Daniel 3

²⁰Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!”

¹⁹Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

⁶They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

⁴They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.

²⁶And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

¹⁹To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

²⁰One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

²⁷and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

¹Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,

²and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

⁴He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.”

⁶So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!

⁷All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

²³Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”

¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

¹³These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.

¹³And the second beast performed great signs, even causing fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people.

¹⁴Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

¹¹There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

³⁴But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

²⁵Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound.

¹King Nebuchadnezzar, To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your prosperity be multiplied.

¹⁶You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”

¹⁴He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

¹¹Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.

¹³The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing.

¹⁴She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city,

¹⁵Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁰You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

⁷Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴²And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

²²Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’

¹⁵Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

¹¹and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

¹⁸“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become dross, behold, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

⁹And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

⁸And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.

³One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.

⁸The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

¹⁴Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.

¹²Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.

¹³Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

¹²So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

¹³Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

⁸Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”

¹⁰The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

²⁰They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil

²¹by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”

³For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.

⁴Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

¹⁰Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.

⁶So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!

²¹Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!

⁴Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁴Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:

⁵As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

⁷Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

⁴Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:

⁵As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

¹²On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.

¹³And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

¹²So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

²⁰Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?

²²Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

¹A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,

²to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning and Your faithfulness at night

¹³Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

⁴⁹And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

⁷and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

⁴Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

⁷And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

⁸And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?”

²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

¹⁹At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,

¹²This response made the king so angry and furious that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.

⁶And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

³⁰Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?

³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”

¹²It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

²⁴After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

²“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’

¹King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

¹Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.

⁸But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:

¹³If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

¹⁴But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.

¹⁵So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!”

¹⁶And the servants of Sennacherib spoke further against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

²But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”

³⁵Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

¹¹But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what to say. Instead, speak whatever you are given at that time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

⁷The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

¹²But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”

²⁵Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

¹Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?

²When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

³You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

⁴Trust in the Lord forever, because God the Lord is the Rock eternal.

⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.

³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.

³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.

³²Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.

³³But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

³What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

⁴I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

¹¹They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,

²⁴then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins.

²⁸then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.

²⁴Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

³³When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.

²⁷But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.

²⁸Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

¹⁵Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

²³And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.

⁴He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

⁸The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.

¹⁸The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright.

¹⁹After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.

⁵So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

²⁴At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

³³And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”

⁶So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

¹⁶So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

¹⁷A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

¹A song of ascents. Of David. If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel now declare—

²if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us,

¹¹You led us into the net; You laid burdens on our backs.

¹²You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.

⁵²Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.

⁵³They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me.

²²My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

⁷All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

¹³About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

¹⁷If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

⁹saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!

¹⁰You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

²²you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

⁵But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

³Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.

⁴He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.

⁶One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

¹³Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

¹⁷If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

²I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

⁵Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”

¹²For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the Lord goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

¹⁸Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High—

¹⁷The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

³⁴quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

¹¹O Lord, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

¹⁸May they know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are Most High over all the earth.

³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

³⁴So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”

⁷For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.

⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

⁸Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

¹²O Lord of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

¹¹They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

⁴In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.

⁵They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.

⁵The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

²⁶I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.

²⁷He delivers and rescues; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

¹⁰Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

³¹For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede.

¹¹I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.

¹⁵Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

³⁰Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the Lord declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.

⁴⁹And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

¹²But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

¹⁴“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

²⁶If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?