will pass while he is like this.’ ²⁴“King, this is the meaning of the dream. God Most High has commanded these things to happen to my lord the king: ²⁵King Nebuchadnezzar, you will be forced to go away from people. You will live among the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle. And you will become wet with dew.* Seven seasons (years) will pass, and then you will learn this lesson. You will learn God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. And God Most High gives kingdoms to anyone he wants. ²⁶“The command to leave the stump of the tree and its roots in the ground means this: Your kingdom will be given back to you. This will happen when you learn that Most High (God) rules your kingdom. ²⁷So, king, please accept my advice. I advise you to stop sinning and do what is right. Stop doing bad things. And be kind to poor people. Then you might continue to be successful.” ²⁸All those things happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ^29–30Twelve months after the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof* of his palace* in Babylon. While on the roof, the king said, “Look at Babylon! I built this great city. It is my palace! I built this great place by my power. I built this place to show how great I am!”

³¹The words were still in his mouth when a voice came from heaven. The voice said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, these things will happen to you: Your power as king has been taken away from you. ³²You will be forced to go away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow. Seven seasons (years) will pass before you learn your lesson. Then you will learn that God Most High rules over the kingdoms of men. And that God Most High gives kingdoms to anyone he wants.” ³³Those things happened immediately. Nebuchadnezzar was forced to go away from people. He began eating grass like a cow. He became wet from dew.* His hair grew long like the feathers of an eagle. And his nails grew long like the claws of a bird. ³⁴Then at the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven. And I was in my right mind again. Then I gave praise to God Most High. I gave honor and glory to him who lives forever. God rules forever! His kingdom continues for all generations. ³⁵People on earth are not truly important. God does what he wants with the powers of heaven and the people on earth. No one can stop his powerful hand! No one can question the things he does! ³⁶So, at that time, God gave me my right mind again. And he gave back my great honor and power as king. My advisers and the royal people began to ask my advice again. I became the king again. And I became even greater and more powerful than before. ³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, give praise, honor, and glory to the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right. He is always fair. And he is able to make proud people humble!

palace A large house for the king and his family. vision(s) Something like a dream that God used to speak to people. Chaldean(s) An important family group in Babylonia. Sometimes this name means simply “People from Babylonia.” middle of the earth … sky The Babylonian people thought the earth was flat and round like a plate or a wheel. And they thought the sky was like a glass bowl turned upside down on the earth. vision Something like a dream that God used to speak to people. dew Drops of water that collect on the ground during the night. roof In ancient Israel, houses had flat roofs that were used like an extra room.