Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
Parallel Translations
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Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
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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.
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Then was Nebuchadnezzar filled with fury, and the form of his visage was changed, against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Daniel 3:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king.
- Leviticus 26:24 then I will also walk contrary to you; and I will strike you, even I, seven times for your sins.
- Leviticus 26:28 then I will walk contrary to you in wrath. I will also chastise you seven times for your sins.
- Proverbs 21:24 The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name— he works in the arrogance of pride.
- Genesis 4:5-6 but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen?
- Leviticus 26:18 “ ‘If you in spite of these things will not listen to me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.
- Leviticus 26:21 “ ‘If you walk contrary to me, and won’t listen to me, then I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins.
- 1 Kings 18:33-35 He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.” He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time. The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
- 2 Kings 19:27-28 But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against me. Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.’
- Psalms 76:10 Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
- Proverbs 27:3-4 A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
- Daniel 5:6 Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.
- Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
- Acts 5:33 But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and were determined to kill them.
- Genesis 31:2 Jacob saw the expression on Laban’s face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
- Exodus 15:9-10 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My hand will destroy them.’ You blew with your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
- 1 Kings 20:10-11 Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.’ ”
- Esther 7:7 The king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden. Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
- Proverbs 16:14 The king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
- Isaiah 51:23 I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, that we may walk over you;’ and you have laid your back as the ground, like a street to those who walk over.”
- Daniel 6:24 The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions mauled them, and broke all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.
- Matthew 27:63-66 saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead;’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.
- Acts 7:54 Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here, at; first sight, God seems to desert his…
Here, at; first sight, God seems to desert his servants, since he does not openly succor them. The king orders them to be thrown into a furnace of fire: no help from heaven appears for them. This was a living and remarkably efficacious proof of their faithfulness. But they were prepared, as we have seen, to endure everything. These bold answers were not prompted simply by their trust in God’s immediate help, but by a determination to die; since a better life occupied their thoughts, they willingly sacrificed the present life. Hence they were not frightened at this terrible order of the king’s, but followed on their course, fearlessly submitting to death for the worship of God. No third way was opened for them, when a choice was granted either to submit to death, or apostatize from the true God. By this example we are taught to meditate on our immortal life in times of ease, so that if God pleases, we may not hesitate to expose our souls by the confession of the true faith. For we are so timorous when we are attacked by calamity, we are seized with fear and torpor, and then when we are not pressed by any urgency we feign for ourselves a false security. When we are allowed to be at ease, we ought to apply our minds to meditation upon a future life, so that this world may become cheap to us, and we may be prepared when necessary to pour forth our blood in testimony to the truth. And this narrative is not set before us simply to lead us to admire and celebrate the courage of these three holy ones, but their constancy is proposed to us as an example for imitation.
With reference to King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel here shews, as in a glass, the pride and haughtiness of kings when they find their decrees disobeyed. Surely a mind of iron ought to grow soft by the answer which we have just narrated, on hearing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego committing their lives to God; but when it heard how they could not be drawn aside from their faithfulness by the fear of death, its anger was only increased. In considering this fury, we ought to take into account the power of Satan in seizing and occupying the minds of men. For there is no moderation in them, even if they shew some great and remarkable hope of virtues, — for, as we have seen, Nebuchadnezzar was endued with many virtues; but as Satan harassed him, we discern nothing but cruelty and barbarity. Meanwhile, let us remember how pleasing our constancy is to God, though it may not produce any immediate fruit before the world. For many indulge in pleasure through thinking they would be rash in devoting themselves to death, without any apparent utility. And on this pretext, they excuse themselves from not contending more boldly for the glory of God, by supposing they would lose their labor, and their death would be fruitless. But we hear what Christ pronounces, namely, this sacrifice is pleasing to God, when we die for the testimony of the heavenly doctrine, although the generation before which we bear witness to God’s name is adulterous and perverse, nay, even hardened by our constancy. (Matthew 5:11, and Matthew 10:32, and Mark 8:38.)
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And such an example is here set before us in these three holy men; because, although Nebuchadnezzar was more inflamed by the freedom of their confession, yet that; liberty pleased God, and they did not repent of it, though they did not discern the fruit of their constancy which they wished. The Prophet also expresses this circumstance to demonstrate the king’s fury, since he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than before; and then, he chose from his own servants the strongest of all to bind these holy men, and cast them into the furnace of fire
But from the result it is very evident, that this did not occur without God’s secret impulse; for the devil will sometimes throw discredit on a miracle, unless all doubt is removed. Since therefore the king ordered the furnace to be heated sevenfold more than before, next when he chose the strongest attendants, and commanded them to follow him, God thus removed all doubts, by liberating his servants, because light emerges more clearly from the darkness, when Satan endeavors to shut it out. Thus God is accustomed to frustrate the impious; and the more impious they are in opposing his glory, the more he makes his honor and doctrine conspicuous. In like manner, Daniel here paints, as in a picture, how King Nebuchadnezzar passed nothing by, when he wished to strike terror into the minds of all the Jews by this cruel punishment. And yet he obtained nothing else by his plans than a clearer illustration of God’s power and grace towards his servants. It now follows: —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain This declareth that the more that tyrants rage, and…
This declareth that the more that tyrants rage, and the more witty they show themselves inventing strange and cruel punishments, the more is God glorified by his servants to whom he giveth patience and constancy to abide the cruelty of their punishment: for either by delivereth them from death, or else for this life giveth them a better.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Dan 3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and…
Dan 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.
Ver. 19. And the form of his visage was changed.] Chal., The countenance of his face. Passionate persons vex and distemper their own hearts and bodies, {Pro 25:28} and are exceedingly disfigured with furiousness of the looks, extraordinary panting of the heart, beating of the pulse, swelling of the veins, stammering of the tongue, gnashing of the teeth, as those in Act 7:54. So the tyrant that martyred Laurence stamped and stared, ramped and fared as out of his wits, swelling like a toad, looking like a devil, &c. See on Dan 3:17.
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That they should heat the furnace one seven times more.] Whereas a lingering torment had been heavier, as Bishop Ridley also felt it, and other martyrs: but he spoke as his passion prompted him, which often overshoots. {Pro 11:29}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The king’s fury appeared in his face, and in…
The king’s fury appeared in his face, and in his words; taking this answer for the highest affront and provocation, which as the case stood he could not bear, the pride of his heart made his indignation boil over, and therefore he made the
furnace seven times hotter. Tyrants would burn the people of God in hell if they could.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain In these verses we have,
In these verses we have,
I. The casting of these three faithful servants of God into the fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had himself known and owned so much of the true God that, one would have thought, though his pride and vanity induced him to make this golden image, and set it up to be worshipped, yet what these young men now said (whom he had formerly found to be wiser than all his wise men) would revive his convictions, and at least engage him to excuse them; but it proved quite otherwise. 1. Instead of being convinced by what they said, he was exasperated, and made more outrageous, Dan 3:19. It made him full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against these men. Note, Brutish passions the more they are indulged the more violent they grow, and even change the countenance, to the great reproach of the wisdom and reason of a man. Nebuchadnezzar, in this heat, exchanged the awful majesty of a prince upon his throne, or a judge upon the bench, for the frightful fury of a wild bull in a net. Would men in a passion but view their faces in a glass, they would blush at their own folly and turn all their displeasure against themselves. 2. Instead of mitigating their punishment, in consideration of their quality and the posts of honour they were in, he ordered it to be heightened, that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated for other malefactors, that is, that they should put seven times more fuel to it, which, though it would not make their death more grievous, but rather dispatch them sooner, was designed to signify that the king looked upon their crime as seven times more heinous than the crimes of others, and so made their death more ignominious. But God brought glory to himself out of this foolish instance of the tyrant's rage; for, though it would not have made their death the more grievous, yet it did make their deliverance much the more illustrious. 3. He ordered them to be bound in their clothes, and cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, which was done accordingly, Dan 3:20, Dan 3:21. They were bound, that they might not struggle, or make any resistance, were bound in their clothes, for haste, or that they might be consumed the more slowly and gradually. But God's providence ordered it for the increase of the miracle, in that their clothes were not so much as singed. They were bound in their coats or mantles, their hosen or breeches, and their hats or turbans, as if, in detestation of their crime, they would have their clothes to be burnt with them. What a terrible death was this - to be cast bound into the midst of a burning fiery furnace! Dan 3:23. It makes one's flesh tremble to think of it, and horror to take hold on one. It is amazing that the tyrant was so hard-hearted as to inflict such a punishment, and that the confessors were so stout-hearted as to submit to it rather than sin against God. But what is this to the second death, to that furnace into which the tares shall be cast in bundles, to that lake which burns eternally with fire and brimstone? Let Nebuchadnezzar heat his furnace as hot as he can, a few minutes will finish the torment of those who are cast into it; but hell-fire tortures and does not kill. The pain of damned sinners is more exquisite, and the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever, and those have no rest, no intermission, no cessation of their pains, who have worshipped the beast and his image (Rev 14:10, Rev 14:11), whereas their pain would be soon over that were cast into this furnace for not worshipping this Babylonian beast and his image. 4. It was a remarkable providence that the men, the mighty men, that bound them, and threw them into the furnace, were themselves consumed or suffocated by the flame, Dan 3:22. The king's commandment was urgent, that they should dispatch them quickly, and be sure to do it effectually; and therefore they resolved to go to the very mouth of the furnace, that they might throw them into the midst of it, but they were in such haste that they would not take time to arm themselves accordingly. The apocryphal additions to Daniel say that the flame ascended forty-nine cubits above the mouth of the furnace. Probably God ordered it so that the wind blew it directly upon them with such violence that it smothered them. God did thus immediately plead the cause of his injured servants, and take vengeance for them on their persecutors, whom he punished, not only in the very act of their sin, but by it. But these men were only the instruments of cruelty; he that bade them do it had the greater sin; yet they suffered justly for executing an unjust decree, and it is very probable that they did it with pleasure and were glad to be so employed. Nebuchadnezzar himself was reserved for a further reckoning. There is a day coming when proud tyrants will be punished, not only for the cruelties they have been guilty of, but for employing those about them in their cruelties, and so exposing them to the judgments of God.
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II. The deliverance of these three faithful servants of God out of the furnace. When they were cast bound into the midst of that devouring fire we might well conclude that we should hear no more of them, that their very bones would be calcined; but, to our amazement, we here find that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are yet alive.
1. Nebuchadnezzar finds them walking in the fire. He was astonished, and rose up in haste, Dan 3:24. Perhaps the slaying of the men that executed his sentence was that which astonished him, as well it might, for he had reason to think his own turn would be next; or it was some unaccountable impression upon his own mind that astonished him, and made him rise up in haste, and go to the furnace, to see what had become of those he had cast into it. Note, God can strike those with astonishment whose hearts are most hardened both against him and against his people. He that made the soul can make his sword to approach to it, even to that of the greatest tyrant. In his astonishment he calls his counsellors about him, and appeals to them. Did we not cast three men bound into the fire? It seems, it was done by order, not only of the king, but of the council. They durst not but concur with him, which he forced them to do, that they might share with him in the guilt and odium? "True, O king!" say they; "we did order such an execution to be done and it was done." "But now," says the king, "I have been looking into the furnace, and I see four men, loose, walking in the midst of the fire," Dan 3:25. (1.) They were loosed from their bonds. The fire that did not so much as singe their clothes burnt the cords wherewith they were bound, and set them at liberty; thus God's people have their hearts enlarged, through the grace of God, by those very troubles with which their enemies designed to straiten and hamper them. (2.) They had no hurt, made no complaint, felt no pain or uneasiness in the least; the flame did not scorch them; the smoke did not stifle them; they were alive and as well as ever in the midst of the flames. See how God of nature can, when he pleases, control the powers of nature, to make them serve his purposes. Now was fulfilled in the letter gracious promise (Isa 43:2), When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. By faith they quench the violence of the fire, quench the fiery darts of the wicked. (3.) They walked in the midst of the fire. The furnace was large, so that they had room to walk; they were unhurt, so that they were able to walk; their minds were easy, so that they were disposed to walk, as in a paradise or garden of pleasure. Can a man walk upon hot coals and his feet not be burnt? Pro 6:28. Yes, they did it with as much pleasure as the king of Tyrus walked up and down in the midst of his stones of fire, his precious stones that sparkled as fire, Eze 28:14. They were not striving to get out, finding themselves unhurt; but, leaving it to that God who preserved them in the fire to bring them out of it, they walked up and down in the midst of it unconcerned. One of the apocryphal writings relates at large the prayer which Azariah, one of the three, prayed in the fire (wherein he laments the calamities and iniquities of Israel, and entreats God's favour to his people), and the song of praise which they all three sang in the midst of the flames, in both which there are remarkable strains of devotion; but we have reason to think, with Grotius, that they were composed by some Jew of a later age, not as what were used, but only as what might have been used, on this occasion, and therefore we justly reject them as no part of holy writ. (4.) There was a fourth seen with them in the fire, whose form, in Nebuchadnezzar's judgment, was like the Son of God; he appeared as a divine person, a messenger from heaven, not as a servant, but as a son. Like an angel (so some); and angels are called sons of God, Job 38:7. In the apocryphal narrative of this story it is said, The angel of the Lord came down into the furnace; and Nebuchadnezzar here says (Dan 3:28), God sent his angel and delivered them; and it was an angel that shut the lions' mouths when Daniel was in the den, Dan 6:22. But some think it was the eternal Son of God, the angel of the covenant, and not a created angel. He appeared often in our nature before he assumed it in his incarnation, and never more seasonable, nor to give a more proper indication and presage of his great errand into the world in the fulness of time, than now, when, to deliver his chosen out of the fire, he came and walked with them in the fire. Note, Those that suffer for Christ have his gracious presence with them in their sufferings, even in the fiery furnace, even in the valley of the shadow of death, and therefore even there they need fear no evil. Hereby Christ showed that what is done against his people he takes as done against himself; whoever throws them into the furnace does, in effect, throw him in. I an Jesus, whom thou persecutest, Isa 63:9.
2. Nebuchadnezzar calls them out of the furnace (Dan 3:26): He comes near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and bids them come forth and come hither. Come forth, come (so some read it); he speaks with a great deal of tenderness and concern, and stands ready to lend them his hand and help them out. He is convinced by their miraculous preservation that he did evil in casting them into the furnace; and therefore he does not thrust them out privily; no verily, but he will come himself and fetch them out, Act 16:37. Observe the respectful title that he gives them. When he was in the heat of his fury and rage against them it is probable that he called them rebels, and traitors, and all the ill names he could invent; but now he owns them for the servants of the most high God, a God who now appears able to deliver them out of his hand. Note, Sooner or later, God will convince the proudest of men that he is the most high God, and above them, and too hard for them, even in those things wherein they deal proudly and presumptuously, Exo 18:11. He will likewise let them know are who his servants, and that he owns them and will stand by them. Elijah prayed (Kg1 18:36), Let it be known that thou art God and that I am thy servant. Nebuchadnezzar now embraces those whom he had abandoned, and is very officious about them, now that he perceives them to be the favourites of Heaven. Note, What persecutors have done against God's servants, when God opens their eyes, they must as far as they can undo again. How the fourth, whose form was like the Son of God, withdrew, and whether he vanished away or visibly ascended, we are not told, but of the other three we are informed, (1.) That they came forth out of the midst of the fire, as Abraham their father out of Ur (that is, the fire) of the Chaldees, into which, says this tradition of the Jews, he was cast, for refusing to worship idols, and out of which he was delivered, as those his three children were. When they had their discharge they did not tempt God by staying in any longer, but came forth as brands out of the burning. (2.) That it was made to appear, to the full satisfaction of all the amazed spectators, that they had not received the least damage by the fire, Dan 3:27. All the great men came together to view them, and found that there was not so much as a hair of their head singed. Here that was true in the letter which our Saviour spoke figuratively, for an assurance to his suffering servants that they should sustain no real damage (Luk 21:18), There shall not a hair of your head perish. Their clothes did not so much as change colour, nor smell of fire, much less were their bodies in the least scorched or blistered; no, the fire had no power on them. The Chaldeans worshipped the fire, as a sort of image of the sun, so that, in restraining the fire now, God put contempt, not only upon their king, but upon their god too, and showed that his voice divides the flames of fire as well as the floods of water (Psa 29:7), when he pleases to make a way for his people through the midst of it. It is our God only that is the consuming fire (Heb 12:29); other fire, if he but speak the word, shall not consume.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury,.... Nettled at the…
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury,.... Nettled at the answer given him; perceiving his threats made no impression on these three men, and that they were resolutely determined at all events not to obey his will:
and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; not only to what it was in times past, when they were his favourites, and he smiled upon them; but with respect to what it was while they were under examination, and he was trying to bring them to his will; when finding it impracticable, fury rose up, and showed itself in the furrows and frowns of his forehead; in the sharpness of his nose; in his sparkling eyes, foaming mouth, and gnashing teeth, and that general redness his face was covered with:
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therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated; this seems to be a furnace for this purpose, and where it was usual to burn malefactors; it being a common punishment with the Chaldeans; see Jer 29:22 the order was to put seven times more fuel in the furnace, that it might be so much the hotter, and burn so much the fiercer; which order of the king shows indeed the greatness of his wrath and fury, but at the same time that it had transported him out of his sense and judgment; since so fierce a fire was the better for the three men, supposing them to have died as he intended; who would have been the sooner dispatched by it, and so not suffer so much pain and torment as in a slow fire, or less heat; but this was overruled by the providence of God, that so it should be, that the miracle of their walking in it unsinged and unhurt, and their deliverance out of it, might appear the greater.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury] How…
Verse 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury] How strange is this, after having had so many proofs of the supremacy of Jehovah! He had seen how God poured contempt upon his authority in the case of the three Hebrews, and yet he will try his strength once more! How infatuated is man!
Seven times more] As hot as it could be made. Seven expresses the great intensity of the heat.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Dan 3:19-21. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury —…
Dan 3:19-21. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury — Nebuchadnezzar had himself known and owned so much of the true God, that one would have thought, though his pride and vanity had induced him to make this golden image, and set it up to be worshipped, yet that what these young men now said (whom he had formerly found to be wiser than all his wise men) would have revived his convictions, and at least have engaged him to forbear proceeding to extremities against them; but it proved quite otherwise. 1st, Instead of being convinced by what they said, he was exasperated, and made more outrageous. 2d, Instead of mitigating their punishment, in consideration of their quality and the honourable offices they were in, he ordered it to be heightened, commanding the heat of the furnace to be increased seven-fold; which, though it would not make their death more grievous, but rather despatch them the sooner, yet was designed to signify, that the king looked upon their crime as seven times more heinous than the crimes of others, and so made their death more ignominious. But God brought glory to himself out of this foolish instance of the tyrant’s rage; for though it would not have made their death the more grievous, yet it made their deliverance much the more illustrious. 3d, He ordered them to be bound in their clothes, which was done accordingly. They were bound, that they might not struggle, or make any resistance; were bound in their clothes for haste, or that they might be consumed the more slowly and gradually: but God’s providence ordered it for the increase of the miracle, in that their clothes were not so much as singed. What a terrible death was this, to be cast bound into the midst of a burning fiery furnace! It makes one’s flesh tremble to think of it, and horror to take hold of one. It is amazing that the tyrant was so hard-hearted as to inflict such a punishment, and the confessors possessed of such fortitude as to submit to it, rather than sin against God. But what is this to the second death? to the furnace into which the tares shall be cast in bundles? to that lake which burns eternally with fire and brimstone? Let Nebuchadnezzar heat his furnace as hot as he can, a few minutes will finish the torment of those who are cast into it; but hell-fire tortures, and doth not kill; the pain of damned sinners is more exquisite, and the smoke of their torments ascends for ever and ever, and they have no rest, no intermission, no cessation of their pains, who have worshipped the beast and his image, Rev 14:10-11; whereas their pain would be soon over that were cast into this furnace, for not worshipping this Babylonian beast and his image.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury - Margin, “filled.”…
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury - Margin, “filled.” He was exceedingly enraged. He evidently was not prepared for a stand so firm and determined on their part, and he did not appreciate their motives, nor was he disposed to yield to them the privilege and right of following their honest convictions. He was deeply excited with anger when the complaint was made that they would not worship his gods Dan 3:13, but he had hoped that possibly they had not understood his command, and that what they had done had not been by deliberate purpose (the notes at Dan 3:14); and he had therefore given them an opportunity to reconsider the subject, and, by complying with his will, to save themselves from the threatened punishment. He now saw, however, that what they had done was done deliberately. He saw that they firmly and intelligently refused to obey, and supposing now that they not only rebelled against his “commands,” but that they disregarded and despised even his “forbearance” Dan 3:15, it is not wonderful that he was filled with wrath. What was with them fixed “principle,” he probably regarded as mere obstinacy, and he determined to punish them accordingly.
And the form of his visage was changed - As the face usually is when men become excited with anger. We may suppose that up to this point he had evinced self-control; “possibly” he may have shown something like tenderness or compassion. He was indisposed to punish them, and he hoped that they would save him from the necessity of it by complying with his commands. Now he saw that all hope of this was vain, and he gave unrestrained vent to his angry feelings.
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He spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated - Chaldee, “Than it was sees to be heated;” that is, than it was ever seen. The word “seven” here is a perfect number, and the meaning is, that they should make it as hot as possible. He did not reflect probably that by this command he was contributing to shorten and abridge their sufferings. Wicked men, who are violently opposed to religion, often overdo the matter, and by their haste and impetuosity defeat the very end which they have in view, and even promote the very cause which they wish to destroy.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain visage . . . changed--He had shown forbearance (Dan…
visage . . . changed--He had shown forbearance (Dan 3:14-15) as a favor to them, but now that they despise even his forbearance, anger "fills" him, and is betrayed in his whole countenance.
seven times more than it was wont--literally, "than it was (ever) seen to be heated." Seven is the perfect number; that is, it was made as hot as possible. Passion overdoes and defeats its own end, for the hotter the fire, the sooner were they likely to be put out of pain.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. This public and outspoken act of disobedience naturally…
19. This public and outspoken act of disobedience naturally infuriated the king, who was in the habit of having his own way absolutely. It is still customary in the East to say of one who is angry with another “his face is black against him.” This does not prove that as late as Dan_3:14 the face of the king was white to these men (Thomson), but that he was now excessively and additionally furious. De Wette (Allgemeine Encyclopedia) remarks that the king’s order to heat the furnace “seven times more than it was wont to be heated” was impossible, since “heating has its limits,” and seems to hold the Book of Daniel responsible for the king’s lack of scientific knowledge! The use of the number seven here is decidedly oriental, and this phrase only means that the furnace must be made as hot as possible. This was done to make the circumstances of their death more frightful.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. full of] filled (A.V. marg.) with would be…
19. full of] filled (A.V. marg.) with would be both more accurate and more forcible.
than it was wont, &c.] than it was proper—or, the rule[229]—for it to be heated.
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[229] See in Onkelos Lev_5:10; Lev_9:16, Num_29:6; Num_29:21 (for Heb. כמשׁפט); and the Targ. of Jer_22:13; Jer_32:11.
19–27. The three youths delivered from the flames.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) One seven times.—It is doubtful whether “seven” is…
(19) One seven times.—It is doubtful whether “seven” is used here as a round number or not. According to the Babylonian mythology, there were seven demons, named “Maskim,” who were the most formidable of the infernal powers. Perhaps the number “seven” has a reference to them, for the religious nature of the punishment favours the view that the overheating of the furnace was regarded as a religious act.
Than it was wont.—More correctly, than it was fitting. The improper heating of the furnace led to the death of the mighty men (Dan_3:22).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form…
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. The text of the LXX is practically the same as the Massoretic, with only this exception, that "one" is omitted as unsuited to the Greek idiom. Theodotion differs more from the Massoretic furnace" was to be heated "sevenfold, till it was perfectly heated (ewv ouj eijv telov ejkkah)." The Peshitta, retaining the "one," translates, "one in seven times a rendering which seems to have little sense, as the Syriac idiom is the same as that before us. The change of countenance, from that of gratification at seeing a favourite, to that of rage, is a perfectly natural phenomenon, but one possibly even more marked among these races then dominant over the East than among ourselves. It was certainly not unnatural that, heathen as he was, filled with the belief in the mysterious power for good or ill that might be exercised over the empire were any of the gods offended, Nebuchadnezzar should be enraged. The result is that the calmness with which he had previously spoken with the three deserts him, and the form of his face changes, his visage becomes distorted with rage. It may be noted, in passing, that the word here used, ish"tanni (yNiTvai), is the only case where the ethpael occurs in Daniel; in all other cases the form is hithpael, with the h instead of the a. Since this is so, one is inclined to credit the peculiarity to scribal change. There is a difference here between the Q"ri and K"thib, the latter reading ishlannu, which agrees by attraction with anapolu, "face," which, as in Hebrew, is plural. In order to express his wrath, he orders that the furnace be heated sevenfold hotter than ever before. The word here translated "wont to be" is really part of the verb hzj (hezuh), "to see.
Behrmann renders it, "Siebenmal so stark zu heizen als man ihn heizen gesehen hatte it to be heated seven times as hot as ever one had seen it heated." We cannot suppose the Babylonians halt any means of measuring heat of that amount; it is simply a round number, Hitzig remarks on the recurrence of "seven," as if it helped to raise a presumption against the authenticity of the book. The fact that the Babylonians recognized seven planets, and seven gods of the planets, one for each, might as readily be taken as a proof of its authenticity. The probability is that vaguely many times more fuel was placed in the furnace than had ever been done before.
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Vers. 19-27.
The Saviour in the fire.
form of the fourth" (ver. 3). A sketch of the further developments of the history will well introduce the following topics.
I THE SAVIOUR OF THE KING"S IMAGINATION. "Like unto a son of the gods." The king was certainly not acquainted with the Hebrew doctrine of the Messiah, and even if he were, the appellation, "Son of God," would not be familiar to him. The deliverer to him was perhaps an angel, but surely a visitant from the unseen.
II THE REAL DELIVERER. "The Angel of Jehovah," the Angel-God of the Old Testament, the Lord Jesus, in those temporary and special epiphanies which preceded the great Epiphany of the Incarnation. This "coming down to deliver" does not stand alone. Therefore the other emergences out of eternity into time of the Lord should throw light on this; e.g. two appearances to Hagar. (Gen 16:21:19-21) Two in the life of Abraham. (Gen 17:, Gen 19:, Gen_19:22) Several instances in the history of Jacob. (Gen_28:10-22 Gen_31:11-13 Gen_32:24-32 Gen_48:15, Gen_48:16) At the burning bush (Exodus 3.; set. also Exo_23:20-25 Exo_13:20-22 Exo_14:19, 20 40:33- 1Ki_8:10, 1Ki_8:11; 2Ch_7:1-3) The same august Personage was at Sinai. (comp. Ex 24 and Exo_33:11-20 with Gal_3:19) Several manifestations, too, in the desert-life of Israel (Num_12:5 Num_14:1-21 Num_16:19, 42 20:6; Exo_33:3) So in the life of Joshua. (Jos_5:13 Jos_6:5) See further epiphanies in Jud 2:1-5 6:11-24 13; 1Ki_8:9-11, Isa_63:8, Isa_63:9. (On the significance of these passages, see "Mediatorial Sovereignty," by George Steward, vol. 1. pp. 111-137; Dr. Pye Smith, "First Lines of Christian Theology," pp. 248-251.) "The Angel of Jehovah" is none other than Jehovah himself manifested in the Person of the Lord Jesus. The doctrine of the Trinity the only adequate explanation. What Robert Hall said of the Divine Being is sirikingly true of the doctrine of the Trinity: "Inexplicable itself, it explains all besides; it casts a clearness upon every question, accounts for every phenomenon, solves every problem, illumines every depth, and renders the whole mystery of evidence as perfectly simple as it is otherwise perfectly unintelligible, whilst itself remains an impenetrable obscurity." The following are reasons for believing that the Lord Jesus was present in this fire:
1. It was antecedently probable that he would be. Taking into account antecedent appearances, observe the time of the Captivity was a critical epoch in the history of the kingdom of God; the place Babylonia grand theatre for the manifestation of the Divine. Evil clashed with conscience. The faithful there were helpless. It was for Christ to deliver.
2. It would fulfil a promise a thousand years old. (Lev_26:14-44)
3. The moral effect of the epiphany would be great on Jews, heathens; all to the end of time.
III THE SAME SAVIOUR NOW.
1. The Lord Jesus can be present with us in the fire of our trouble. This depends on whether we give him welcome or not. He waits to come in unto us in our sorrows. Different is the intensity el the fire with different saints, with the same at various times.
2. His presence is relief.
3. Will be ultimate deliverance and perfected salvation. R.
Vers. 19-23.
The brief reign of violence.
It is only consistent with the sketches of Nebuchadnezzar"s character furnished us, to believe that he was not naturally a cruel man; nor was he so rigid an idolater as to oppose the worship of Jehovah. He was self-willed, excitable, easily inflamed; and was too easily led away by the base designs of others. For the moment he yielded to the excitement of passion. His autocratic pride had been wounded, and he would tolerate no resistance.
I WE SEE VIOLENCE SUMMONING INTO THE FIELD ALL ITS FORCES, The king is "full of fury." His inward composure is disturbed. His very skin changes its hue. The blood rises and recedes with strange rapidity. Every muscle and nerve are stretched to highest tension. A very madness has seized the man. Reason is overborne as by a sudden tempest. Wisdom, sagacity, judgment, dignity, are drowned in a flood of uncontrollable feeling. Poor man! what an object of pity! He is verily possessed by a demon on fire of hell.
II WE SEE VIOLENCE OVERREACHING ITS OWN END. The king commanded that the furnace should be heated sevenfold, because of the independent boldness of the slandered Hebrews. This was a suggestion of wanton cruelty. But it would really benefit the innocent victims, inasmuch as it would shorten their sufferings. Yet reason had forsaken the king, and had fled into humbler bosoms. His unrestrained violence was weakness itself. Physical force is destined to fail.
III WE SEE VIOLENCE INJURING ITS OWN FRIENDS. As the Midianites, when pursued by Gideon in the night, slew unwittingly their own comrades, so the weapons which Nebuchadnezzar"s violence was sharpening were injuring those who handled them. The command to execute the Hebrew heroes was assigned to Chaldea"s mightiest veterans. Very likely they had egged the king on in this shameless course, and were only too glad to do thoroughly the cruel deed. There is always weakness in haste. Justice is ever calm, for time is on her side. She waits her conquests with sweet composure. But now this cruel eagerness to destroy, lest forsooth the king should relent this eagerness, is fatal to the proud captains. Endeavouring to slay others, their sword turns into their own breast. The material flame is alive with judicial discernment has learnt from its Creator whom to slay and whom to save. "Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth!
IV WE SEE VIOLENCE APPARENTLY TRIUMPHANT. God has not yet appeared on behalf of his injured advocates. Lo! they are bound, and no angelic hands present! Lo! they are cast into the fiery oven; they fall down into the very midst of the glowing coals! Has not justice abandoned our earth? Now may Violence wag her head and shake her tongue! How she is loud-voiced and jubilant indeed! How eloquent are her taunts "Where is now their boasted God? What profit now in all their prayers? These paragons of piety where are they now? Did we not predict their discomfiture? Ah I so would we have it! D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain That they should heat the furnace one seven times…
Dan_3:19-28
That they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
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The Fiery Furnace
I. THE PERSON WHO CAUSED IT TO BE MADE. This Oriental despot was then in the zenith of his glory. He was the acknowledged master of the world. The pomp and pageantry, of that religious gathering has never been surpassed. In deep awe, they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up (v. 4).
II. THE PERSONS WHO WERE CAST INTO THIS BURNING FIERY FURNACE AND WHY. These were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego--the three Hebrew children, who were carried to Babylon in captivity B.C. 606. They were of royal birth. They first came into notice in refusing to eat the kings meat. Why were they cast into the burning furnace? It was because they refused to do that which would offend the living God. Listen to the answer given by those Hebrews: Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up (v. 18). What is our answer? Observe, there is one great word in this verse now quoted. It is the word not! We will not serve thy gods! O this word, not! How grand it is!
1. It contains all the decision of 5:16. There they say: We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. There is no need for talk on this subject, O king. You are determined what to do; so, also, are we! Glorious decision! There is never any not where there is the least hesitation or parleying with sin.
2. This word not contains all the faith of 5:17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning furnace. This is what the great Paul once said: The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom (2Ti_4:18). How glorious such a trust!
3. The not before us contains the profoundest courage. It was popular that day to bow to the image; the lend-mouthed herald proclaimed the penalty of not worshipping. Yet the brave men spoke out courageously. With decision, faith, and courage, we can alone stand against the evils of our day. Because Shadrach and his friends said net, they were cast into the fire.
III. THE PERSON WHO DELIVERED THEM, AND WHY. It was Almighty God (v. 28). Why? Because they trusted in Him (v. 28). This the versereferred to in Heb_11:33-34 --who through fire subdued kingdoms! It is faith that overcomes the world. Faith is the mighty moral force of the age. The Apostles said unto the Lord, and so should we, Increase our faith (Luk_17:5). Observe:
1. The completeness of this deliverance: Nor was an hair of their head singed (v. 27). So God always saves--it is complete, or not at all.
2. They were thrown into the furnace bound, but soon they walked through the flames loose (v. 24, 25). O how Satan has tried to bind us in our afflictions, but in the greatest sorrow--when the furnace has been heated seven times, we have had both freedom and joy. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (Joh_8:36).
IV. THE PERSONS BENEFITED BY THE FIERY FURNACE, AND WHY.
1. The three Hebrews were benefited by receiving another wonderful evidence of the power of grace; by being promoted to a higher official rank in the kingdom (v. 30). This was the result of decision, faith, and courage.
2. Nebuchadnezzar was benefited by being brought back to the knowledge of God which, years before, he had professed (Dan_2:47).
3. No doubt the great multitude which that day had worshipped the golden image was benefited. They all saw that the true God was He whom the Hebrews worshipped. Decision for the Lord Jesus is the best way to win the wicked to His worship and service. (Alfred W. Moment.)
Religious Persecution
We have in this chapter an affecting case of an attempt to punish men for holding certain opinions, and for acting in conformity with them. When we read of an instance of persecution like this, it occurs to us to ask certain questions.
1. What is persecution? It is pain inflicted, or some loss, or disadvantage in person, family, or office, on account of holding certain opinions. It has had two objects. One to punish men for holding certain opinions, as if the persecutor had a right to regard this as an offence against the state; and the other a professed view to reclaim those who are made to suffer, and to save their souls. In regard to the pain or suffering involved in persecution, it is not material what kind of pain is inflicted in order to constitute persecution. Any bodily suffering; any deprivation of comfort; any exclusion from office; any holding up of one to public reproach; or any form of ridicule, constitutes the essence of persecution. It may be added that not a few of the inventions most distinguished for inflicting pain, and known as refinements of cruelty, have been originated in times of persecution, and would probably have been unknown if it had not been for the purpose of restraining men from the free exercise of religious opinions. The Inquisition has been most eminent in this; and within the walls of that dreaded institution it is probable that human ingenuity has been exhausted in devising the most refined modes of inflicting torture on the human frame.
2. Why has this been permitted? Among the reasons may be the following:
(1) To show the power and reality of religion. It seemed desirable to subject it to all kinds of trial, in order to show that its existence could not be accounted for except on the supposition that it is from God. If men had never been called on to suffer on account of religion, it would have been easy for the enemies of religion to allege that there was little evidence that it was genuine, or was of value, for it had never been tried (Job_1:9-11). As it is, it has been subjected to every form of trial which wicked men could devise, and has shown itself to be adapted to meet them all. The work of the martyrs has been well done, and religion, in the times of martyrdom, has shown itself to be all that it is desirable it should be.
(2) In order to promote its spread in the world. The blood of the martyrs has been the seed of the church; and it is probable that religion in past times has owed much of its purity, and of its diffusion, to the fact that it has been persecuted.
(3) To fit the sufferers for an exalted place in Heaven. They who have suffered persecution needed trials as well as others, for all Christians need them--and theirs came in this form. Some of the most lovely traits of Christian character have been brought out in connection with persecution, and some of the most triumphant exhibitions of preparation for Heaven have been made at the stake.
3. What have been the effects of persecution?
(1) It has been the settled point that the Christian religion cannot be destroyed by persecution.
(2) The effect has been to diffuse the religion which has been persecuted. The manner in which the sufferings inflicted have been endured has shown that there is reality and power in it. (John Cumming, D. D.)
In the Fiery Furnace
Note the teachings of the miracle.
I. THOSE ONLY WHO LIVE ABOVE THE WORLD CAN AFFORD TO LEAVE IT OR TO LOSE IT. The man who has temporal blessings without fellowship with God cannot afford to disobey the worlds laws or customs (Heb_11:14).
II. THE MEANS TAKEN TO EXTINGUISH TRUTH WILL BE USED TO EXTEND ITS INFLUENCE. The Philippian jailer, not content with beating his prisoners, thrust them into the inner prison, yet into this prison he shall come, and falling upon his knees, shall beseech help from his prisoners. The very means taken in that city by the magistrates to silence Paul and Silas led to their being more highly esteemed, and consequently to the words which they had spoken receiving more attention.
III. ONE SPECIAL INTERPOSITION OF PROVIDENCE IN A LIFETIME WILL NOT GUARANTEE EXEMPTION FROM AN ORDINARY FATE AT ANOTHER PERIOD. Peter was saved from Herods sword, but he suffered martyrdom in later life.
IV. THE SERVANTS OF GOD WHO HAVE BEEN PUBLICLY CONDEMNED SHALL BE PUBLICLY VINDICATED. The Son of God was publicly condemned and executed as a malefactor by the Jews, but they will one day own Him as their Lord with Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him Isa_25:9). (Outlines by a London Minister.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Miraculous Preservation of God’s Servants
The Miraculous Preservation of God’s Servants
v. 19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, of extreme and unreasonable anger, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, his expression showing the extremity of the fury which possessed him; therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. He did not realize in the heat of his passion that he was really defeating his own ends; for the hotter the fire. the sooner his victims were liable to be put out of misery.
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v. 20. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army, upon whom he could depend for absolute obedience and trustworthiness, to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace, a task which was here connected with considerable danger because it involved a close approach to the intense heat of the furnace.
v. 21. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, rather, "in their undergarments, their tunics, and their mantles," and their other garments, part of which at least were of delicate, easily inflammable material, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, the repetition of this phrase tending to make the element of danger stand out more prominently.
v. 22. Therefore, because the king’s commandment was urgent, because he. spoke in fury, and the furnace exceeding hot, far in excess of its usual degree of heat, the flame of the fire, a blast sweeping out from the opening, slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, after the king’s servants had cast them through the opening above.
v. 23. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound, as they had been trussed up by the executioners, into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
v. 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was astonied, greatly astounded, and rose up in haste, due to his great agitation, and spake and said unto his counselors, the ministers, or governors, who formed his council, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? The king’s chair seems to have been placed opposite the side door of the furnace, which was open to permit a strong draught to fan the fire, and it was from here that he witnessed the execution. They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
v. 25. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, no longer bound as they had been cast in, walking in the midst of the fire, not leaving it, but waiting for God’s time to leave them out, and they have no hurt, as one might have expected by reason of the rough treatment accorded them; and the form of the fourth, on account of the compelling dignity of his appearance, is like the son of God, rather, "like a son of the gods," one pertaining to a divine family and generation. The fourth man was an angel of God, sent for the protection of His pious servants, so that the flame could not harm them. God protects those who place their trust in Him in the midst of death and destruction, so that not a hair may fall from their heads without His will.
v. 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, which was now opened at his command, and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, of whose superior greatness he had just received an overpowering impression, and whom he was therefore willing to designate in this manner, come forth and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came forth of the midst of the fire,
v. 27. And the princes, governors, and captains, the representative rulers of his entire empire, and the king’s counselors, the members of his own privy council, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, having had not the slightest effect upon them, nor was an hair of their head singed, this being ordinarily the first result of fire, neither were their coats changed, their undergarments touched by fire, nor the smell of fire had passed on them, in other words, one could not even notice that they had been anywhere near fire.
v. 28. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, whose superiority to his own gods the king thus recognized, who hath sent His angel and delivered His servants, that trusted in Him and have changed the king’s word, boldly transgressing his commands, and yielded their bodies, offering them without flinching in the interest of their loyalty to their God, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God.
v. 29. Therefore I make a decree, literally, "And from me is set forth a decree," That every people, nation, and language which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, Cf. Dan 2:5, because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort. While this confession does not imply faith in the one true God, it decreed toleration to the worshipers of Jehovah throughout the empire of Babylon.
v. 30. Then the king, having once more restored the three men to his full favor, promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon. So the firmness of these men in confessing their God, far from bringing misfortune upon them, resulted in further blessings upon them. Note also that the miracles which the Lord performs in the interest of His Church result in benefits for the state as well, so that men are obliged to acknowledge the hand of God in the affairs of men, even if they do not accept Him as the God of their salvation.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage
Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage
The king was so angry that rage is spoken of as if it were filling him up. AT: "Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry" (See: Metaphor)
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He commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was normally heated
Here "seven times hotter" is an idiom that means to make it very much hotter. This can be stated in active form. AT: "He commanded his men to make the furnace very much hotter than they normally make it" (See: Idiom and Active or Passive)
translationWords
Nebuchadnezzar
command
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.