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King James Version
The
Image of Gold and the Blazing Furnace
3:1 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.
3:2 Then 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.
3:3 Then 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.
3:4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O
people, nations, and languages,
3:5 That 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:
3:6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the
same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
3:7 Therefore 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.
3:8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and
accused the Jews.
3:9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king,
live for ever.
3:10 Thou, 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:
3:11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he
should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
3:12 There 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.
3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to
bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought
these men before the king.
3:14 Nebuchadnezzar 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?
3:15 Now 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?
3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to
the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer
thee in this matter.
3:17 If 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.
3:18 But 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.
3:19 Then 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.
3:20 And 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.
3:21 Then 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.
3:22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent,
and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew
those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
3:24 Then 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.
3:25 He 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.
3:26 Then 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.
3:27 And 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.
3:28 Then 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.
3:29 Therefore 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.
3:30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
in the province of Babylon. |
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
