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the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Daniel 3:6

Anyone who doesn't bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Coercion;   Fire;   Furnace;   Idolatry;   Indictments;   Music;   Proclamation;   Rulers;   Scofield Reference Index - Miracles;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Burning, a Punishment;   Children;   Home;   Nation, the;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Punishments;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Punishments;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Abednego;   Furnaces;   Hours;   Image;   Punishments;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Adore;   Day;   Dial;   Hour;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Adore;   Day;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Daniel, Book of;   Emperor Worship;   God;   Image, Nebuchadnezzar's;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Abednego ;   Cornet;   Furnace;   Psaltery;   Sackbut;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Abednego;   Day;   Hour;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Day;   Musical Instruments of the Hebrews;   Psaltery;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Day;   Furnace;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Adoration;   Day and Night;   Furnace;   Hour;   Worship;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Furnace;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”
Hebrew Names Version
and whoever doesn't fall down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
King James Version
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
English Standard Version
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."
New American Standard Bible
"But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire."
Amplified Bible
"Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And whosoeuer falleth not downe & worshippeth, shall the same houre bee cast into the middes of an hote fierie fornace.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire."
Berean Standard Bible
And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the burning fiery furnace."
Contemporary English Version
Anyone who refuses will at once be thrown into a flaming furnace.
Complete Jewish Bible
Whoever does not fall down and worship is to be thrown immediately into a blazing hot furnace."
Darby Translation
and whosoever doth not fall down and worship shall that same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Easy-to-Read Version
Whoever does not bow down and worship this gold idol will immediately be thrown into a very hot furnace."
George Lamsa Translation
And whosoever does not fall down and worship shall at the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Good News Translation
Anyone who does not bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
Lexham English Bible
And whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown immediately into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire."
Literal Translation
And whoever does not fall down and worship, at that moment they will be thrown into the middle of a burning, fiery furnace.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Who so then falleth not downe and boweth himself, shal euen the same houre be cast in to an hote burnynge ouen.
American Standard Version
and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Bible in Basic English
And anyone not falling down and worshipping will that same hour be put into a burning and flaming fire.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.'
King James Version (1611)
And who so falleth not down and worshippeth, shall the same houre bee cast into the middest of a burning fierie furnace.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Whoso then falleth not downe & worshippeth, shall euen the same houre be cast into the mids of a hot firie fornace.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And whosoever shall not fall down and worship, in the same hour he shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.
English Revised Version
and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
World English Bible
and whoever doesn't fall down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli if ony man fallith not doun, and worschipith not, in the same our he schal be sent in to the furneis of fier brennynge.
Update Bible Version
and whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Webster's Bible Translation
And whoever shall not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
New English Translation
Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!"
New King James Version
and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."
New Living Translation
Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
New Life Bible
Whoever does not get down and worship will be thrown at once into the big and hot fire."
New Revised Standard
Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and, whosoever shall not fall down and adore, shall, instantly, be cast into the burning furnace of fire.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if any man shall not fall down and adore, he shall the same hour be cast into a furnace of burning fire.
Revised Standard Version
and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."
Young's Literal Translation
and whoso doth not fall down and do obeisance, in that hour he is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.'

Contextual Overview

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet high and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the area of Babylon. 2 Then he called for the leaders: the governors, assistant governors, captains of the soldiers, people who advised the king, keepers of the treasury, judges, rulers, and all other officers in his kingdom. He wanted them to come to the special service for the statue he had set up. 3 So they all came for the special service and stood in front of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the man who made announcements for the king said in a loud voice, "People, nations, and those of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 When you hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, pipes, and all the other musical instruments, you must bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Anyone who doesn't bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." 7 Now people, nations, and those who spoke every language were there. When they heard the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, pipes, and all the other musical instruments, they bowed down and worshiped the gold statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

falleth: Daniel 3:11, Daniel 3:15, Exodus 20:5, Isaiah 44:17, Matthew 4:9, Revelation 13:15-17

the same: Daniel 2:5, Daniel 2:12, Daniel 2:13, Mark 6:27

a burning: Genesis 19:28, Jeremiah 29:22, Ezekiel 22:18-22, Matthew 13:42, Matthew 13:50, Revelation 9:2, Revelation 14:11

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 21:11 - compelled Daniel 5:19 - whom he would he slew Daniel 6:7 - he shall Ephesians 6:9 - forbearing

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake said to the woman, "Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?"
Genesis 3:2
The woman answered the snake, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden.
Genesis 3:12
The man said, "You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
Genesis 3:14
The Lord God said to the snake, "Because you did this, a curse will be put on you. You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be. You will crawl on your stomach, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:15
I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies. One of her descendants will crush your head, and you will bite his heel."
Genesis 3:17
Then God said to the man, "You listened to what your wife said, and you ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat. "So I will put a curse on the ground, and you will have to work very hard for your food. In pain you will eat its food all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:19
You will sweat and work hard for your food. Later you will return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and when you die, you will return to the dust."
Genesis 6:2
When the sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful, they married any of them they chose.
Genesis 39:7
After some time the wife of Joseph's master began to desire Joseph, and one day she said to him, "Have sexual relations with me."
Joshua 7:21
Among the things I saw was a beautiful coat from Babylonia and about five pounds of silver and more than one and one-fourth pounds of gold. I wanted these things very much for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent, with the silver underneath."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth,.... Who refuses to worship it, or wilfully neglects it; which would be interpreted a contempt of it, and of the king's command:

shall in the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; such as were used to burn stones in for lime, as Jarchi observes: the music was to draw, the furnace was to drive, men to this idolatrous worship; the one was to please and sooth the minds of men, and so allure them to such stupid service; the other to frighten them into obedience. This is the first time that mention is made of "hours" in the sacred Scriptures; it was very probably the invention of the Chaldeans or Babylonians; for Herodotus m says the Greeks received the twelve parts of the day from the Babylonians.

m Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 109.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth - The order in this verse seems to be tyrannical, and it is contrary to all our notions of freedom of religious opinion and worship. But it was much in the spirit of that age, and indeed of almost every age. It was an act to enforce uniformity in religion by the authority of the civil magistrate, and to secure it by threatened penalties. It should be observed, however, that the command at that time would not be regarded as harsh and oppressive by “pagan” worshippers, and might be complied with consistently with their views, without infringing on their notions of religious liberty. The homage rendered to one god did not, according to their views, conflict with any honor that was due to another, and though they were required to worship this divinity, that would not be a prohibition against worshipping any other. It was also in accordance with all the views of paganism that all proper honor should be rendered to the particular god or gods which any people adored.

The nations assembled here would regard it as no dishonor shown to the particular deity whom they worshipped to render homage to the god worshipped by Nebuchadnezzar, as this command implied no prohibition against worshipping any other god. It was only in respect to those who held that there is but one God, and that all homage rendered to any other is morally wrong, that this command would be oppressive. Accordingly, the contemplated vengeance fell only on the Jews - all, of every other nation, who were assembled, complying with the command without hesitation. It violated “no” principle which they held to render the homage which was claimed, for though they had their own tutelary gods whom they worshipped, they supposed the same was true of every other people, and that “their” gods were equally entitled to respect; but it violated “every” principle on which the Jew acted - for he believed that there was but one God ruling over all nations, and that homage rendered to any other was morally wrong. Compare Hengstenberg, “Authentie des Daniel,” pp. 83, 84.

Shall the same hour - This accords with the general character of an Oriental despot accustomed to enjoin implicit obedience by the most summary process, and it is entirely conformable to the whole character of Nebuchadnezzar. It would seem from this, that there was an apprehension that some among the multitudes assembled would refuse to obey the command. Whether there was any “design” to make this bear hard on the Jews, it is impossible now to determine. The word which is here rendered “hour” (שׁעתא sha‛etâ) is probably from שׁעה shâ‛âh - “to look;” and properly denotes a look, a glance of the eye, and then the “time” of such a glance - a moment, an instant. It does not refer to “an hour,” as understood by us, but means “instantly, immediately” - as quick as the glance of an eye. The word is not found in Hebrew, and occurs in Chaldee only in Daniel 3:6, Daniel 3:15; Daniel 4:19, Daniel 4:33 (Daniel 4:16, Daniel 4:30); Daniel 5:5, in each case rendered “hour.” Nothing can be inferred from it, however, in regard to the division of time among the Chaldeans into “hours” - though Herodotus says that the Greeks received the division of the day into twelve parts from them. - Lib. ii., c. 109.

Be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace - The word here rendered “furnace” (אתון 'attûn) is derived from (תנן tenan), “to smoke;” and may be applied to any species of furnace, or large oven. It does not denote the use to which the furnace was commonly applied, or the form of its construction. Any furnace for burning lime - if lime was then burned - or for burning bricks, if they were burned, or for smelting ore, would correspond with the meaning of the word. Nor is it said whether the furnace referred to would be one that would be constructed for the occasion, or one in common use for some other purpose. The editor of Calmet (Taylor) supposes that the “furnace” here referred to was rather a fire kindled in the open court of a temple, like a place set apart for burning martyrs, than a closed furnace of brick. See Cal. “Dict.” vol. iv. p. 330, following. The more obvious representation, however, is, that it was a closed place, in which the intensity of the fire could be greatly increased. Such a mode of punishment is not uncommon in the East. Chardin (vi. p. 118), after speaking of the common modes of inflicting the punishment of death in Persia, remarks that “there are other modes of inflicting the punishment of death on those who have violated the police laws, especially those who have contributed to produce scarcity of food, or who have used false weights, or who have disregarded the laws respecting taxes. The cooks,” says he, “were fixed on spits, and roasted over a gentle fire (compare Jeremiah 29:22), and the bakers were cast into a burning oven. In the year 1668, when the famine was raging, I saw in the royal residence in Ispahan one of these ovens burning to terrify the bakers, and to prevent their taking advantage of the scarcity to increase their gains.” See Rosenmuller, “Alte u. neue Morgenland, in loc.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Daniel 3:6. Shall the same hour — This is the first place in the Old Testament where we find the division of time into hours. The Greeks say that Anaximander was the inventor. He had it probably from the Chaldeans, among whom this division was in use long before Anaximander was born.

Be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. — This was an ancient mode of punishment among the Chaldeans, if we may credit the tradition that Abram was cast into such a fire by this idolatrous people because he would not worship their idols.


 
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