Daniel and Faithful Witness in Exile

Daniel 3:1-30

Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold. Its height was sixty cubits and its width was six cubits; he set it up in the valley of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent directions to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all of the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald proclaimed aloud, “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations and people of all languages, that at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp, the drum and all kinds of music, you must fall down and you must worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown immediately into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.” Therefore, at that time, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations and people of all languages were falling down and were worshiping the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Therefore at this time some astrologers came forward and they denounced the Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, may you live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and the drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. However there are Judean men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—these men, O king, pay you no heed and were not serving your god, and the statue of gold that you set up they are not worshiping.” Then Nebuchadnezzar said in rage and anger to bring in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; then they brought in these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “ Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you are not serving my god, and you are not worshiping the statue of gold that I have set up? Now if you are ready so that when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and the drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, that will be good . But if you do not worship it, immediately you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god who will rescue you from my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need on this matter to present a defense to you. If it is so, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us. And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, and the statue of gold that you have set up we will not worship.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with anger and the image of his face was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, so he ordered and said to heat up the one furnace seven times what was usual to heat it up. And he commanded the strongest men of the guards who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were bound with their garments, their trousers and their turbans and their other clothing, and they were thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Therefore because the word of the king was severe and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed these men who lifted up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. But these men, the three of them, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell down into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and they were bound. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he rose up in haste and he asked, saying to his advisers, “ Did we not throw three men, bound, into the midst of the fire? They answered, saying to the king, “Certainly, O king!” He answered, saying, “Look, I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire and there is no damage to them, and the appearance of the fourth man resembles the son of a god.” Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire, and he called out, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!” So then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the middle of the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the advisors of the king were assembling, and they saw these men, that the fire had no power over their bodies, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their garments were not harmed, and the smell of fire did not come from them. Nebuchadnezzar responded, saying, “Blessed be their God, the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him, and the command of the king they disobeyed, and they gave their bodies so that they did not serve and did not worship any god except their God. And from me is set forth a decree that any people, nation, or language that may utter criticism against their God— the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—will be broken into pieces and their house will be made like ruins. For there is not another God who is able to rescue like this God .” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

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Daniel 6:1-28

It pleased Darius, and he set up one hundred and twenty satraps over the kingdom, that they were throughout the whole kingdom, and over them were three administrators, of whom Daniel was one, so that these satraps were giving account to them, and the king would not be suffering loss. Then Daniel began distinguishing himself above the administrators and the satraps because an exceptional spirit was in him, and so the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. Then the other administrators and satraps began to seek to find a pretext against Daniel in connection with the kingdom, but they were not able to find any pretext and corruption because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any pretext against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” So the administrators and the satraps conspired with respect to the king and so they said to him, “Darius, O king, live forever! All of the administrators of the kingdom, and the prefects, the satraps, the counselors and the governors took counsel and have agreed to establish an edict of the king and to enforce a decree that whoever will seek a prayer from any god or human except from you for up to thirty days will be thrown into the lion pit. Now, O king, establish the edict and you must sign the document so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked.” So the king, Darius, signed the writing and the interdict. Now when Daniel realized that the document was signed, he went to his house (now he had windows in his upper room that were open toward Jerusalem), and three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave praise before his God, just as he had been doing previously. Then these men came as a group and they found Daniel praying and pleading for mercy before his God. Then they approached and spoke with the king concerning the edict of the king, “Did you not sign an edict that any person who would seek anything from any God or human within thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into the lion pit?” The king answered and said, “The matter as you have just stated is certain according to the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked.” Then they responded and said before the king, “Daniel, who is from the exiles of Judah, is not paying any attention to you, O king, or to the decree that you have signed, and three times daily he says his prayer.” Then the king, when he heard that report, he was extremely distressed over it; and concerning Daniel he was determined to rescue him. And until the setting of the sun he was making every effort to deliver him. Then these men came as a group to the king and said, “Recall, O king, that with respect to the law of the Medes and Persians that any decree or edict that the king establishes cannot be changed.” Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought in and they threw him into the lion pit. The king said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve faithfully, may he rescue you!” And a stone was brought and it was put on the entrance of the pit, and the king sealed it with his signet ring and with the signet rings of his lords, so that nothing would be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night in fasting, and no food was brought in before him and his sleep fled from him. Then the king got up at daybreak, at first light, and he went in haste to the lion pit. And when he came near to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with a distressed voice, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?” Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and he shut the mouth of the lions and they did not hurt me, because before him I was found blameless, and also before you, O king, I have not done any wrong.” Then the king was exceedingly glad over it and commanded that Daniel be lifted up from the pit; and there was not any wound found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king then commanded, and these men were brought who had accused Daniel, and they threw them and their children and their wives into the lion pit, and they had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had overpowered them and they had crushed all of their bones. Then Darius the king wrote to all the people, the nations, and the languages living in the whole earth, “May your prosperity become great! I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom people will be trembling and fearing before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and endures forever and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed and his dominion has no end. He is rescuing, delivering, and working signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth, for he has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” So this Daniel prospered during the kingdom of Darius and during the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian.

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