This occasion gave some of the officials an idea. They thought this was their chance to get rid of some of the Jews that were among them.

They said to the king, “Your command was clear. When the orchestra played, everyone was to drop to the ground and worship the statue. You said if anyone didn’t do it, they’d be thrown into a furnace filled with fire. There are three Jews who ignored you, and they’re in high positions in the kingdom. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They don’t serve your god, and they didn’t worship the gold statue.”

Nebuchadnezzar was furious. He sent for the three Jews and had them stand before him. “I’ve been told you don’t serve my god, and you didn’t worship the gold statue. I want to see if this is true. The orchestra will play, and when it does you’re to drop to the ground and worship the gold statue. If you don’t, you’ll be thrown into the furnace filled with fire. There’s no god that can rescue you from my power.”

The three men didn’t hesitate to answer the king. They said, “We would never argue with you, but please understand. Our God is able to rescue us from the furnace filled with fire. He can easily rescue us from your power, but if he doesn’t, let it be known, we still won’t worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar became so mad his face was twisted with rage. He shouted to his guards, “Make the furnace seven times hotter! Tie up these men and throw them into it!”

The furnace was made hotter, and the three Jews were tied up and thrown into the fire. Since the furnace was so hot and the king wanted the execution to be done quickly, the flames killed the guards as they threw the men in.

Suddenly the king was shocked at what he saw. He got up and shouted, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”

“Of course Your Majesty. We threw in three men.”

“But look! I see four men in there. The fire’s not hurting them, and they aren’t tied up. They’re freely walking around. And look! The fourth man is like a god.”

Nebuchadnezzar got closer to the furnace and yelled in. “Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the Most High God. Please, come out.”

The three men came out of the fire. Everyone gathered around and saw that the men and their clothes were totally unaffected by the fire. They didn’t even have the smell of smoke on them.

Nebuchadnezzar made a proclamation. “I give praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They chose to die rather than worship any god but their God. So he sent his angel to rescue them. No one is to say anything offensive about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If anyone does, that person will be torn to pieces and their house made into a garbage dump.”